Wallace Shawn

Wallace Shawn
Shawn at Pen America/Free Expression Literature on May 5, 2014
Born	Wallace Michael Shawn (1943-11-12) November 12, 1943 New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation(s)	Actor, voice artist, stand-up comedian, singer, dancer, playwright, essayist
Years active	1967–present
Known for	My Dinner with Andre The Princess Bride The Designated Mourner Toy Story The Incredibles Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore
Partner	Deborah Eisenberg
Parents	William Shawn Cecille Shawn

Wallace Michael "Wally" Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor, voice artist, stand-up comedian, singer, dancer, playwright, and essayist, best known for appearing in film roles, such as Wally Shawn in the Louis Malle-directed comedy-drama My Dinner with Andre (1981), Vizzini in The Princess Bride (1987), providing the voice of Rex in the Toy Story franchise, providing the voice of Gilbert Huph in The Incredibles (2004), and providing the voice of Calico in Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010). He also starred in a variety of television series, including Gossip Girl and recurring appearances as Grand Nagus Zek in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999).

His plays include The Designated Mourner, Aunt Dan and Lemon, and Grasses of a Thousand Colors. He also co-wrote the screenplay for My Dinner with Andre with Andre Gregory, and he scripted Vanya on 42nd Street, a film adaptation of Anton Chekov's play Uncle Vanya. His latest film from June 2014 was A Master Builder based on the play by Henrik Ibsen.

Early life

Shawn was born in New York City, New York on November 12, 1943 to William Shawn, the long-time editor of The New Yorker, and journalist Cecille Shawn (née Lyon); his brother, Allen, is a composer. Shawn attended The Putney School, a private liberal arts high school in Putney, Vermont, and graduated with an A.B. in history from Harvard College. He studied philosophy, politics and economics, as well as Latin, at Magdalen College, Oxford, originally intending to become a diplomat; he also traveled to India as an English teacher, on a Fulbright program. He then taught Latin in Manhattan, but since 1979, Shawn has made a living primarily as an actor.

Career

Playwright

Shawn's early plays, such as Marie and Bruce (1978), portrayed emotional and sexual conflicts in an absurdist style, with language that was both lyrical and violent. In a conversation with Andre Gregory, parts of which were used to create My Dinner with Andre, Shawn referred to these plays as depicting "my interior life as a raging beast." Critical response was extremely polarized: some critics hailed Shawn as a major writer, while John Simon called Marie and Bruce "garbage" and described Shawn as "one of the unsightliest actors in this city". His play A Thought in Three Parts caused a minor uproar in London in 1977 when the production was investigated by a vice squad and attacked in Parliament due to allegedly pornographic content.

His later plays became more overtly political, drawing parallels between the psychology of his characters and the behavior of governments and social classes. Among the best-known of these are Aunt Dan and Lemon (1985) and The Designated Mourner (1997). Shawn's political work has invited controversy, as he often presents the audience with several contradictory points of view, such as Aunt Dan and Lemon, which Shawn described as a cautionary tale against fascism. The monologue The Fever, originally created by Shawn to be performed for small audiences in apartments, describes a person who becomes sick while struggling to find a morally consistent way to live when faced with injustice, and harshly criticizes the record of the U.S. in supporting oppressive anti-communist regimes. In 1997, Shawn discussed the political nature of Aunt Dan and Lemon, The Fever, and The Designated Mourner in an interview. In this interview Shawn talked extensively with Patrick Mcgrath about the thematic developments between the three plays, as well as his own views on Marxist, communist and socialist politics, their relevance to American liberalism, and how government and individual responsibilities for finding solutions to the dichotomy between rich and poor in the world take hold in the characters presented in his plays. Shawn's four plays have been adapted into films: The Designated Mourner (basically a film version of David Hare's stage production), Marie and Bruce, My Dinner with Andre, and The Fever. Oscar-winner Vanessa Redgrave stars in The Fever (2004), which first aired on HBO on June 13, 2007.

Shawn has also written political commentary for The Nation, and in 2004 he published the one-issue-only progressive political magazine Final Edition, which features interviews with and articles by Jonathan Schell, Noam Chomsky, Mark Strand, and Deborah Eisenberg. Shawn is credited as translator of Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera, which opened at Studio 54 in Manhattan on March 25, 2006. He appears briefly in voice-over during "Song about the Futility of Human Endeavor." He published his first nonfiction work, Essays, on September 1, 2009. It is a collection of essays that expresses his perceptions of politics and other subjects that reflect an aspect of his life.

