Product Description
"The entire recent tradition of American theatrical satire can be summed up in three words: The Second City."--New York Times

Many of comedy's biggest stars cut their teeth at The Second City. Learn allof the backstage details--the laughs, loves, struggles, successes, fights and failures that have made Second City such a fertile ground for comedy over the years. And hear Second City's most outrageous and hilarious live performances on two audio CDs narrated by Robert Klein.

Hear:

--John Belushi try to bluff his way through an oral exam to avoid the draft--Mike Myers as a Canadian border guard who "closes" Canada--Bonnie Hunt singing "Up, Up And Away" as an annoying "on-hold" entertainer--John Candy playing Dan Aykroyd's rebellious, hockey-hating son

And read about:--Bill Murray demonstrating the proper way to deal with a heckler--Alan Arkin's pre-Second City days as a troubadour with The Tarriers--Where Gilda Radner first came up with "Emily Litella"--How Second City alum Martin Short "discovered" Mike Myers

Since 1959, The Second City has been producing cutting-edge satire and wickedly funny improvisation, while keeping countless individuals of questionable character off the streets for a couple of hours each night. It has also trained thousands of young performers in the art of improv-based theater.

The Second City recounts the early years of the comedy troupe's biggest stars, including John Belushi, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Mike Myers, Gilda Radner, Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, David Steinberg, Robert Klein, Chris Farley, Martin Short and John Candy, as well as some of today's hottest directors, like Harold Ramis (Analyze This), Mike Nichols (The Birdcage), Betty Thomas (Private Parts) and Bonnie Hunt (Return to Me).

Author Sheldon Patinkin, one of Second City’s founding fathers, tells the story of Second City like no else can--with rare photos, profiles and backstage stories you were never supposed to hear. The Second City is both funnier and more poignant than you could have imagined. The book includes two full-length audio CDs containing hilarious classic scenes like:--"Football Comes to the University of Chicago" (with Alan Arkin and Severn Darden)--"Brest Litovsk" (with John Belushi and Joe Flaherty)--"Motivational Speaker" (with Chris Farley, Tim Meadows and Bob Odenkirk)

Plus new, never-before-heard material that will leave your sides aching. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Self-Congatulatory Text/Superb CDs
Patinkin has scribed a look back at Second City that is full of self-love for all the club stood for and all the comedians who traipsed through the door.The book would have benefited from a more honest account that featured the failures as well as the successes.

The two compact discs are worth the price you'll pay for a copy on the used book club market, however.They are full of funny bits featuring many famous comedians, and will give your money's worth back in laughter.

I put up a bunch of reviews there
Sheldon's portion is great.It's an interesting background on a philosophy.The rest is the most masturbatorial text you'll ever read -- and it praises the tragically mediocre.I worked there over the course of the two managements.It's horrible now.Of course, nobody asked me or fellow cast members who could actually make me laugh.

Great for comedy fans
If you are already a fan of Second City -- or of comedy in general -- this is a very entertaining and informative book, containing many nuggets that elucidate the overwhelming impact Second City has had on comedy in the US.But if you know nothing about them, it is not the greatest introduction.It doesn't give a real sense of the improv process.It is accompanied by two CDs of performances.The CD of the early years has pretty bad sound, and some of the performances are dated.THe second CD is great.

Pioneers in Improvisionational Entertainment
It is important to understand what this package (ie book and two audio CDs) is not. It is not a definitive history of the group, nor does it provide detailed biographical information about the group's most prominent members, nor is it a probling analysis of the broader and deeper context in which the group was established and then evolved. Yes, the reader is "taken backstage at the world's greatest comedy theater" but the experience (albeit enjoyable) very much resembles what a family member or friend would probably encounter when literally allowed backstage. After having read the book, I understood more about the group's development and the interaction (onstage) between and among the principals.

Perhaps you have seen the Olivier film based on Henry V in which, during the first 12-15 minutes, the viewer is transported back to the Elizabethan Age, to the London theatre world, and to the stage on which Shakespeare's play was performed. Brief scenes backstage are included. When reading this book, I had the same sense of being allowed limited access. Only when the two audio CDs are heard are the unique talents of the various performers brought to life. I view the book as being supplementary to the CDs. Together, they provide exceptional entertainment to those who enjoy comedic improvisation.

So-So Book, Great CD set!
There are far better books on the history of The Second City for those who want to know the personalities of those who created it from an objective and historical perspective.

I've never been to a Second City show and that strikes me the same way as when I think that, I could have bought IBM or Microsoft on the ground floor and been there at the very beginning.Granted, I wouldn't be a millionaire today if I had seen Robert Klein or George Wendt or Bill Murray or Mike Meyers working their gifts on stage in their prime, but it would be a great feeling to know I got to see them before they become television and comedy legends.Its something to tell the grandkids about, being able to say, "I saw Belushi on stage with Radner long before Saturday Night Live."This book sgives the reader, if nothing else, a sense of intimacy and connection to the stage and the personalities of SC.

This is a yearbook for Second City, much the same as the Saturday Night Live 20th Anniversary book was years back.It doesn't talk about the show in depth or with any significantly abrasive conflict, but as art and as an institution to be measured on the surface and by its product of great stage and screen talent.

It is a great coffee table book that covers a long history and a lot of personalities with really, really big pictures and bright colors to make it pretty.It does have a great set of CDs with original SC performances ranging from the days of Klein and Rivers to David Sedaris and others of the new generation.It is worth maybe $30 of the price of the book, which balances out the remainder of the cost for the big pictures and pretty pages. ... Read more

Product Description
CONTENTS: ~ ~~ ~ SERIAL: Time Killer (Part 2 of 4) [Robert Sheckley]; NOVELETTES: Birds of a Feather [Robert Silverberg]; The Civilization Game [Clifford D. Simak]; SHORT STORIES: No Substitutions ]Jim Harmon]; People Soup [Alan Arkin]; ARTICLES: The First Spaceship [Willy Ley]; The Tin Age [H. L. Gold] ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR), published by The Register Guard on January 13, 2006. The length of the article is 871 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Eugene filmmakers proudly unfurl a brand new Flagg.(Reviews)(Alan Arkin resurrects a favorite role for a movie shot entirely in Oregon)(Movie Review)
Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) (Newspaper)
Date: January 13, 2006
Publisher: The Register Guard
Page: E16

Article Type: Movie Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Yossarian had a problem. He was sick of flying combat missions, of continually being shot at and nearly being killed. In fact the War was driving him crazy and he was determined to get out of it somehow. Being crazy was not a bad thing, Yossarian reasoned, for there was a rule stating anyone who was crazy would be grounded. But then he discovered the catch - Catch 22. Catch 22 said that if Yossarian were crazy, he wouldn't have to fly any more missions, but since he was sane enough to know he'd be crazy to keeping on flying, then he wasn't crazy and would have to continue. It was some catch, that Catch 22. Joseph Heller's deeply serious, yet brilliantly funny story is one of the great novels of the century. ... Read more

Product Description
Comedy / The author and his son starred Off Broadway as men waiting for equipment to do an unspecified job. The one in charge insists on doing a dry run inventory of the contents of the expected crates. The purely hypothetical assumes a wacky, sinister autonomy that transports them to a frozen wilderness. "A deeply funny, finely graded psychological portrait that becomes a tribute to the conjuring powers of theatre.... Imagine the testy, silly one upmanship of Abbott and Costello crossed with the menacing ambiguity of Harold Pinter.... ... Read more