Del Close would have been 78 years old today. Even though he passed away 13 years ago March 4, his influence on comedy and acting will last long after all of us are gone. more ›

Five years ago, a woman smashed through the glass ceiling of comedy with her debut stand-up performance. She drunkenly slurred her words. She appeared to have peed her pants on stage. She was told never to pursue comedy again. more ›

It's been nearly 10 years since the untimely, unfortunate demise of Chicago-area comedian Chris Farley. We're not going to lie and say we remember exactly where we were when we heard the news or anything like that, but we can't believe it's been that long already. He had still been big in the movies with a promising future at the time of his death, if he could have broken out of the stereotypical fat-guy-does-crazy-shit-cuz-he's-fat role.... more ›

Man, Charna Halpern cannot get a break. First, she has to change the name of her whole enterprise from Improv Olympic to IO, which would be crappy enough in its own right, if it didn't always make us think of the classic 'Captain EO,' featuring the ever-lovable Michael Jackson. Then, the much hyped IO 25th anniversary show rolls around a little over a year ago, promising fanfare and excitement with famous alums coming home to... more ›

We here at Chicagoist have taken an improv class, or two, or twenty. We actually made most of our friends through these classes, and were just young enough to get caught up in the politics of it all. more ›

Saturday night was the 25th anniversary celebration of the Improv Olympic, we mean, the IO theater. Held at the Chicago Theater and hyped for months, the bill was rife with comedic talent. IO has schooled some of television and film's biggest stars, and they were all coming home to wish IO and its living founder, Charna Halpern, a happy birthday. (Del Close -- who helped Charna found IO when she split from Second City --... more ›

Jimmy Carrane, Comedian more ›

Chicago is funny. Everyone knows that. We've got Second City, the Improv Olympic, and we lay claim to Dan Aykroyd, Alan Alda, Tina Fey, Dan Castellaneta, Bill Murray as well as many other famous comedians and writers. To commemorate our funniness, head over to the 8th Annual Chicago Improv Festival. It starts tomorrow and has guest performers from SNL, MADtv, The Daily Show and Anchorman, to name a few. In all, there will be about... more ›