Del Closes Skull

While Del Close had taught many improvisational giants in modern media such as Stephen Colbert, John Belushi, Tina Fey, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray and others, it was perhaps his final request that wound up being the cruelest joke. Close has wanted his skull donated to the Goodman Theatre in Chicago so he could play Yorrick in Hamlet. While his creative partner Charna Halpern tried to make it happen, no medical organization would allow his skull to be separated from his head due to funding and/or ethical concerns. So Goodman Theatre has a stand-in while Closes skull was cremated along with the rest of the body, according to Halpern.