Del Close Marathon Countdown, Special Edition: Riggle out

Bad news, marathoners: Rob Riggle has confirmed that he is pulling out of this year’s Del Close Marathon.

From Twitter:

@RobRiggle I will not be @ the Del Close Marathon this year, so bummed out! Only missed two before; both because of war. Now, filming a movie. ROWYCO!

"May I be excused from Marathon? I have a note from my agent." Riggle performs in Satellites at DCM 2008. Photo by Sharilyn Johnson

I can’t say I’m surprised – Riggle was tweeting heavily about his travel plans this month, without any mention of DCM until now – but I am deeply disappointed. Mantziggle was at the top of my list of shows to see (2-man improv with Jason Mantzoukas), as was Delta Force 2 (2-man with Rob Huebel) and Satellites. Perhaps the biggest loss is to the annual Respecto Montalban reunion.

Back in the spring, Riggle booked standup dates at Cobb’s in San Francisco — which disappeared from his calendar right after Marathon dates were confirmed for that same weekend. I assume that wasn’t a coincidence, and that Marathon remains a priority for him. You certainly can’t blame the guy for choosing a film career over a few improv shows.

No word yet on who will replace him in Delta Force or Mantziggle, but keep an eye on the schedule, as it should be updated soon.

BTW, that reference in Riggle’s tweet to “war” is because of his time serving in the Middle East while an active Marine. During all of his absences from Respecto, his teammates would hang his UMSC t-shirt on the back wall so he’d still have a presence. This year, one assumes they’ll nail a large sack of money to the wall.

Another absentee this year is Reuben Williams member Lennon Parham, who is also missing for positive reasons: her role in the new fall show Accidentally On Purpose, filming right now in LA. I spoke with her recently and she’s understandably pretty sad about missing DCM, so watch the show this fall so that her sacrifice isn’t in vain!

Tags: improv, Rob Riggle, UCB

About the Author

Sharilyn Johnson is the author of the book Bears & Balls: The Colbert Report A-Z. Called "one of the city’s most discriminating comedy critics” by NOW Magazine, Sharilyn has been covering comedy for longer than she cares to admit. She served as the comedy reporter for Winnipeg's Uptown Magazine for five years, and was the host of the radio show Laugh Tracks for three seasons. Her work has also appeared in the Toronto Star, the Winnipeg Free Press, The Apiary, and on CBC Radio's national comedy programs LOL and Definitely Not the Opera.