Second City Quotes:

There's such a freewheeling nature to 'Second City,' and the greatest thing about 'Second City' was having a sophisticated audience night after night who appreciated what it was. They knew it wasn't all going to be great when you improvised, so they were very forgiving that way.

- Steve Carell

topic: Night, Cities, Forgiving, Second City

I learned more at The Second City than I did at Yale for all that high tuition.

- Robert Klein

topic: Yale, Cities, Tuition, Second City

I act the way I talk. It probably comes from starting out in Second City, improvisational theater. I can go from take to take. I'll ask for another take.

- Samuel L. Jackson

source: Source: www.hollywood.com

topic: Cities, Starting Out, Way, Second City

The first time I went to see a Second City show, I was in awe of everything. I just wanted to touch the same stage that Gilda Radner had walked on. It was sacred ground.

- Tina Fey

source: Interview by Eric Spitznagel, www.believermag.com. November 2003.

topic: Cities, Sacred, Firsts, Second City

There are a lot of actors that are more talented than me at Second City who quit it before they even got to a paying status. Weird luck. I had no other option.

- Bill Murray

source: "Bill Murray talks Second City, fame in uncovered 1988 interview" by Tracy Swartz, www.chicagotribune.com. October 29, 2015.

topic: Cities, Luck, Actors, Second City

The alumni of Second City from John Belushi to Martin Short have changed my entire life and brought a new kind of comedy to America and the World.

- Bernie Brillstein

topic: Cities, America, World, Alumni, Second City

When I was in college my improvisation troupe and I did a road trip to Chicago, and went to The Second City to see the classic 'Paradigm Lost' revue - with Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Scott Adsit and Kevin Dorff. It blew my mind, and proved to me you can do sketch comedy like you're doing 'Long Day's Journey into Night.' We could treat it like theater.

- Mike Birbiglia

source: Source: www.hollywoodchicago.com

topic: Night, Journey, College, Troupe, Second City

I always honestly dreamed of coming to Second City in Chicago, although I've never even been there to see a show. But I did a ton of sketch comedy at the Second City in LA, which (at the time, in a different location) wasn't really a theater, it was just a space where you took some classes.

- Simon Helberg

source: Source: www.chicagotribune.com

topic: Space, Class, Cities, Second City, Sketch Comedy

I met a bunch of people and they said, "We're gonna do a show [Second City]." So we would buy the theater out and do a show, and we did that for five years and we ended up becoming popular. It was before sketch comedy was hipster-time - when you would hand out a flier, people would roll their eyes. Now it's kind of cool.

- Simon Helberg

source: Source: www.chicagotribune.com

topic: Hipster, Eye, Cities, Second City, Sketch Comedy

I never thought of myself as a comedic actor. I didn't go to Second City, that's not my background, I'm not a comic, I studied theater and my career when I started was a lot of dramatic stuff.

- Paul Rudd

source: Source: www.rogerebert.com

topic: Cities, Careers, Actors, Second City

Sin in the Second City is a masterful history lesson, a harrowing biography, and - best of all - a superfun read. The Everleigh story closely follows the turns of American history like a little sister. I can't recommend this book loudly enough.

- Darin Strauss

topic: Book, Cities, Little Sister, Second City

To romp along the connected rooftops and fire escapes of Chicagos second city of garages was my young lifes passion.

- Lynn Margulis

topic: Passion, Fire, Cities, Fire Escapes, Second City

I had spent years working in radio at different stations in Toronto; I wasn't in the stage company of Second City.

- Rick Moranis

topic: Cities, Years, Different, Second City

I grew up on Don Knotts and Jerry Lewis and all the guys from Second City.

- Harland Williams

source: Interview with Shawn Conner, www.vancouversun.com. December 4, 2013.

topic: Cities, Guy, Grew Up, Second City

In a one-woman show, there must be compelling material that you adore. In both of these there are conversations with you and another character. My Second City (improvisation) background comes in very handy for accent and body posture.

- Valerie Harper

topic: Character, Cities, Body, Second City

I joined an improv group in college, which was a lot of fun. After I graduated, I moved to Chicago to try to get into the Second City.

