>>
YOU KNOW THE NAMES JOHN
CANDY, GUILD ARE
RADNER, BILL
MURRAY
AN
IMPORTANT FIGURE
MENTORED
THESE.
BERNIE
SAHLINS
MAY NOT BE A
HOUSEHOLD NAME BUT PEOPLE
WHO
KNOW THEATER
AND
COMEDY KNOW HIS
INFLUENCE.
HE DIED SUNDAY AT THE AGE OF
90678
WE'RE JOINED NOW BY
FRIENDS
AND
COLLEAGUES
INCLUDING
SHELDON
PATINKIN,
MARTHA AND
MATT THE DIRECTOR
OF
SECOND CITY
TRAINING
CENTER.
CONDOLENCES TO ALL OF YOU ON THE
LOSS OF
YOUR
FRIEND.
>>THANK YOU.
>>SHELDON, HOW LONG DID YOU
KNOW BERNIE?
>>60 YEARS.
>>60 YEARS.
>>YEAH, WE
HAD A THEATER
THAT
WE BROKE AWAY FROM
THE
UNIVERSITY OF
CHICAGO THEATER
IN
FORM CALLED
PLAYWRIGHTS
THEATER
CLUB IN
1953.
I'M GIVING AWAY MY
AGE.
AND BERNIE WAS ONE OF THE
PRODUCERS.
I WAS THE STAGE
MANAGER,
PRODUCTION MANAGER,
MUSICAL
DIRECTOR, BOX OFFICE
MANAGER,
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AND
ACTOR
ONLY WHEN WE
HAD
TOO
MANY ROLES
FOR THE NUMBER OF THE PEOPLE
IN
ENSEMBLE.
THE FIRST THING I REMEMBER ABOUT
BERNIE, HE HAD
HIS
OWN
BUSINESS.
HE HAD
TAPE RECORDERS.
>>THAT'S WHERE HE GOT
HIS
BUSINESS ACUMEN WITH A TAPE
RECORDER COMPANY.
>>THAT'S
RIGHT.
HE REALLY WANT TO DO
THEATER.
BERNIE WHO WE JUST MET
CAME INTO
THE THEATER
ONE
DAY, THERE WAS
MAYBE THREE OR FOUR O
F US, LATE
SUMMER, HE SAID
COME
ON I'LL
TAKE TO YOU MY FAVORITE
RESTAURANT IN
TOWN SOX WE
WERE -- IN
TOWN
.
SO WE WERE
POOR, HUNGRY AND
YOUNG AND HAD
VISIONS MORE
THAN
SUGAR PLUMS DANCING IN OUR
HEADS
AND HE TOOK
US TO
FLUKIES
HOT
DOG STAND NORTH ON
WESTERN WHICH
REALLY WAS HIS
FAVORITE
RESTAURANT.
>>HE WASN'T KIDDING?
>>HE WAS
NOT KIDDING AT
ALL.
>>WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST MEMORY OF
HIS.
>>
SHELDON INTRODUCE MED
TO
HIM.
I WAS
TAKING IMPROVE CLASSES
FROM SHELDON WITH A GROUP OF
PEOPLE IN 1981
OR SO AND
BERNIE
WAS AROUND AND I WAS INTRODUCED
TO BERNIE.
IN
FACT, DO YOU KNOW THAT I
AUDITIONED FOR ONE OF THOSE
SECOND CITY
COMPANIES?
>>REALLY.
>>I WAS ALL
OF.
[ LAUGHTER ]
-- I WAS AWFUL.
[ LAUGHTER ]
>>I
HAVE
KNOWN BERNIE AND JANE
SINCE THEN AND THEY ARE
VERY,
VERY FREQUENT THEATER
GOERS AND
THEY ARE -- THEY ARE
REALLY BIG
PART OF THE CULTURAL
SCENE.
SO I'VE SEEN HIM THROUGHOUT THE
YEARS AND, HE
ALSO THEN BEGAN
CREATING
PERFORMANCES BASED ON
VERSE DRAMA WHICH GIVES
YOU SOME
IDEA OF THAT GUYS
RANGE.
>>SO MANY
PEOPLE THINK OF
BERNIE
SAHLINS AND THINK
COMEDY,
SECOND
CITY,
IMPROV
ALL THAT
BUT
HE HAD TREMENDOUS RANGE.
HE STUDIED THE
CLASSIC AND
INTERESTED IN ALL KINDS OF
THEATER.
WHAT WAS HIS SIGNIFICANCE TO THE
WORK YOU DO?
