Mal Sharpe, comedic pioneer and a very funny man, has left us. In 2007 the Art of the Prank blog published access to 20 of his early Imposter Podcasts, which are recordings of his street sketches (more like comedic ambushes) with his comedy partner Jim Coyle, who passed away in 1993. These recordings had been re-purposed and released by Jesse Thorn of the Maximum Fun site, where all 100 episodes reside:

In the early 1960s, James P. Coyle and Mal Sharpe roamed the streets of San Francisco, microphone in hand, roping strangers into bizarre schemes and surreal stunts. These original recordings are from the Sharpe family archive, which is tended by Mal’s daughter, Jennifer Sharpe.

We extend condolences to the family. Here’s his obit from The New York Times:

Mal Sharpe, Groundbreaker in Street-Level Pranking, Dies at 83
by Neil Genzlinger
The New York Times
March 19, 2020

Long before late-night talk show hosts began doing it, he conducted absurd interviews with gullible passersby with his comedic partner, Jim Coyle.

Two strangers approach a man named George on the streets of San Francisco.

“George,” one of them says, “would you yourself participate in a program of inter-protoplasm flow?”

George doesn’t hesitate. “If I needed it, I guess I would,” he says.

One of the strangers, earnestly impressing on George the seriousness of that commitment, elaborates: (more…)

From Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere:

As in years past, there are No Pants Subway Rides happening in dozens of cities around the world on January 12, the same day as our annual event in New York. Check our website for a list of participating cities with links to Facebook events.

Cities participating in the global No Pants Subway Ride so far: Berlin, Boston, Calgary, Chicago, Dallas, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Melbourne, Montreal, New York, Phoenix, Porto, San Francisco, Seattle, Tokyo, Toronto, Washington DC

This past November, Improv Everywhere turned a pair of phone booths on 6th Avenue into coworking spaces. Real New Yorkers were invited to try out the new “WeWork Street” service and learn about the many benefits of outdoor coworking.

Watch the video:

This unauthorized project was a collaboration with Deanna Director and Maggie McClurken, who we worked with on the Fake Apple Store project, as well as public space artist Jordan Seiler, who lent his phone booth expertise. This project was not a collaboration with WeWork, but we hope they like it and hope they will consider the idea for their ever-expanding empire.

Note from Editor Joey Skaggs: This brings back fond memories of my 1978 Disco Radio, a 4 foot by 2 foot by 8 foot wide radio on wheels, built by my New York SVA students for a class project. It was a commentary on the proliferation of loud disco radios blaring music throughout the streets of New York at that time. Students dressed in costumes, each with their own disco radio, wheeled the giant radio into Washington Square Park where they played music matching their costumed characters, all at the same time.

Charlie Todd’s wonderfully sweet Giant Boombox event, sponsored by Target, looks a lot less noisy!

Improv Everywhere’s Giant Boombox

We placed a 10-foot tall boombox on Pier 17 in Manhattan and waited for unsuspecting people to plug it in. Real New Yorkers worked together to carry the 160-foot long cord across the pier to an oversized outlet.

Once the boombox was plugged in, everyone was surprised by a massive holiday dance party with 100 acrobatic dancers, thousands of Christmas lights placed on two historic ships, and 10 hidden snow machines.

For more photos and a look behind the scenes at how this event came together, visit https://improveverywhere.com/2018/12/17/the-giant-boombox/.

Sponsored by Target

From Improv Everywhere: For our latest mission, we turned the 23rd Street 6-train elevator into New York's newest Apple Store. We placed giant Apple logos on the sides of the glass cube structure, added fake Apple Store employees plus a line of 50 people waiting for the new iPhone X. With the famous 5th Avenue Apple Store under construction, we felt NYC needed a new glass cube Apple Store.

Watch the video:

Mission report and more photos are here.

Directed by Charlie Todd
Produced by Deverge
Music by Tyler Walker

From Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere:

On Sunday, January 8th, 2017 tens of thousands of people took off their pants on subways in over 60 cities in over 25 countries around the world. In New York, our 16th Annual No Pants Subway Ride took place in windy 22F degree weather and was spread out over seven meeting points and eleven subway lines. Thanks to everyone who participated all around the globe! Enjoy the video!

From Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere:

Random Parade Leader Wanted

For our latest mission, a woman in a marching band uniform stands on the sidewalk with a sign that reads “Parade Leader Wanted.” When a stranger agrees to help out, a huge parade led by a marching band emerges from around the corner and follows him wherever he goes. The band plays “Jingle Bells” and is followed by a cast of characters that includes two yetis, Frosty the Snowman, and two guys holding giant flags that read “Random Parade.”

This mission was made possible by Caring Crowd, a crowd-funding platform where people come together to fund global health projects.

Enjoy the video first and then go behind the scenes with our mission report and photos.

From Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere:

Declare Your Love

For our latest mission, we constructed a custom wooden lectern with a megaphone holster and an attached sign that read, “Declare Your Love.” The lectern was placed at the corner of 6th Avenue and 42nd Street at the entrance to Bryant Park and then left alone. We wanted to see what would happen if New Yorkers were given the opportunity to amplify their voices and declare their love.

Enjoy the video first and then go behind the scenes with our mission report and photos.

More from Improv Everywhere:

Thousands of people listening to synchronized instructions participate in an audio adventure on Governors Island.

Watch the video:

Full story here. And check out the recent Surprise Press Conference here.

From Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere: A series of even more epic surprises emerge from what appears to be a normal porta potty.

Created and Directed by Charlie Todd / Produced by Deverge

For our latest mission, we staged a series of surprises at the porta potty area of the Governors Ball music festival in New York. When random concertgoers opened our “magical” porta potty, they were surprised by a variety of unexpected performers streaming out of the door. This mission is a sequel to last year”™s Magical Porta Potty.

Enjoy the video and then go behind the scenes with our mission report and photos.

We’ve posted the full details for the The 15th Annual No Pants Subway Ride, taking place on January 10, 2016 in New York and dozens of cities around the world. Participate!

â–ª Details for NYC
â–ª Details for other cities around the world

From Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere:

The Mp3 Experiment Twelve

Over 4,000 people came out to our annual Mp3 Experiment project in New York. This year’s took place at sunset in Prospect Park’s Long Meadow and featured reflective vests, glow sticks, LEDs, and a special video portion of the experiment with smart phone screens glowing with color.

Watch the video:

From Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere: Pedestrians in a busy New York city crosswalk suddenly begin ballroom dancing.

Ballroom Crosswalk

For our latest mission, pedestrians in a busy New York crosswalk begin ballroom dancing one by one as they “accidentally” bump into their partners. This project took place on the crosswalk in front of Penn Station on 7th Avenue, one of the busiest spots in the city. We staged the mission several times, with the performance repeating at each change of the light and always finishing before the “Don”™t Walk” countdown clock reached zero.

For this project we put out a call to our NYC mailing list looking for ballroom dancers. For the most part participants didn”™t know each other before this project, though some participated with their dance partners. We had one loose rehearsal just to walk through the logistics and make sure everyone was comfortable with the idea and their partners.

It was a great spot because there was always a healthy crowd of people coming to and from Penn Station. Each time we staged it, 95% of the people around us were seeing it for the first time. We noticed a few people who stuck around, hoping to see it again. The best reactions came from those in the crosswalk who got caught up in it as it started. Some folks were in a hurry, rushing to catch their train, but most everyone did a double take and smiled. I had a blast watching it from the sideline.

This project was a collaboration with YouTube”™s new Field Day channel. Check out our video on the Field Day channel that features parts of this mission as well as our Groundskeeper Acrobats and Unexpected Ballet missions.

Created and Directed by Charlie Todd / Produced by: Deverge. For more information and photos, visit here.

From Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere:

For our latest mission, professional ballet performers pose as break dancers in New York”™s Washington Square Park. The men hype up their tumbling routine to a gathered crowd before realizing they brought the “wrong music.” The crowd is surprised as they slowly realize the performer”™s hidden talents.

Watch the video:

This project was a collaboration with YouTube”™s new Field Day channel. For more info and photos, visit Improv Everywhere.

From Charlie Todd of Improv Everywhere:

No Pants Subway Ride 2015

On Sunday, January 11th, 2015 tens of thousands of people took off their pants on subways in over 60 cities in over 25 countries around the world. In New York, [the] 14th Annual No Pants Subway Ride had over 4,000 participants, spread out over seven meeting points and eleven subway lines.

Watch the video:

More photos and info here.