Bill Irwin
Encyclopedia
William Mills "Bill" Irwin (born April 11, 1950) is an American actor
and clown
noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He is known for his vaudeville
-style stage acts, but has made a number of appearances on film
and television
and won a Tony Award for a dramatic role on Broadway.
He is known by children as Mr. Noodle on Sesame Street's Elmo's World
.
, the son of Elizabeth (née
Mills), a teacher, and Horace G. Irwin, an aerospace
engineer. He graduated from Oberlin College
in 1973 with a degree in theater arts, and from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College
the following year. In 1975, he helped found the Pickle Family Circus
in San Francisco, California
. He left the company in 1979, and decided to pursue stage work.
. These works included The Regard of Flight (1982), Largely New York (1989), Fool Moon (1993), The Harlequin Studies (2003), and Mr. Fox: A Rumination (2004). Mr. Fox is a production that Irwin has worked on for years, a biography
of 19th century clown George Washington Lafayette Fox
that also has autobiographical elements.
Irwin adapted Molière
's play Les Fourberies de Scapin
as a comedy called Scapin, and has played the title role in several productions. His adaptation allowed him to interpolate his signature clowning routines into the course of the action.
In 1996, Irwin performed with The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps
at the 1996 Summer Olympics
, in a "band on the run" sequence where he played Dr. Hubert Peterson of the fictitious Federation of United Marching Associations of America.
Although Irwin is best known for his theatrical clown work, he has also been featured in a number of dramatic plays. Irwin appeared in 1988 on stage with Steve Martin
and Robin Williams
for a production of Waiting for Godot
in the role of Lucky
. Lucky's only lines consist of a famous 500-word-long monologue, an ironic element for Irwin since much of his clown-based stage work was silent. He appeared in 2002 with Sally Field
in the replacement cast of The Goat or Who is Sylvia?. In 2005, he starred alongside Kathleen Turner
as George in a revival of Edward Albee's
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
. He directed the 1998 Roundabout Theatre Company
production of A Flea in Her Ear
. In 2009 he played Vladimir (Didi) in a Broadway revival of Waiting for Godot, and Mr. McAfee in the Broadway revival of Bye Bye Birdie.
Irwin's first featured film role was in 1980, appearing as Ham Gravy in Robert Altman's Popeye
starring Robin Williams
. He has appeared in over 20 films, mainly in supporting roles. Irwin's principal film roles included My Blue Heaven, a 1990 comedy with Steve Martin
and Rick Moranis
, and Eight Men Out
, which tells the true story of the "Black Sox
" gambling scandal of 1919. Irwin tap-danced in a leading role in 1991's Stepping Out
with Liza Minnelli
and appeared as a mime in the Paul Mazursky
film Scenes from a Mall
alongside Woody Allen
and Bette Midler
. His authentic vaudevillian skills landed him a role in the Sam Shepard
film Silent Tongue
in 1994, and he appeared in film adaptations of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Laramie Project
and A Midsummer Night's Dream
. He played an ex-brain surgeon, house salesman in the Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete & Pete
. In 2006, Irwin played the solitary Mr. Leeds in M. Night Shyamalan
's Lady in the Water
and had a small role in 2007's Across the Universe
. He received critical acclaim for his role as Paul, father to Anne Hathaway
's character Kym, in the 2008 drama Rachel Getting Married
.
His most notable television roles have been Enrico Ballati, "The Flying Man", on the television series Northern Exposure
, Mr. Noodle
in the Elmo's World
segment of the PBS children's show Sesame Street
and the "Dick & Jane" serial killer Nate Haskell on CSI
. He has also appeared on The Cosby Show
, Saturday Night Live
, 3rd Rock From The Sun
, Law & Order
and Lights Out. Irwin was featured in the 1988 music video
of "Don't Worry, Be Happy
" by Bobby McFerrin
(along with McFerrin and Robin Williams
).
