The Second City

The Second City is an improvisation nightclub at 1616 N. Wells Street in Chicago, Illinois, which opened in 1959.^[1] Del Close was one of its major influences as a legendary actor and director. The Second City has spawned more TV and movie comedy stars and dramatic actors than any other international institution, including Jim Belushi, John Belushi, Danny Breen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jonathan Pitts, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, and Gilda Radner.

A Toronto branch opened in 1974.^[1] Actors whose early careers were associated with the Toronto branch include John Candy, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, Joe Flaherty, Dave Thomas, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis and Martin Short. Toronto actors started the influential television series SCTV in 1976.^[2]

According to Daniel Hautzinger Chicagoans, could defy the second city put down as when "a group of young Chicago artists took the dismissive name as their own when they founded The Second City improv theater."^[3]

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Marty Younge (2019-12-09). "What it takes to be first at The Second City". CBC News. Retrieved 2026-01-14. The original Second City was opened in Chicago in 1959 as a place to study and perform Paul Sills' method of improvisational acting that had been developed by his mother and the mother of all improv, Viola Spolin.
↑ Troy Brownfield (2021-05-11). "The Strange Story of SCTV in the USA". The Saturday Evening Post. Archived from the original on 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2026-01-14. While SCTV had a bit of a strange run, it became influential for producing its own stable of comedy writers and stars. Most of the series is available on DVD. Perhaps the ultimate affirmation of the show’s influence is An Afternoon with SCTV, an in-progress Netflix documentary and reunion special that was directed by Martin Scorsese. So while the show’s actual broadcast life was short in the States, its effects have reverberated through comedy in all the decades since.
↑ "Revisiting the Biting Articles That Branded Chicago the "Second City"". WTTW Chicago. 2022-12-15. Archived from the original on 2025-03-16. Retrieved 2026-01-14.

[Cbc2019-12-09-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Marty Younge (2019-12-09). "What it takes to be first at The Second City". CBC News. Retrieved 2026-01-14. The original Second City was opened in Chicago in 1959 as a place to study and perform Paul Sills' method of improvisational acting that had been developed by his mother and the mother of all improv, Viola Spolin.

[saturdayeveningpost2021-05-11-2] Troy Brownfield (2021-05-11). "The Strange Story of SCTV in the USA". The Saturday Evening Post. Archived from the original on 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2026-01-14. While SCTV had a bit of a strange run, it became influential for producing its own stable of comedy writers and stars. Most of the series is available on DVD. Perhaps the ultimate affirmation of the show’s influence is An Afternoon with SCTV, an in-progress Netflix documentary and reunion special that was directed by Martin Scorsese. So while the show’s actual broadcast life was short in the States, its effects have reverberated through comedy in all the decades since.

[Wttw2022-12-15-3] "Revisiting the Biting Articles That Branded Chicago the "Second City"". WTTW Chicago. 2022-12-15. Archived from the original on 2025-03-16. Retrieved 2026-01-14.

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