Howard Alk
Encyclopedia
Career
Alk enrolled in the University of Chicago at the age of 14. He was a member of the Compass PlayersCompass Players
The Compass Players was a 1950s cabaret revue show started by alumni, dropouts and hangers-on from the University of Chicago. The troupe was active from 1955-1958 in Chicago and St. Louis...
cabaret troupe and one of the founders (along with fellow U of C graduates Bernard Sahlins
Bernard Sahlins
Bernard "Bernie" Sahlins is an American writer, director and comedian best known as a founder of The Second City improvisational comedy troupe with Paul Sills and Howard Alk in 1959. Sahlins also opened the Second City Theatre in Toronto in 1973....
and Paul Sills
Paul Sills
Paul Sills was a director and improvisation teacher, and the original director of Chicago's The Second City.-Biography:...
) of The Second City
The Second City
The Second City is a improvisational comedy enterprise which originated in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood.The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959 and has since expanded its presence to several other cities, including Toronto and Los Angeles...
. Alk had previously worked with Sills at the Gate of Horn
Gate of Horn
For writings, including the Greek myth involving a "Gate of horn", see Gates of horn and ivory.The Gate of Horn was a 100-seatfolk music club, located in the basement of the Rice Hotel on the southeast corner of Chicago Avenue and Dearborn Street, on the near north side of Chicago, Illinois, in the...
. According to Sahlins, Alk coined the group's name. He left the group in the early 1960s.
Alk was a longtime friend and collaborator of Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, whom he met in 1963. The two worked together on the films Eat the Document
Eat the Document
Eat the Document is a documentary of Bob Dylan's 1966 tour of the United Kingdom with the Hawks. It was shot under Dylan's direction by D. A. Pennebaker, whose groundbreaking documentary Dont Look Back [sic] chronicled Dylan's 1965 British tour...
, Hard Rain, and Renaldo and Clara
Renaldo and Clara
Renaldo and Clara is a surrealist movie, directed by and starring Bob Dylan. Filmed in 1975, during Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour, it was released in 1978...
.
He also worked on American Revolution 2
American Revolution 2
American Revolution 2 is a 1969 documentary on the 1968 Democratic National Convention and its aftermath. Part of the film focuses on the creation of an alliance between the Young Patriots Organization and local Black Panthers. On its release Roger Ebert gave the film four stars, while New York...
(1969), The Murder of Fred Hampton
The Murder of Fred Hampton
The Murder of Fred Hampton is a 1971 documentary film which began with the intention of portraying Fred Hampton, and the Illinois Black Panther Party. During the production of the film, Hampton was killed by the Chicago Police Department....
(1971), and Janis
Janis (film)
Janis is a 1974 documentary film about the rock singer Janis Joplin. The film was directed by Howard Alk with a lot of assistance from Albert Grossman, Janis' manager. It was available on videocassette in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, but DVD versions have been released only in France,...
, among other films.
Death
Alk was a heroin addict.In January 1982, Alk was found dead at Rundown Studios, Dylan's studio in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
. Although the coroner ruled his death to be due to an accidental heroin overdose, various sources report his death to be a suicide. Alk's wife, Jones, believed he intentionally killed himself.
Films
- Cry of JazzCry of JazzCry of Jazz is a film by Ed Bland documenting Chicago's black neighborhoods. It includes interviews with artists and intellectuals and performances by Sun Ra and John Gilmore. In 2010, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress...
(1959) -- editor - And This is Free (1964) -- editor
- Dont Look BackDont Look BackDont Look Back is a 1967 documentary film by D.A. Pennebaker that covers Bob Dylan's 1965 concert tour in the United Kingdom.In 1998, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically...
(1967) -- assistant director - FestivalFestival (1967 film)Festival! is a 1967 American documentary film about the Newport Folk Festival, directed by Murray Lerner.Filmed over the course of three festivals at Newport , the film features performances by Johnny Cash, Joan Baez & Peter Yarrow, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul and Mary, Odetta, Bob Dylan,...
-- editor - You Are What You EatYou Are What You Eat (film)You Are What You Eat is a 1968 American counter culture semi-documentary movie that attempts to capture the essence of the 1960s flower power hippie era and the Haight & Ashbury scene...
(1968) -- editor - American Revolution 2American Revolution 2American Revolution 2 is a 1969 documentary on the 1968 Democratic National Convention and its aftermath. Part of the film focuses on the creation of an alliance between the Young Patriots Organization and local Black Panthers. On its release Roger Ebert gave the film four stars, while New York...
(1969) -- director - The Murder of Fred HamptonThe Murder of Fred HamptonThe Murder of Fred Hampton is a 1971 documentary film which began with the intention of portraying Fred Hampton, and the Illinois Black Panther Party. During the production of the film, Hampton was killed by the Chicago Police Department....
(1971) -- director - Eat the DocumentEat the DocumentEat the Document is a documentary of Bob Dylan's 1966 tour of the United Kingdom with the Hawks. It was shot under Dylan's direction by D. A. Pennebaker, whose groundbreaking documentary Dont Look Back [sic] chronicled Dylan's 1965 British tour...
(1972) -- cinematographer, editor - JanisJanis (film)Janis is a 1974 documentary film about the rock singer Janis Joplin. The film was directed by Howard Alk with a lot of assistance from Albert Grossman, Janis' manager. It was available on videocassette in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s, but DVD versions have been released only in France,...
(1974) -- director - Hard Rain (1976) -- cinematographer, editor
- Renaldo and ClaraRenaldo and ClaraRenaldo and Clara is a surrealist movie, directed by and starring Bob Dylan. Filmed in 1975, during Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour, it was released in 1978...
(1978) -- cinematographer, editor