Choreographer's Fellowship in 1981 and 1983. In 1984 he was named a Guggenheim Fellow and was the first performance artist to be awarded a 5-year MacArthur Fellowship.
For Largely New York he won a New York Drama Critics Circle Special Citation in 1988, and an Outer Critics Circle Award
and Drama Desk Award
in 1989. This show also received five nominations for Tony Awards.
In 1992, he won an OBIE Award
for his performance in Texts for Nothing. Together with David Shiner
he won a special Tony Award for Live Theatrical Presentation
in 1999 for their show Fool Moon. In 1993, this show already had won a Drama Desk Award for "Unique Theatrical Experience" and an Outer Critics Circle "Special Achievement" Award.
In 2005, he won the Tony Award
for Best Actor in a Play for his appearance as George in the revival of Edward Albee
's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
.
2008 saw Irwin receive a CFCA Award nomination for "Best Supporting Actor" for his role in Rachel Getting Married
.
In 2010, The New Victory Theater presented Bill Irwin with the first ever New Victory Arts Award. He was honored for "bringing the arts to kids and kids to the arts." Nathan Lane
and Jonathan Demme
spoke at the ceremony.
Bill Irwin is also on the board of The New 42nd Street, Inc
.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and clown
Clown
Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...
noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He is known for his vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
-style stage acts, but has made a number of appearances on film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and won a Tony Award for a dramatic role on Broadway.
He is known by children as Mr. Noodle on Sesame Street's Elmo's World
Elmo's World
"Elmo's World" is a segment of the children's television show Sesame Street featuring Elmo, a small, three and a half year old, bright red monster. It debuted on November 16, 1998. Since then, it has been regularly shown during the last fifteen minutes of every Sesame Street episode...
.
Early life
Irwin was born in Santa Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, the son of Elizabeth (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Mills), a teacher, and Horace G. Irwin, an aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
engineer. He graduated from Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
in 1973 with a degree in theater arts, and from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College trained around 1,400 clowns in the "Ringling style" from 1968 to 1997.-History:...
the following year. In 1975, he helped found the Pickle Family Circus
Pickle Family Circus
The Pickle Family Circus was a small circus founded in 1974 in San Francisco, California, USA. The circus formed an important part of the renewal of the American circus. They also influenced the creation of Cirque du Soleil in Montreal...
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. He left the company in 1979, and decided to pursue stage work.
Career
Irwin created a run of highly regarded stage shows that incorporated elements of clowning, often in collaboration with composer Doug SkinnerDoug Skinner
-Music:Skinner has written music for many dance companies, including and . He has often written for the theater: in particular, he has had a long association with the actor/clown Bill Irwin; he wrote and performed the music for Irwin's Murdoch , The Regard of Flight , The Courtroom , The Clown...
. These works included The Regard of Flight (1982), Largely New York (1989), Fool Moon (1993), The Harlequin Studies (2003), and Mr. Fox: A Rumination (2004). Mr. Fox is a production that Irwin has worked on for years, a biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of 19th century clown George Washington Lafayette Fox
George L. Fox (clown)
George L. Fox was America’s first great white faced clown to follow in the footsteps of Britain’s Joseph Grimaldi.-Early Years:...
that also has autobiographical elements.
Irwin adapted Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's play Les Fourberies de Scapin
Les Fourberies de Scapin
Les Fourberies de Scapin is a three-act comedy by French playwright Molière. The title character Scapin is similar to the archetypical Scapino character. The play was first staged in 1671 in Paris....
as a comedy called Scapin, and has played the title role in several productions. His adaptation allowed him to interpolate his signature clowning routines into the course of the action.
In 1996, Irwin performed with The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps
The Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps
The Cadets are a Drum Corps International World Class drum and bugle corps based in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
at the 1996 Summer Olympics
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....
, in a "band on the run" sequence where he played Dr. Hubert Peterson of the fictitious Federation of United Marching Associations of America.