>>FIRST
MARTHA I'M SORRY
THAT
WE RUINED YOUR
CAREER.
I APOLOGIZE ON
BEHALF OF SECOND
CITY AND BERNIE.
>>THINK
OF WHAT SHE COULD HAVE
MADE OF
HERSELF.
>>WE HOLD SO MANY PEOPLE
BACK.
>>SHE'S REALLY A GOOD
ACTOR.
>>THAT'S WHAT WE LOOK
FOR.
WE'RE ACTORS FIRST,
COMEDIANS
SECOND.
WE USES TO BE.
I STARTED DIRECTING
FOR SECOND
CITY IN THE EARLY
2000S AND IT
TOOK A FEW
SHOWS FOR
ME TO
DIRECT TO AND PAID ATTENTION AND
KNEW.
HE WAS NOT ACTIVE IN THE THEATER
ON A
DAILY
BASIS
FOR
SOME TIME
THEN.
I REMEMBER WHEN I GOT HIM AT THE
FRONT BAR AND
REINTRODUCED
MYSELF BECAUSE HE
WASN'T UP
TO
DATE ON WHO I
WAS OR WHATEVER.
HE SAID I HAVE HEARD BUT
GIVE ME
A CALL.
HE WROTE DOWN
HIS PHONE
NUMBER
ON PROBABLY A
NAPKIN OF
SOME
KIND.
HE SAID CALL ME.
I CALLED HIM.
IT WAS HIS HOME NUMBER BECAUSE
HE DIDN'T HAVE A CELL PHONE AND
HE WAS AT HOME BEFORE DINNER
AND
HE SAID I WANT TO YOU MEET ME
FOR COFFEE.
MEET ME
AT
THIS TIME AND THIS
PLACE AND BRING A
PENCIL.
THAT WAS THE END OF THE
CONVERSATION.
I WAS CHARMD BY
THAT.
HE WAS DIRECT AND TO THE POINT
AND I COULD TELL HE WANTED TO
TALK ABOUT THINGS.
THAT COFFEE
WAS WHEN I GOT
TO
KNOW HIM.
IT ENDED UP BEING ABOUT A
TWO-HOUR COFFEE.
>>WHAT WERE SOME OF THE
THINGS
HE
TOLD?
>>HE
WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE
YOUNGER GENERATION AND WHETHER
WE WORRIED ABOUT THE SCENE
WORK
AND THE
INTELLECTUAL PART OF IT.
HE WAS AN
--
INTELLECTUAL GUY.
HE BELIEVED PERHAPS
RIGHTFULLY
SO THAT SECOND CITY'S
AUDIENCE
WAS MORE
DIVERSE, MORE GENERAL,
MORE BROAD,
MORE
SUBURBAN IN A
WAY.
AND PART AFTER THIS FRUSTRATED
HIM.
BUT IT WAS -- PART
OF THAT
FRUSTRATED HIM AND THAT WAS PART
OF THE SUCCESS OF THE
ALUMS THAT
WENT ON TO
FAME AND
FORTUNE THAT
MORE PEOPLE SOUGHT OUT SECOND
CITY AS A PLACE
TO GO TO
FIND
FUNNY.
HE WAS CONCERNED THAT WE WERE
FORGETTING THAT THE
ORIGINS OF
THE THEATER WERE IN
THE HONEST
SCENE WORK
AND
SATIRE.
MY WHOLE ROLE IN THAT TWO
HOURS
OFFICE TO CONVINCE HIM
THAT
WEAPON HADN'T LOST SENSE --
THAT
WE HADN'T LOST SENSE OF
THAT.
>>LET'S GO BACK TO
THE ORIGINS
OF SECOND
CITY.
BERNIE WAS ON THE SHOW AND
HERE
IS WHAT HE SAID ABOUT
THE EARLY
DAYS.
>>YOU
SEE, WE WERE
OUT OF WORK
AND WE NEED AID
PLACE TO
SIT.
[LAUGHTER]
IN THOSE DAYS YOU BUILT A COFFEE
SHOP.
WE STARTED BUILDING A
COFFEE
SHOP.
ALL THESE
OUT OF
WORK
ACTORS,
PAUL AND MYSELF
WE SAID
LET'S
PUT A LITTLE SHOW ON.
THE FIRST NIGHT
THERE
WERE IN
THE COLD DECEMBER THERE WERE
500
PEOPLE OUT
THERE.
I PERSONALLY HAVE MET
2,000
PEOPLE THAT WERE THERE.