- Steve Carell

topic: Second City

First, I wanted to be Chris Farley. When I was growing up, Chris Farley was still on the stages and fun to us. In my house, John Belushi was king. I didn't grow up when he was - I was born in '78 - the reruns of Belushi in 'Animal House,' and knowing he was at Second City, he was viewed as a king in my house.

- Jake M. Johnson

source: "New Girl's Jake Johnson". Interview with Marah Eakin, www.avclub.com. May 8, 2012.

topic: Kings, Growing Up, Fun, Reruns, Second City

I'm a huge fan of John Hughes and can say that 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' is easily a top 3 favorite. I'm also a huge fan of all the Second City talent, and I think my Dad and Bill Murray are long lost twins.

- Ryan McPartlin

source: "Biography / Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

topic: Dad, Thinking, Cities, Second City

I think a lot of studios today are run by women, and we are entering a time when a lot of women have evolved in Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade and wanted to become writers and comedians.

- Judd Apatow

topic: Running, Thinking, Cities, Second City

This is not to say there are not Chicagoans. But I would suggest that they are a nomadic people, whose lost home exists only in their minds, and in the glowing crystal memory cells they all carry in the palms of their hands: a great idea of a second city, lit with life and love, reasonable drink prices at cool bars, and, of course, blocks and blocks of bright and devastating fire.

- John Hodgman

topic: Memories, Life And Love, Block, Nomadic, Second City

I had, like, two goals in my career: One was to try to get into 'Second City.' When I moved to Chicago, my goal was to try to work at 'Second City.' And beyond that, my goal was to make enough money as an actor to not do anything else but act, not have to go and wait tables again.

- Steve Carell

topic: Two, Cities, Careers, Second City

After college, I knew I wanted to work in comedy, so the first thing I did was go to where the comedy was. I moved from Charlottesville to Chicago, because that's where The Second City and Improv Olympics are. You have to go wherever you need to go to study what interests you.

- Tina Fey

source: "Funny girl". www.seventeen.com. January 24, 2008.

topic: College, Cities, Firsts, Second City

Tina Fey is part of a generation of women who have changed the face of comedy at 'Second City,' 'SNL,' in sitcoms and in film.

- Janeane Garofalo

topic: Cities, Faces, Fey, Second City

I grew up in Chicago and was a huge fan of 'The Second City', so when I moved to L.A., I was looking for anything that resembled that... then I started 'The Groundlings', so I went to a show and it was very much like 'Second City'. I was so impressed that that same night I went backstage and I went up to the funniest person there.

- Kathy Griffin

topic: Night, Cities, Chicago, Second City

I went to Second City, where you learned to make the other actor look good so you looked good and National Lampoon, where you had to create everything out of nothing, and SNL, where you couldn't make any mistakes, and you learned what collaboration was.

- Bill Murray

topic: Mistake, Cities, Looks, National Lampoon, Second City

Europe becomes more and more a province of Islam, a colony of Islam. And Italy is an outpost of that province, a stronghold of that colony... In each of our cities lies a second city: a Muslim city, a city run by the Quran. A stage in the Islamic expansionism.

- Oriana Fallaci

source: "La forza della ragione (The Force of Reason)". Book by Oriana Fallaci (p. 34), 2004.

topic: Running, Lying, Islamic, Strongholds, Second City

I always enjoyed writing. I did playlets in high school, I did radio shows in college. That's one of the reasons I went down to Second City, because you could do acting and writing.

- Dan Castellaneta

source: "Biography/Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

topic: School, Writing, College, Second City

Well, actually, the Second City thing came about because I was taking a few improv classes there. I thought that the improv classes would help with my wrestling career, which it has.

- Trish Stratus

topic: Wrestling, Class, Cities, Second City

I had not met Tina Fey before I auditioned for 30 Rock. Some people think were old friends from Second City days. I had always been a fan of Tinas. But I actually never planned on being in a sitcom.

- Judah Friedlander

source: "'30 Rock's' Judah Friedlander: 5 Things You Didn't Know About Me" by Jethro Nededog, www.hollywoodreporter.com. January 12, 2012.

topic: Thinking, Rocks, Cities, Second City