Welcome to The Second City Archives, in which we post an exclusive clip each week of some of comedy’s biggest superstars performing early in their careers on the legendary Chicago stage. Second City has generously given us a glimpse into their extensive archive of live performances, and over the coming weeks we’ll be sharing some rare and retro comedy never before seen on the web.
Since the 2001 Christopher Walken-hosted episode of SNL, “Centaur Job Interview” starring Chris Parnell has long been regarded as comedy’s greatest centaur sketch ever, but did you know that nearly 40 years earlier Fred Willard performed at Second City in a short but sweet scene with Joan Bassey as the last centaurs on the planet? According to our friends at Second City, Willard doesn’t even remember this clip from around 1965 and says it wasn’t his scene – it was most likely taped for local television before he officially joined the group the following year. This clip pairs well with Alan Arkin’s performance as Noah just a few years prior, which you can check out here.