[ LAUGHTER ]
>>SHELDON NOW
WE TAKE SECOND
CITY FOR GRANTED.
THE PUBLIC TAKES ITS FOR
GRANTED, ITS INFLUENCE AND
ALL
OF THAT.
REMIND US HOW IT WAS DIFFERENT
FROM WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN
THE
50s.
>>THE
COMPASS CAME
BEFORE
SECOND CITY AND WAS MORE OR LESS
THE SAME BUT WAS IN THE
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
A
REA AND
DEPENDED ON THAT
AUDIENCE FOR
WHAT IT WAS.
IN FACT,
WHAT
DAVID
SHEPHERD WHO
WAS THE
PRODUCER MOVED IT
NORTH,
IT DIDN'T DO AS WELL.
WE WANTED TO OPEN
ANOTHER
COMPASS, WELL BERNIE AND PAUL
WANTED TO OPEN IT.
DAVID WOULDN'T LET THEM HAVE THE
NAME.
BUT INSTEAD OF
OPENING
IT IN
THE
UNIVERSITY AREA,
WE OPENED IT
A
BLOCK AWAY FROM
WHERE SECOND
CITY IS RIGHT
NOW AS A MATTER OF
FACT -- NO SEVERAL BLOCKS
AWAY.
ON A STRETCH OF WELLS
STREET
THAT NO
LONGER
EXISTS
1842 NORTH
WELLS, WHERE DO I REMEMBER THAT
AND NOT WHO I
MET YESTERDAY?
[LAUGHTER]
AND IT WAS A RECONVERTED -- IT
WAS TWO STORES,
A
RECONVERTED
CHINESE LAUNDRY AND
A
RECONVERTED
HOT
SHOP.
-- HAT
SHOP.
WE WERE
THE FIRST
STOREFRONT
THEATER.
>>ONE OF THE THINGS HAROLD SAID
HE MADE IT OKAY TO BE SMART
ABOUT
HUMOR.
HE HELPED ESTABLISH
HUMOR AS
SOMETHING THAT IT WAS OKAY
TO BE
INTELLECTUAL AND LOVE
HUMOR.
>>WE WERE OFF IN
THE
UNIVERSITY.
OUR AUDIENCES WERE DOCTORS AND
LAWYERS AND MANY,
MANY
PSYCHO
ANALYSTS, ALL
OF WHOSE CHILDREN
WERE IN VERY BAD
SHAPE.
AND
PROFESSIONALS, GENERALLY
SPEAKING.
THE REFERENCE LE
VEL WAS VERY
DIFFERENT IN THOSE DAYS FROM
WHAT IT IS NOW.
WHEN MIKE AND ELAINE
WERE DOING
THEIR -- MIKE
NICHOLS
AND
ELAINE
WERE DOING THE
NIGHTCLUB ACT AND
BROADWAY ACT THEY WOULD ASK
FOR
AN AUTHOR,
ANY
AUTHOR
FROM ANY
TIME, ANY PLACE AND THEY
WOULD
IMPROVISE THE
SCENE IN ANY
PLACE.
>>WOULD YOU
GET STEPHEN
KING IF
YOU ARE LUCKY.
BUT WHAT
BERNIE
RESENTED, THAT
MATT WAS
TALKING
ABOUT WAS THAT
THE REFERENCE LEVEL WAS
TELEVISION AND
THE
REFERENCE
LEVEL WAS MOVIES,
BLOCKBUSTERS
MOSTLY.
AND HE WAS
CONVINCED
THAT THE
REFERENCE LEVEL OF THE
SHOWS
COULD STILL BE
AS
INTELLECTUALLY
ORIENTED OR
LITERARILY O
RIENTED
AS IT WAS AND THE AUDIENCE WOULD
KNOW WHAT WAS
HAPPENING.
AND ANY TIME IT IS AND MATT HAS
BEEN VERY HELPFUL
IN DOING THAT,
THEY GET IT.
THEY
DO.
>>
MARTHA, TALK
ABOUT HIS
INTEREST -- CONTINUING INTEREST
IN THEATER IN
GENERAL AND WHAT
HE MEANT IN THE
THEATER
COMMUNITY BEYOND THE COMEDY
WORLD.
>>FOR ONE THING, PHIL, HE HAD A
VERY SPECIFIC
IMPACT
ON
THEATER.
SHELDON IS THE ONE
WHO
INTRODUCED THE FOLKS ATHE ST
STEPPANWOLF TO BERNIE.
