I’ve got a trailer here for you to watch for an interesting documentary titled For Madmen Only, which will tell the story of improvisation master Del Close. This is the man who trained some of the best comedians of our generation including Stephen Colbert, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Bill Murray, John Belushi, Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell, Sarah Silverman, Bob Odenkirk, and more.
The doc chronicles the life of Close and it uses the DC comic book Wasteland to help tell his story. You see, that comic is a horror anthology series that was inspired by certain aspects of Close’s life. The synopsis reads:
Comedy guru Del Close, mentor to everyone from Bill Murray to Tina Fey, sets out to write his autobiography for D.C. Comics. As he leads us through sewers, mental wards, and his peculiar talent for making everyone famous but himself, Close emerges as a personification of the creative impulse itself. He’s a muse with BO and dirty needles, offering transcendence despite (or because of) the trail of wreckage behind him.
Several of the people who worked with Close were interviewed for the doc and they end up revealing aspects of his wild, crazy, and sometimes dark life. This was quite a complex man, but this doc attempts to give us our best look at who he was.
For Madmen Only is available now to buy digitally or rent on VOD.
