Bill Irwin - Career

Career

Irwin created a run of highly regarded stage shows that incorporated elements of clowning, often in collaboration with composer Doug Skinner. 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: Crime Scene Investigation. He has also appeared on The Cosby Show, Saturday Night Live, 3rd Rock from the Sun, Law & Order and Lights Out. In 2011, Irwin guest starred in the pilot episode of A Gifted Man. Irwin was featured in the 1988 music video of "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin (along with McFerrin and Robin Williams).