Acting

Shawn's involvement with theater began in 1970 when he met Andre Gregory, who has since directed several of his plays. As a stage actor, he has appeared mostly in his own plays and other projects with Gregory. He made his film debut in 1979, playing Diane Keaton's former husband in Woody Allen's Manhattan and an insurance agent in Bob Fosse's All That Jazz. His best-known film roles include Earl in Strange Invaders (1983) and Mr. Hall in Clueless (1995). After seeing his performance in My Dinner With Andre (1981), casting director Janet Hirshenson was so fond of his delivery of the word "inconceivable" that she cast him as Vizzini in The Princess Bride (1987). Other roles include Baron Von Westphalen in Southland Tales, in Gossip Girl as Cyrus Rose, and in The Haunted Mansion as Ezra.

His rare non-comedic film roles include two collaborations with Andre Gregory and Louis Malle: the semiautobiographical dialogue My Dinner with Andre, and a combined production-and-backstage-drama of Uncle Vanya titled Vanya on 42nd Street. Shawn quite often appears on television, where he has appeared in many genres and series. He has had recurring roles as the Grand Nagus Zek in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Stuart Best in Murphy Brown, Jeff Engels in The Cosby Show, Dr. Howard Stiles in Crossing Jordan, Arnie Ross in Taxi, and a reprisal of his role as Mr. Hall in Clueless (based on the film). He appeared in the 1985 music video for Chaka Khan's "This is My Night." On February 4, 2010, Shawn appeared as Alan Rubin in The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He appeared in Vegas Vacation (1997) as Marty. Shawn's latest film opened in his birthplace in New York in June 2014 titled A Master Builder.

Shawn was honored in 2005 with the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award as a Master American Dramatist.

Voice acting

Shawn is also a voice actor for animated films and television series, including Rex in the Toy Story franchise, Mr. Huph in The Incredibles, Mazur in A Goofy Movie, Bertram in Family Guy, Munk in Happily N'Ever After, and as an extreme version of himself in BoJack Horseman. In The Fox and the Hound, he was originally going to voice Boomer, but dropped out and was replaced by Paul Winchell. In Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, Shawn replaced Jon Lovitz as the voice of Calico. Coincidentally, Lovitz and Shawn both appeared in I Could Never Be Your Woman.

Personal life

Shawn is the son of William Shawn, the long-time editor of The New Yorker, and journalist Cecille Shawn (née Lyon). His brother, Allen, is a composer.

In June 2013, Shawn and numerous other celebrities appeared in a video showing support for Chelsea Manning.

He has appeared on MSNBC referring to himself as a Socialist and praising Socialism in an essay.

Wallace Shawn is of Jewish descent, though he identifies as "atheist."

Currently, Shawn resides in New York City, New York (where he was born).

