BELCHERTOWN — When David Shepherd set out hitchhiking in the early 1950s, he had $10,000 of inheritance money in his pockets and Cleveland in mind as his intended destination. But the truck driver who picked him up was en route to Chicago and invited Shepherd along to the Windy City.
In improv theater, the answer is always “yes” — or even better, adding to the story with a “yes, and … ”
Keeping with the tools of his trade, Shepherd not only said yes to Chicago, but went onto leave a mark that would change the narrative of improv comedy in the city and beyond, eventually continuing his craft from his home in Belchertown, where he lived for about 20 years.
Shepherd, an actor, producer and improv pioneer, died Monday night at age 94 after a “multiple confluence of physical conditions,” said his widow, Nancy Fletcher, his third wife, whom he met in the late 1990s and married in 2014.
Shepherd had two children.
Shepherd, who has been called the “father of improv,” was a driving force behind a movement that launched the careers of generations of stars and led to the creation of the iconic Second City theater and school of improvisation.
His passion for improv arose largely from his wishes to connect theater with “the common man,” according to Fletcher.
Born into an upper-class, Vanderbilt-descended family, Shepherd was eager to break out of his social sphere, Fletcher said, having grown up “gagging on a silver spoon.” And for Shepherd, improv was the perfect opportunity to transcend this barrier, adding new life to what he saw as stilted performances.
Improv “gave life to scenes that he thought were really flat,” Fletcher said. “And he wanted to make theater relevant to average, real people.”
“He didn’t like anything fake,” she added. “He really wanted the authentic moment, and you can’t do good improv without authenticity… That’s where life happens, between two people who are being authentic with each other. And if that’s what it conveys to an audience, that’s what was endlessly satisfying to him.”
Daniel Wiener, a friend of Shepherd’s who also worked with him on several improv projects, described Shepherd as a “gentle and spirited and inventive person who loved what he did and was an improviser through and through.”
“He’s certainly well-remembered as someone who had made significant connections among a lot of actors and directors who valued his contributions of pioneering work in improv,” Wiener added, “as well as those who are performers and improvisers. His memory will live on for quite a while.”
In 1953, Shepherd formed the Playwrights Theatre Club repertory company with fellow actors Eugene Troobnick and Paul Sills before moving onto co-found, with Sills, the Compass Players, which has been credited with introducing improvisational theater to North America and helping to introduce big names such as Barbara Harris, Mike Nichols and Elaine May.
The Compass Players came to an end in 1958, but inspired the 1959 creation of Second City, which became a launching pad for generations of comedians, including Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, Steve Carell and John Candy.
Shepherd was invited to join Second City as a co-founder, Fletcher said, but the new establishment didn’t align with his creative goals.
“Second City’s orientation was more toward being a commercial success and going for the laugh,” Fletcher added, “and a different kind of entertainment… But his heart wasn’t in that expression of his ideas. And he was always driven to experiment, do more and be different.”
Shepherd was tireless in pursuing improv advances, Fletcher said, describing her husband as “a font of ideas.”
“They gushed forward almost at a pace that he was unable to handle,” she said. “He worked from 5 in the morning to 2 in the morning, day after day after day.”
“Some of the ideas are still just paper that still can see the light of day, that still can be rendered by someone,” Fletcher added. “He had too many ideas. More ideas than he could manifest or produce. His gift to the world was his ideas.”
Even as his health failed, Shepherd continued to do improv “right up until the time he died,” Fletcher said. “Almost the day of.”
“I’d come into the room … and then we’d go riff on a little thing,” she continued.
Wiener also noted Shepherd’s continuing enthusiasm for life as illness took its toll.
“Those people who were fortunate enough to know David were invariably impressed, not just by the attributes I’ve mentioned, but by his general optimism and energy about life,” Wiener said. “And he maintained that even to the end of his life. So I think the best tribute is the continuation of his work and the connections he helped form between people in his life.”
In addition to establishing his own improv techniques, Shepherd wanted to inspire others to create.
In the Pioneer Valley, Fletcher and Shepherd followed this concept with Fletcher’s creation of the ACT NOW program in Northampton, which was designed with the goal of using some of Shepherd’s improv techniques to build self-esteem among girls aged 11-14.
“He was always bent on getting people to experience that they were capable of being creative,” Fletcher said. “That’s what motivated him. And he was always encouraging people to write down their own stories.”
“His invitation to the world is — create,” she added. “Play and create and connect with people.”
Jacquelyn Voghel can be reached at jvoghel@gazettenet.com.