Although Irwin is best known for his theatrical clown work, he has also been featured in a number of dramatic plays. Irwin appeared in 1988 on stage with Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
and Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
for a production of Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot
Waiting for Godot is an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett, in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godot to arrive. Godot's absence, as well as numerous other aspects of the play, have led to many different interpretations since the play's...
in the role of Lucky
Lucky (Waiting for Godot)
Lucky is a character from Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. He is a slave to the character Pozzo.Lucky is unique in a play where most of the characters talk incessantly: he only utters two sentences . Lucky suffers at the hands of Pozzo willingly and without hesitation...
. Lucky's only lines consist of a famous 500-word-long monologue, an ironic element for Irwin since much of his clown-based stage work was silent. He appeared in 2002 with Sally Field
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter. In each decade of her career, she has been known for major roles in American TV/film culture, including: in the 1960s, for Gidget or Sister Bertrille on The Flying Nun ; in the 1970s, for Sybil , Smokey and...
in the replacement cast of The Goat or Who is Sylvia?. In 2005, he starred alongside Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner
Mary Kathleen Turner is an American actress. She came to fame during the 1980s, after roles in the Hollywood films Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, Romancing the Stone, The War of the Roses, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Prizzi's Honor...
as George in a revival of Edward Albee's
Edward Albee
Edward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by Edward Albee that opened on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theater on October 13, 1962. The original cast featured Uta Hagen as Martha, Arthur Hill as George, Melinda Dillon as Honey and George Grizzard as Nick. It was directed by Alan Schneider...
. He directed the 1998 Roundabout Theatre Company
Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in New York City.-History:The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist and Elizabeth Owens and now operates five theatres, all in Manhattan: the American Airlines Theatre ; Studio 54 ; the Stephen Sondheim Theatre The...
production of A Flea in Her Ear
A Flea in Her Ear
A Flea in Her Ear is a play by Georges Feydeau written in 1907, at the height of the Belle Époque.-Plot:...
. In 2009 he played Vladimir (Didi) in a Broadway revival of Waiting for Godot, and Mr. McAfee in the Broadway revival of Bye Bye Birdie.
Irwin's first featured film role was in 1980, appearing as Ham Gravy in Robert Altman's Popeye
Popeye (film)
Popeye is a 1980 live-action film adaptation directed by Robert Altman and adapted from E. C. Segar's Thimble Theatre aka Popeye comic strip.Marketed with the tagline, "The sailor man with the spinach can!", the film is a musical...
starring Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
. He has appeared in over 20 films, mainly in supporting roles. Irwin's principal film roles included My Blue Heaven, a 1990 comedy with Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
and Rick Moranis
Rick Moranis
Frederick Allan "Rick" Moranis is a Canadian comedian, actor, musician, and a magician. Moranis came to prominence in the late 1970s on the sketch comedy show Second City Television, and later appeared in several Hollywood films including Strange Brew; Ghostbusters; Spaceballs; Little Shop of...
, and Eight Men Out
Eight Men Out
Eight Men Out is an American dramatic sports film, released in 1988 and based on Eliot Asinof 1963 book 8 Men Out. It was written and directed by John Sayles....
, which tells the true story of the "Black Sox
Black Sox Scandal
The Black Sox Scandal took place around and during the play of the American baseball 1919 World Series. Eight members of the Chicago White Sox were banned for life from baseball for intentionally losing games, which allowed the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series...
