My Favorite Artists, Episode 3: Bill Irwin

June, 24, 2020
Bill Irwin is by far my favorite clown and actor. He is well known by clowns and physical theater performers, but is not as well known outside those circles, unfortunately. He is a true renaissance man. He has done a little bit of everything.
This is a little tribute video to Bill, who, I believe, is one of the greatest physical performers living today.
Here are the clips I used in order:
Bill Irwin goes down the stairs: • Bill Irwin goes down t...
"Hat Tricks": • Comedy Genius -- The R...
Legion 2nd Season Première "Fight Dance scene": • Legion 2nd Season Prem...
The Bill Irwin Archive Project: • The Bill Irwin Archive...
Bill dancing in "In Regard of Flight": • Comedy Genius -- The R...
TARS in Interstellar: • TARS & CASE Interstellar
TARS & CASE Bonus Feature: • Interstellar - TARS an...
TARS Humor Setting: • Interstellar - TARS Hu...
TARS in Interstellar: • TARS & CASE Interstellar
Bill Irwin wins 2005 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play: • Bill Irwin wins 2005 T...
Robin Williams and Steve Martin in Waiting for Godot: • Robin Williams and Ste...
The clip from "Lady in the Water" I found on Putlocker.
The clips from "CSI" I found on Amazon.
The very last clip is from The Actor's Craft: Clowning With Bill Irwin ( • The Actor's Craft: Clo... . I HIGHLY recommend watching the entire thing. It's a great way to learn HOW Bill does what he does.
The two clips from Lady in the Water and CSI were filmed on my own camera, and my computer screen is broken so I apologize for the poor quality of both those clips.
I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THIS. This video is merely made in tribute to Bill. All I can take credit for is the editing, titles and voice over!
Filmed on Lumix camera.
Edited on iMovie.
About Bill:
William Mills "Bill" Irwin (born April 11, 1950) is an American actor, clown, and comedian. He is best known for his vaudeville-style stage performances and has been noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He has also made a number of appearances on film and television, and he won a Tony Award for his role in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf on Broadway. Children know him as Mr. Noodle on Sesame Street'​s Elmo's World.
Irwin was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Elizabeth (née Mills), a teacher, and Horace G. Irwin, an aerospace engineer. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1973 and attended 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.
Irwin has created several highly regarded stage shows that incorporate 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. In 2013, he teamed with his occasional partner David Shiner to create and perform in the Off-Broadway "clowning revue-with-music" Old Hats. Old Hats won the 2013 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue. He adapted Molière's play Les Fourberies de Scapin as a comedy called Scapin, and has played the title role in several productions. He appeared in the play at the Off-Broadway Roundabout Theatre Company Laura Pels Theatre in January through March 1997, after performing in the play at the Seattle Rep. His adaptation allowed him to interpolate his signature clowning routines into the course of the action. Bill Irwin, Geoff Hoyle, Larry Pisoni, Pickle Family Circus 1970's.
Although Irwin is best known for his theatrical clown work, he has also been featured in a number of dramatic plays. Irwin appeared with Steve Martin and Robin Williams in the Lincoln Center Off-Broadway production of Waiting for Godot in 1988, 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 directed the 1998 Roundabout Theatre Company production of A Flea in Her Ear. He appeared in 2002 with Sally Field in the replacement cast of The Goat or Who is Sylvia?. In 2005, he starred as George alongside Kathleen Turner in a revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. He played Vladimir (Didi) in the 2009 Broadway revival of Waiting for Godot, and Mr. McAfee in the Broadway revival of Bye Bye Birdie. In 2011, he appeared in King Lear at the Public Theatre. In 2014, he played the ship boat captain in Showboat, with the San Francisco Opera.
(From Wikipedia.)

[@ariochiv]

He was also in Elmo's World as "Mister Noodle."

[@wolfkit2826]

I LOVE Bill so much! He’s WAY underrated. And he’s such a cute, ol’, sweetie!

[@Junius]

I got to meet him and I got his email address. We stay in touch every once in a while! He's really sweet. I love him so much.

[@Doodlebugthegoldenhamster]

Interstellar is one of my favorite movies just because of him. Who couldn’t love this as Cooper said, “giant sarcastic robot”?

[@Junius]

ME TOO!

[@maryannfelice6326]

I greatly admire Mr Irwin's talent.

[@Junius]

ME TOO! OBVIOUSLY!

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

He came to my school in the 80s and performed for us at an assembly. 3 years later I recognized him in Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin... I was shocked! He's also in Popeye.

[@Junius]

My god. You're so lucky!!!!!!!!! I wish he'd perform at MY SCHOOL!

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

@@Junius This was almost 40 years ago. Try contacting him, he seems approachable.

[@Junius]

I actually have his email address. I met him 7 years ago or so while he was doing Old Hats at A.C.T. in SF and wrote him a letter to which I left my email address at the bottom and he responded to me! I email him once every six months or so. He's very kind.

[@TheActualCathal]

Ah, I forgot he was in that. He played Ham Gravy, who was the original main character of Thimble Theatre, before he needed to hire a boat that one time. And guess whose boat Ham Gravy hired....

[@TheKitchenerLeslie]

@@Junius It's people like you that warm the heart of a guy like him.

[@randalllaue4042]

Wonderful.

[@kennydude7971]

He's such a fun guy, and the face of evil too.

[@MuMu-fu7qe]

Brendan Fraser (who loves "clowning," physical performance, and silent acting) did an interview with Bill Irwin in a theater magazine, and he said Bill was a huge inspiration to him.

[@Junius]

You mean Brendan Fraiser, who was in The Mummy? That's freaking awesome!

[@mjbabicful]

I saw him this afternoon as Clov in "Endgame" at Irish Repertory Theater. He was amazing.

[@Junius]

LUCKY!

[@celebro469]

I don't know why but in a weird way he reminds me of Christopher Reeve.

[@davidgarbern7761]

Similar nose, cheekbones - classic WASP lol

[@Junius]

www.reddit.com/r/BillIrwin/

[@gordonsandine4261]

I saw 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝐹𝑙𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 on PBS in 1983 or '84, and it's still the most wonderfully hilarious thing I've ever seen. I never watched CSI, but from the brief clip here, I think Bill's character is scarier than Anthony Hopkin's Lector; not as over-the-top cartoonish, movie-monster a performance. Might be worth looking into.

[@Junius]

IT IS! HE'S SO GOOD AS NATE HASKELL!