Willie's Alter Ego...

Bill Irwin was born on April 11, 1950, in Santa Monica, CA. Bill is the oldest of three children born to Horace and Elizabeth Irwin. He spent a year in Belfast, Northern Ireland, as an exchange student, while on his way to graduating in theatre arts from Oberlin College, OH That's all I can find out from the World Wide Web, which is still surprisingly uninformative about the really important things of life. He graduated from Oberlin College, a small liberal arts college somewhere in Ohio, in 1973.

Bill graduated in 1971 with a degree in theatre arts from Oberlin College in Ohio, and has also graduated from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey's Clown College. He was one of the original members of KRAKEN, a theatre company directed by Herbert Blau that performed in the early '70s. (At this point, I'm not sure where KRAKEN called home.) His clowning art was finely honed in the mid-70s as an original member of San Francisco's Pickle Family Circus (in which he did solo and ensemble work with Larry Pisoni and Geoff Hoyle).

In 1983, Bill was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Choreographer's Fellowship, and in 1984 was named a Guggenheim Fellow and was awarded a five-year MacArthur Fellowship.

Broadway credits include his original work, “Largely New York”, which received five Tony award nominations and won Drama Desk, Outer Critic's Circle and New York Dance and Performance awards. He also performed in "Accidental Death of an Anarchist", "5-6-7-8", and his own original production, "Fool Moon".

His off-Broadway pieces include "Not Quite/New York", "The Courtroom", and "The Regard of Flight" (which was taped and broadcast nationally on Public Broadcasting System). Irwin's other stage performances include "Waiting for Godot", in which he co-starred with Steve Martin, Robin Williams and F. Murray Abraham. His credits also include an original adaptation of Beckett's "Texts for Nothing", Shakespeare's "The Tempest", "A Man's a Man", "The Seagull" and "Three Cuckolds". As an associate artist at the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City, Irwin directed and starred in an adaptation of Moliere's "Scapin", and directed "A Flea in Her Ear" for the company.

The following are a few interesting semi-biographical items culled from the most diverse (and unexpected) Web sources...

Bill Irwin comes to Fort Bragg By Mike Geniella | Fort Bragg Press Democrat, November 4, 2001 Broadway comedy star Bill Irwin will stage in Fort Bragg a special preview Tuesday of his newest play, as a benefit for the Mendocino Coast Clinics. Irwin, who along with partner David Skinner won Broadway's top Tony award in 1999 for the play "Full Moon," is staging the Cotton Auditorium benefit at the behest of his mother, Liz Irwin, a weekly newspaper columnist and longtime coast resident. Although Bill Irwin has never lived on the Mendocino Coast, he's no stranger to local audiences. When his mother was director of the local Senior Center, Irwin joined the cast of the Pickle Family Circus to stage benefits over a 11-year period. "My coast involvement has spanned nearly 30 years. I'm a keen observer from a distance, and thanks to my parents, I keep up with the ins and out of coast life," said Irwin during a telephone interview.

Irwin, the eldest son of Liz and Horace Irwin, is a past recipient of Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundation fellowships, and he has appeared in numerous Broadway productions. Most recently, Irwin starred in one-man performances this past summer in Samuel Beckett's "Texts for Nothing" at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. He landed in film last year, playing the father of Cindy Lou Who in "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Irwin said it's not easy to carry on as "America's Clown Prince" of comedy in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "I think we're all struggling to find how humor fits into the national mood after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon," said Irwin. Irwin said the events of Sept. 11 initially raised doubts about whether he should continue work on his new review, which is called "An Evening with Bill Irwin -- The Clown Lecture." It is being developed in workshop at the Lincoln Center in New York City. "I think I've pretty much decided that to continue working on the comedy review is not an exercise in denial, but an affirmation of the human spirit," said Irwin.

Irwin said he's aware such sentiment has been "much invoked recently. But I honestly believe there's a place for humor in our lives right now. We need it." During one recent preview in New York, Irwin said numerous family members of firefighters and police officers killed at the World Trade Center were in the audience. "Beforehand, it was nerve-wracking trying to figure out how they might react to our clowning. But they seemed to be greatly heartened, and so was I," said Irwin.

Proceeds from Irwin's coast benefit Tuesday night will go toward the construction of a new community health center in Fort Bragg. The new building on South Street will consolidate all clinic operations under one roof. "I'm happy to help out," said Irwin. "It's just one more chance for me to come home, see my folks and help a clinic that is so vital to coastal communities."

From "Hollywood.com"... (Summer, 2001)

Rubber-bodied actor/clown Bill Irwin works in film and TV but is primarily reknowned for his vaudeville inspired performance art in which he performs silent comedy in old-fashioned baggy attire. Irwin studied classical acting at Oberlin College and clowning at the famed Ringling Brothers' and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. He also drew inspiration from great silent comics including Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd.

Irwin made his feature debut as Ham Gravy, an old beau of Olive Oyl, in Robert Altman's "Popeye" (1980). In the early 1980s, he received numerous grants including the prestigious MacArthur fellowship, which supported him for five years as he expanded his various talents. This included co-writing, directing and starring in the Broadway show "The Regard of Flight" (1987), a comic showcase; writing, directing and starring in the off-off-Broadway drama "The Court Room"; and appearing alongside Robin Williams, Steve Martin and F. Murray Abraham in the Mike Nichols-directed 1988 revival of Beckett's "Waiting for Godot" as the almost silent Lucky.

Irwin's film and TV roles--mostly small but memorable turns--have not yet provided comparable showcases for his prodigious talents. His feature roles include Eddie Collins, a member of the Chicago "Black" Sox, in John Sayles's "Eight Men Out" (1988), Rick Moranis's FBI partner in "My Blue Heaven" (1990), a mime who taunts Woody Allen in "Scenes From a Mall" and Charlie Sheen's ill-fated father in "Hot Shots!" (both released in 1991). He received his widest exposure on the series "Northern Exposure" as the mostly silent Flying Man, a circus performer and would-be boyfriend of Marilyn Whirlwind. Irwin returned to the Broadway stage with fellow clown David Shiner in the uproarious silent comedy "Fool Moon" (1993 and 1995).

Books about Bill Irwin...

As might be expected (and is to be greatly lamented), there are few books in print that focus on Bill Irwin or that cover any substantial aspects of his career. Fortunately, Joel Schechter researched and wrote a marvellous study of Bill Irwin and a number of talented contemporaries who all worked in a common venue named the Pickle Family Circus. The portion devoted to Bill Irwin covers his mid-70s/early-80s tenure as "Willie the Clown", but the book as a whole is a wonderful read.

To learn more about this book, click "Pickles book ".

Contents produced by JSM | Ed: December 20, 2001