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.
With the Oscars set to air this Sunday, this week’s clip is a special tribute to one of this year’s dramatic Best Actor nominees who got his start on the Second City stage: Steve Carell. While it’s only about two minutes long, this clip from Carell’s late ‘80s level 5 conservatory graduation show is a silly improvised rhyming game Carell kicks off as a frustrated lumberjack…who eats dogs? Little did that audience know that almost 30 years later, that frustrated lumberjack would become an Oscar-nominated actor.