" gambling scandal of 1919. Irwin tap-danced in a leading role in 1991's Stepping Out
Stepping Out (1991 film)
Stepping Out is a 1991 musical-comedy film directed by Lewis Gilbert, starring Liza Minnelli, written by Richard Harris and based on a play also written by Harris. Minnelli plays the role of a has-been Broadway performer who gives tap lesson to a group of misfits who, through their dance classes,...
with Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
and appeared as a mime in the Paul Mazursky
Paul Mazursky
Paul Mazursky is an American film director, screenwriter and actor.-Personal life:He was born Irwin Mazursky in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jean , a piano player for dance classes, and David Mazursky, a laborer. Mazursky was born to a Jewish family; his grandfather was an immigrant from...
film Scenes from a Mall
Scenes from a Mall
Scenes from a Mall is a 1991 satirical film directed by Paul Mazursky with a screenplay by Roger L. Simon and Mazursky, starring Bette Midler and Woody Allen. Woody Allen's character, Nick, is married to author Deborah, played by Midler. After years of a happy marriage, Nick reveals to her he's had...
alongside Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
and Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
. His authentic vaudevillian skills landed him a role in the Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
film Silent Tongue
Silent Tongue
Silent Tongue is a Western written and directed by Sam Shepard. It was filmed in Spring 1992, but not released until 1994. It was filmed near Roswell, New Mexico and features Richard Harris, Sheila Tousey, Alan Bates, Dermot Mulroney and River Phoenix....
in 1994, and he appeared in film adaptations of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The Laramie Project
The Laramie Project (film)
The Laramie Project is a 2002 drama film written and directed by Moisés Kaufman. Based on the play of the same name, the film tells the story of the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming...
and A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
. He played an ex-brain surgeon, house salesman in the Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete & Pete
The Adventures of Pete & Pete
The Adventures of Pete & Pete is an American children's television series produced by Wellsville Pictures and broadcast by Nickelodeon. The show featured humorous and surreal elements in its narrative, and many recurring themes centered on two brothers both named Pete Wrigley, and their various...
. In 2006, Irwin played the solitary Mr. Leeds in M. Night Shyamalan
M. Night Shyamalan
Manoj Nelliyattu Shyamalan,known professionally as M. Night Shyamalan, is an Indian-born American screenwriter, film director, and producer known for making movies with contemporary supernatural plots that climax with a twist ending. He is also known for filming his movies in and around...
's Lady in the Water
Lady in the Water
The soundtrack was composed by James Newton Howard. The last four tracks are non-soundtrack songs from singer/songwriter Amanda Ghost, Indie rock band A Whisper in the Noise, and rock 'n' roll revivalists Silvertide. Each of the four songs was written by Bob Dylan...
and had a small role in 2007's Across the Universe
Across the Universe (film)
Across the Universe is a musical romantic drama film directed by Julie Taymor, produced by Revolution Studios, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film's plot is centered around songs by The Beatles. It was released in the United States on October 12, 2007. The script is based on an original...
. He received critical acclaim for his role as Paul, father to Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway (actress)
Anne Jacqueline Hathaway is an American actress. After several stage roles, she appeared in the 1999 television series Get Real. She played Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries...
's character Kym, in the 2008 drama Rachel Getting Married
Rachel Getting Married
Rachel Getting Married is a 2008 drama film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin and Debra Winger. The film was released in the U.S. to select theaters on October 3, 2008. The film opened the 65th Venice International Film Festival. The film also...
.
His most notable television roles have been Enrico Ballati, "The Flying Man", on the television series Northern Exposure
Northern Exposure
Northern Exposure is an American television series that ran on CBS from 1990 to 1995, with a total of 110 episodes.-Overview:The series was given a pair of consecutive Peabody Awards: in 1991–92 for the show's "depict[ion] in a comedic and often poetic way, [of] the cultural clash between a...
, Mr. Noodle
Mr. Noodle
The goofy-acting human characters Mr. Noodle, Mr. Noodle's Brother, and Miss Noodle all appear in Sesame Street 's "Elmo's World" segments. The characters, who do not speak, attempt repeatedly to demonstrate a particular activity related to the episode's topic, while offscreen children verbally...
in the Elmo's World
Elmo's World
"Elmo's World" is a segment of the children's television show Sesame Street featuring Elmo, a small, three and a half year old, bright red monster. It debuted on November 16, 1998. Since then, it has been regularly shown during the last fifteen minutes of every Sesame Street episode...
segment of the PBS children's show Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
and the "Dick & Jane" serial killer Nate Haskell on CSI
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
. He has also appeared on The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
, Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, 3rd Rock From The Sun
3rd Rock from the Sun
3rd Rock from the Sun is an American sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001 on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, which they consider to be a very insignificant planet...
, Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
and Lights Out. Irwin was featured in the 1988 music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
of "Don't Worry, Be Happy
Don't Worry, Be Happy
"Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a song by musician Bobby McFerrin. Released in September 1988, it became the first a cappella song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. On the UK Singles Chart, the song reached number 2 during its fifth week on the chart...
" by Bobby McFerrin
Bobby McFerrin
Robert "Bobby" McFerrin, Jr. is an American vocalist and conductor. He is best known for his 1988 hit song "Don't Worry, Be Happy". He is a ten-time Grammy Award winner.-Life:...
(along with McFerrin and Robin Williams
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance...
).
Awards and honors
Irwin was awarded the National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Choreographer's Fellowship in 1981 and 1983. In 1984 he was named a Guggenheim Fellow and was the first performance artist to be awarded a 5-year MacArthur Fellowship.
For Largely New York he won a New York Drama Critics Circle Special Citation in 1988, and an Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
and Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
in 1989. This show also received five nominations for Tony Awards.
In 1992, he won an OBIE Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
for his performance in Texts for Nothing. Together with David Shiner
David Shiner (clown)
David Shiner is an American actor, clown, playwright and theater director.Shiner was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Francis Shiner, a computer programmer, and a homemaker mother. The lanky Shiner, usually donning a small dunce cap, started as a street mime, first in Colorado, and later...
he won a special Tony Award for Live Theatrical Presentation
Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event
The Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event was awarded from 2001 to 2009 to live theatrical productions that were not plays or musicals.The category was created after the 2000 controversy of Contact winning Best Musical; the show used pre-recorded music and featured no singing...
in 1999 for their show Fool Moon. In 1993, this show already had won a Drama Desk Award for "Unique Theatrical Experience" and an Outer Critics Circle "Special Achievement" Award.
In 2005, he won the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Actor in a Play for his appearance as George in the revival of Edward Albee
Edward Albee
Edward Franklin Albee III is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story , The Sandbox , Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , and a rewrite of the screenplay for the unsuccessful musical version of Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's . His works are considered well-crafted, often...
's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a play by Edward Albee that opened on Broadway at the Billy Rose Theater on October 13, 1962. The original cast featured Uta Hagen as Martha, Arthur Hill as George, Melinda Dillon as Honey and George Grizzard as Nick. It was directed by Alan Schneider...
.
2008 saw Irwin receive a CFCA Award nomination for "Best Supporting Actor" for his role in Rachel Getting Married
Rachel Getting Married
Rachel Getting Married is a 2008 drama film directed by Jonathan Demme, and starring Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Bill Irwin and Debra Winger. The film was released in the U.S. to select theaters on October 3, 2008. The film opened the 65th Venice International Film Festival. The film also...
.
In 2010, The New Victory Theater presented Bill Irwin with the first ever New Victory Arts Award. He was honored for "bringing the arts to kids and kids to the arts." Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane is an American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his roles as Mendy in The Lisbon Traviata, Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to...
and Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop...
spoke at the ceremony.
Bill Irwin is also on the board of The New 42nd Street, Inc
New 42nd Street
The New 42nd Street is a not-for-profit organization in Manhattan, New York City. In 1990, The New 42nd Street was formed to oversee the redevelopment of seven neglected and historic theatres on 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, and to restore the block to a desirable tourist...
.
External links
- Bill Irwin, Clown Prince. Great PerformancesGreat PerformancesGreat Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
(PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
). (2004) - The Regard of Flight from the New York Times (Registration required) (1984)
- The Harlequin Studies (2003)
- Archive film of Bill Irwin performing Post-Modern Studies in 1983 at Jacob's Pillow