Editing Del Close (section)

===Death and legacy===
Close died of [[emphysema]] on March 4, 1999, at the Illinois Masonic Hospital (now the Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center) in Chicago, five days before his 65th birthday.<ref name=obit>{{cite news |author= Bruce Weber |title=Del Close, 64, a Comedian With a Flair for Improvisation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/16/arts/del-close-64-a-comedian-with-a-flair-for-improvisation.html |url-access=subscription |quote=Del Close, an actor, improvisational comic and mentor to such comedians as John Belushi, John Candy and Bill Murray, died on March 4 at Illinois Masonic Hospital in Chicago. He was 64 and lived in Chicago. ... The cause was emphysema ... |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 16, 1999 |access-date=2014-09-02}}</ref> He bequeathed his skull to Chicago's [[Goodman Theatre]] to be used in its productions of ''[[Hamlet]]'', and specified that he be duly credited in the program as portraying [[Yorick]]. Charna Halpern, Close's long-time professional partner and the executor of his will, conveyed a skull that she claimed was his, in a high-profile televised ceremony on July 1, 1999.<ref>{{cite news|last=Osnos|first=Evan|author-link=Evan Osnos|title=Even After Death, Del Close Ahead Of Acting Crowd|work=Chicago Tribune|date=July 7, 1999|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/07/02/even-after-death-del-close-ahead-of-acting-crowd/|access-date=August 1, 2011}}</ref> 

A front-page article in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' in July 2006 questioned the authenticity of the skull, however, citing the presence of teeth (Close was [[edentulous]] — toothless — at the time of his death) as well as showing the presence of autopsy marks (Close was never autopsied) among other problems.<ref>Elder, RK (July 21, 2006). No bones about it: Comic got last laugh. [https://www.chicagotribune.com/2006/07/21/no-bones-about-it-comic-got-last-laugh/ Chicago ''Tribune'' archive]. Retrieved March 7, 2013</ref> Halpern stood by her story at the time but admitted three months later, in a ''[[The New Yorker]]'' interview, that she had purchased the skull from a local medical supply company.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Friend|first=Tad|title=Skulduggery|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|date=October 9, 2006|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/10/09/skulduggery|access-date=September 28, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2006/10/05/not-even-close-skull-not-that-of-improv-legend/|title=Skull not that of Del Close|publisher=Articles.chicagotribune.com|date=October 5, 2006|access-date=August 13, 2011}}</ref>

[[Bill Murray]] organized an early 65th birthday party and wake, shortly before Del's anticipated death as he lay on his deathbed in a Chicago hospital, memorialized in a two-part video.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N2GHwPNiVU Del Close's Last Birthday Party (Part 1 of 2)]. Retrieved January 29, 2018.</ref>

After Close's death, his former students in the [[Upright Citizens Brigade]] founded the annual Del Close Marathon, three days of continuous improvisation by hundreds of performers at various venues in New York City.<ref>Malinski, G (June 25, 2015). "Ten improv shows at the Del Close Marathon that you should see." [http://www.villagevoice.com/arts/ten-improv-shows-at-the-del-close-marathon-you-should-see-7298558 VillageVoice.com]. Retrieved September 24, 2015.</ref>