THEY
WERE
LEAVING AFTER BEING IN
HIGHLAND
PARK.
THEY HIRED PEOPLE
PART-TIME TO
DO BUSINESS
STUFF AND THOSE
GUYS
SAID, LOOK, THERE'S NO
MONEY, WE
HAVE TO CLEZ
AND
RUSS SMITH WHO
WAS THE FIRST
MANAGING DIRECTOR
JOHN
MALKOVICH'S
ROOMMATE IN
COLLEGE.
THEY SAID WE HAVE TO
MOVE TO
CHICAGO AND GET A NEW BOARD.
IT'S BERNIE WHO HE
CONNECTED
THEM
TO WHO WAS
HELPFUL IN
BUILDING A BOARD AND CONNECTING
THEM.
AND ALSO VERY GOOD FRIENDS WITH
RICHARD WHO WAS ALREADY COMING
BUT I THINK
WAS
ENCOURAGED.
>>A.
CLAIMED THEATER
CRITIC.
>>
YES,
THEY'RE THEY ARE
CRITIC.
WHAT RUSS SAID TO ME
IN REGARD
TO
BERNIE'S INFLUENCE HE HELPED
THEM
GAIN A CERTAIN
AMOUNT OF
LEG MATCY, THESE
PEOPLE
ARE
SERIOUS.
BERNIE
HAS ALWAYS TAKEN
THAT
INTEREST --
>>HE WAS THE FIRST PERSON
BRINGING
WAITING FOR
GOODEAU
TO
CHICAGO.
>>MATT WE MENTIONED AT THE
BEGINNING OF THE SEGMENT ALL THE
FAMOUS PEOPLE THAT
HE MENTORED.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IT
MEANT TO
HIM TO
BE BRING IN
GENERATION
AFTER GENERATION OF TALENTED
PEOPLE?
>>IT'S PART OF WHAT DRIVES
FOLKS LIKE BERNIE TO THE
BUSINESS IN THE FIRST
PLACE
IS
CULTIVATING AND CONNECTING TO
PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT THINGS AND
ARE PASSION ABOUT THE WORLD AND
HAVE OPINIONS AND
POINT OF
VIEWS.
HE WAS A VERY
OPINIONATED
PERSON
AND EVEN
IN MY
CONVERSATIONS
WITH HIM, IT WAS A
TWO-HOUR
ARGUMENT.
I HAD TO BE PREPARED AND HE
CHALLENGED MY
POINT
OF
VIEW.
HE RESPONDED TO
THAT
AND
COMEDIANS TEND TO
BE THAT
KIND
OF PERSON.
>>HE
SAID AT
ITS BEST IT'S
NOT
A COMEDY OF COMMENT.
>>FIRST OF ALL WE DON'T
DO
JOKES.
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN
PART
OF
PRINCIPLE OF WHAT SECOND CITY IS
THAT IT'S NOT US
AGAINST THE
AUDIENCE IT'S THAT WE'RE
IN THIS
TOGETHER.
AND
BERNIE LIKED
SCENES, YOU
THIS USED TO BE CALLED PEOPLE
SCENES, NOW THEY ARE CALLED
BEHAVIOR SCENES THAT ARE
ABOUT
INTERPERSON
RELATIONSHIPS.
>>HOW ARE YOU GOING TO REMEMBER
BERNIE?
>>60 YEARS OF
ONE OF MY
BEST
FRIENDS,
MAN WHO
REALLY
IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT MY
CAREER
IS OVER AND OVER AND
OVER
AGAIN.
THE WAY I STARTED AT SECOND
CITY
I WAS A COLLEGE
ENGLISH TEACHER
BECAUSE I WAS BEING A GOOD
JEWISH BOY AND GETTING
OUT OF
SHOW
BUSINESS.
[ LAUGHTER ]
AND HE CALLED
ME ONE
NIGHT
AND
SAID, YOU STILL
AN ENGLISH
TEACHER?
AND I SAID, YEAH.
HE SAID ARE YOU GOING TO BE AN
ENGLISH
TEACHER THE REST
OF Y
OUR
LIFE?
I SAID WHAT DO YOU WANT
BERNIE?
I HE SAID I WANT YOU TO
TAKE
OVER AS
MANAGER AND
ASSISTANT
DIRECTOR FOR PAUL AND I
TOOK THE
JOB.
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING
HERE AND
AGAIN
OUR
CONDOLENCES.
>>THANK YOU.
HE WILL BE MISSED.
>>
INDEED.