Bill Irwin is an iconic American actor, director, writer, and choreographer. A master of the language of the body, he has been described as a modern-day Buster Keaton and one of the world’s most diversely skilled live performers.
Bill is the recipient of two Tony Awards, for Fool Moon (Best Live Theatrical Presentation) and for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Best Actor In a Play). He is a recipient of a MacArthur Genius Fellowship and the National Endowment for the Arts Choreographer’s Fellowship, and has been named a Guggenheim Fellow.
In popular culture, Bill’s work spans generations, from his character Mr. Noodle on Sesame Street to his work as serial killer Nate Haskell on CSI. His well-known film roles include Rachel Getting Married, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and many more.
Irwin graduated from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1974. He was an original cast member of San Francisco’s Pickle Family Circus where he created Willy, his whiteface character. In 1979, Bill left the Pickle Family Circus to pursue his own unique vision for theatrical clowning.