Bill Linden was a dispenser of gratis grins.
When he turned to look at you, a clown nose or a pirate’s eye patch might be on his face.
He had drawers full of silly glasses and hats and owned a white Elvis Presley jumpsuit and a red Sgt. Pepper uniform.
Mr. Linden worked for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1969 to 1996 doing graphic design and page layout.
“It was a creative world in the art department — people sketching and setting up photo shoots. It doesn’t exist anymore, but I liked to visit back then because compared to the pressure of the newsroom it was like a playground, or the circus, and Bill was like the ring leader,” said former Sun-Times reporter Dave Hoekstra.
“There were no boundaries in having fun with him.”
Mr. Linden’s after-work spot was the now-closed Riccardo’s, at Rush and Hubbard, a mecca for the city’s creative set. There, friends might catch him trying to beat his record of hanging spoons on his face — 13 was his best.
At the end of the night, he was known to sing a number from his favorite musical “42nd Street” and ask fellow patrons to tap their loose change on tables to imitate tap dancing. He then collected the coins and used them to tip his bartender.
Mr. Linden, known as “Captain Fun,” once wandered out of Riccardo’s, saw an unattended Sun-Times delivery truck with keys in the ignition and took it for a brief and unsanctioned joy ride.
Mr. Linden also wrote for his friend Jeff MacNelly’s “Shoe” comic strip, which featured a group of wry newsmen depicted as birds. The strip was syndicated by the Chicago Tribune and is currently published by a Hearst subsidiary.
“It was just a big love fest with him, a riot,” said MacNelly’s widow, Susie MacNelly, who produces the comic strip.
Mr. Linden occasionally wrote stories for the Sun-Times, too, including “The Fat Man’s Guide to Disco Dancing” — a 1978 piece that was complete with step-by-step photos and instructions.
Mr. Linden loved going on walks from his Grant Park condo, taking pictures of whatever caught his eye and offering to help tourists with their pictures so everyone could be in a photo.
For several months he implored pretty much anyone he crossed paths with to put on a Chiquita banana headdress he carried with him and pose for a picture. He compiled a photo album full of them.
When Medieval Times opened in Schaumburg in 1991, Mr. Linden and a group of colleagues went wearing robes and colanders on their heads.
He led a conga line at his wedding and renewed his vows every year with a different officiant, including his favorite bartender, a Big Lebowski impersonator dressed in boxers and a robe, a priest and a rabbi.
“He was fun and warm and engaging and silly. It’s why I fell in love with him,” said his wife, Karen Randolph.
Mr. Linden died Sept. 15 from natural causes. He was 79.
Mr. Linden felt it was important to arm his nieces and nephews with very specific skills, such as how to appreciate a Tim Burton movie and how to light a match from a matchbook.
“He felt their education would not be complete without these things,” his wife said.
Mr. Linden, who stopped drinking and smoking in his 50s, was also a prolific poster on Facebook. He invited his hundreds of friend to meet in real life once a year at The Bean in Millennium Park for a gathering he dubbed “Bean-A-Palooza.”
“Life is so short, and Bill just understood that, and every minute was just fun for that guy, and that’s important. You can’t take life so seriously,” Hoekstra said.
Mr. Linden was born Sept. 8, 1947, and raised in Humboldt Park. His father, William John Linden II, worked in automobile body repair and his mother, Josephine, was a homemaker.
He graduated from Lane Technical High School in 1965 and apprenticed at a downtown art studio for two years before the Army drafted him.
He ended up serving in Vietnam, where he ran a military rest and relaxation club. He aired movies and offered up other items like chess sets.
Mr. Linden returned home in 1969 and answered a help-wanted ad in the Chicago Sun-Times, which was looking for an artist.
A private celebration is being planned.
“He didn’t want a funeral service. He wanted to buy his friends a drink,” his wife said.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Linden is survived by his son, Willy Linden; his daughter, Brandi McKoy; and three grandchildren.
