John “Wimpy” Ward, one of Improv Everywhere’s most senior agents, passed away today. John was an incredibly kind, warm, and hilarious man, and we are all lucky to have known and worked with him. I first ran across John when he started taking classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in 2003. I approached him one night and asked if he would be interested in playing a prank at a Barnes & Noble where he gave an unauthorized reading as long dead playwright Anton Chekhov. Although he had never met me and had never heard of Improv Everywhere, he instantly said, “Sure. That sounds like fun.” John was the kind of guy who said yes to life and jumped head first into new things.
Over the past six years, he has participated in nearly every Improv Everywhere mission. He danced in a window for Look Up More, stood still for Frozen Grand Central, pretended to be a Best Buy employee, and played Santa Claus in the very first Mp3 Experiment, to name just a few. In 2006, he figured out a way to sneak Improv Everywhere onto daytime television by using his position as a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? as an opportunity to play a prank.
John was adored by many Improv Everywhere fans, who were quick to celebrate his appearances in our videos in YouTube comments. He was a vital member of our group and the New York comedy community at large, and he will be missed greatly. Below are some videos and photos of some of John’s more memorable moments with IE.
Improv Everywhere is about to pass 100 million total views on YouTube! We joined the site in April of 2006, about five months after YouTube started. While it feels like we’ve *always* been on YouTube, Improv Everywhere existed for four and half years before we had a YouTube channel (and for about four years since.) Without YouTube, we’d still be documenting our missions with just text and tiny photos. YouTube has enabled Improv Everywhere to reach an international audience without needing a green-light from anyone but ourselves. So, hooray for YouTube!
We’re also on the cusp of reaching 300,000 subscribers on YouTube. To celebrate, we’d like to give away something special to the 300,000th subscriber. The first person who posts a link in the comments below to a screen shoot of Improv Everywhere’s channel after we’ve passed the 300k mark will win the last remaining Improv Everywhere Best Buy Blue Polo shirt. Yup, the shirt that is so illegal to sell we got a cease and desist letter about it! Only 24 of them were ever made. 12 were sold and 11 were given out as gifts to senior agents. One adult size small remains!
Be the first to post a screen shot of our YouTube channel displaying over 300k subscribers and the shirt is yours.
And if you’re not a subscriber to our channel, speed this contest up and subscribe now!
UPDATE: We passed 300k and have a winner. See comments below. Thanks to everyone who tried to win! And thanks to everyone who subscribes to Improv Everywhere on YouTube!!!
Improv Everywhere causes scenes of chaos and joy in public places. Created in August of 2001 by Charlie Todd, Improv Everywhere has executed over 100 missions involving tens of thousands of undercover agents. The group is based in New York City.