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	Manhattan	Jeremiah
1979	Starting Over	Workshop Member
1979	All That Jazz	Assistant Insurance Man
1980	Simon	Eric Van Dongen
1980	Atlantic City	Waiter	Credited as Wally Shawn
1981	Cheaper to Keep Her	Mugger
1981	My Dinner with Andre	Wally Shawn	Also screenwriter
1981	Strong Medicine		Uncredited
1982	A Little Sex	Oliver
1983	How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days	Professor Silverfish
1983	Lovesick	Otto Jaffe
1983	The First Time	Jules Goldfarb
1983	Strange Invaders	Earl
1983	Deal of the Century	Harold DeVoto
1983	Saigon: Year of the Cat	Frank Judd
1984	Crackers	Turtle
1984	The Hotel New Hampshire	Freud
1984	The Bostonians	Mr. Pardon
1984	Micki + Maude	Elliot Fibel
1985	Heaven Help Us	Father Abruzzi
1985	Head Office	Mike Hoover
1987	The Bedroom Window	Henderson's Attorney
1987	Radio Days	Masked Avenger
1987	Nice Girls Don't Explode	Ellen
1987	Prick Up Your Ears	John Lahr
1987	The Princess Bride	Vizzini
1988	The Moderns	Oiseau
1989	She's Out of Control	Dr. Fishbinder
1989	Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills	Howard
1989	We're No Angels	Translator
1991	Shadows and Fog	Simon Carr
1992	Unbecoming Age	Dr. Block
1992	Nickel & Dime	Everett Willits
1992	Mom and Dad Save the World	Sibor
1993	The Cemetery Club	Larry
1993	The Meteor Man	Mr. Little
1993	Eligible Dentist
1994	Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle	Horatio Byrd
1994	Vanya on 42nd Street	Vanya
1995	The Wife	Cosmo
1995	Napoleon	Echidna
1995	Canadian Bacon	Canadian Prime Minister
1995	A Goofy Movie	Mazur	Voice
1995	Clueless	Mr. Wendell Hall
1995	Just Like Dad	Stan Speigel
1995	Toy Story	Rex	Voice
1996	All Dogs Go to Heaven 2	Labrador MC
1996	House Arrest	Vic Finley
1997	Vegas Vacation	Marty
1997	Just Write	Arthur Blake
1997	Critical Care	Furnaceman
1998	Blind Men
1998	Noah	Zack
1999	The Diary of the Hurdy-Gurdy Man
1999	My Favorite Martian	Coleye
1999	Toy Story 2	Rex	Voice
2000	The Prime Gig	Gene
2001	The Curse of the Jade Scorpion	George Bond
2001	Monsters, Inc.	Rex	Voice Uncredited
2002	Sun Gods	Spaulding
2002	Love Thy Neighbor	Clinic Doctor
2002	Personal Velocity: Three Portraits	Mr. Gelb
2002	Mr. St. Nick	Mimir
2003	Monte Walsh	Colonel Wilson
2003	Duplex	Herman
2003	The Haunted Mansion	Ezra
2004	Teacher's Pet	Crosby Strickler	Voice
2004	Melinda and Melinda	Sy
2004	The Incredibles	Gilbert Huph	Voice
2004	Karroll's Christmas	Zeb Rosecog
2005	Chicken Little	Principal Fetchit	Voice
2006	The 12th Man	Marty
2006	Southland Tales	Baron Von Westphalen
2006	Air Buddies	Billy	Voice
2007	Happily N'Ever After	Munk
2007	I Could Never Be Your Woman	Math Teacher	Uncredited
2007	New York City Serenade	Himself
2008	Kit Kittredge: An American Girl	Mr. Gibson
2008	Mia and the Migoo	Migoo	Voice English language version
2009	Capitalism: A Love Story	Himself	Documentary
2010	Jack and the Beanstalk	Broker / Booker / Lancelot Squarejaw
2010	Furry Vengeance	Christian Burr
2010	Toy Story 3	Rex	Voice
2010	Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore	Calico
2011	The Speed of Thought	Sandy
2011	Tower Heist	Mr. McBurns
2011	Hawaiian Vacation	Rex	Voice Short film
2011	Small Fry
2012	Partysaurus Rex
2012	A Late Quartet	Gideon Rosen
2012	Vamps	Van Helsing
2013	Admission	Clarence
2013	Toy Story of Terror!	Rex	Voice Television special
2013	The Double	Mr. Papadopoulos
2014	Don Peyote	Psychotherapist
2014	A Master Builder	Halvard Solness	Also screenwriter

Television

Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982–1983	Taxi	Arnie Ross	Episode: "Love Un-American Style" Episode: "Arnie Meets the Kids" (as Arnie)
1987–1991	The Cosby Show	Jeff Engels	Episode: "Cliff's Mistake" (as Jeffrey Engels) Episode: "The Day the Spores Landed" (as Jeff Engels) Episode: "Cliff's Nightmare" (as Jeffrey Engels; voice) Episode: "The Moves" (as Jeff Engels) Episode: "Olivia's Field Trip" (as Jeffrey Engels)
1992	The Double 0 Kid	Cashpot
1992	Civil Wars	Riley Baker
1992	One Life to Live	Professor Marvel
1993	Matrix	Mr. Gonley
1993	The Pink Panther	Little Man	Voice 1 episode
1994	The Nanny	Charles Haste	1 episode
1995	Kalamazoo	Bobby	Short
1995	Something Wilder	Roof Inspector	1 episode
1996	Toy Story Treats	Rex	Voice
1996–1997	Clueless	Mr. Hall	17 episodes
1994–1997	Murphy Brown	Stuart Best	4 episodes
1997	King of the Hill	Philip Ny	Voice 1 episode
1998	The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story	Tarzan	Voice
1998	The Lionhearts		5 episodes
1999	Homicide: Life on the Street	Frank Hopper	1 episode
1993–1999	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Grand Nagus Zek	7 episodes
1999	Cosby	Mr. Fleming	2 episodes
2000	Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins	Rex	Voice
2000	Teacher's Pet	Crosby Strickler	Voice
2001	Ally McBeal	Mr. Dune	1 episode
2001	Blonde	I. E. Shinn
2001	Three Sisters	Dean Webb	1 episode
2003	Stanley	Mr. Goldberg	Voice 1 episode
2002-2004	Teamo Supremo	Gauntlet	Voice 1 episode
2004	Sex and the City	Martin Grable	1 episode
2005	Fat Actress	Sigmund von Oy	1 episode
2005	Stargate SG-1	Arlos	Episode: "The Ties That Bind"
2005	Desperate Housewives	Lonny Moon	1 episode
2001–2006	Crossing Jordan	Howard Stiles	8 episodes
2001–2011	Family Guy	Bertram	Voice 3 episodes
2006	Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers	Purple Pirate Paul / Narrator	Voice
2006	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Film Professor	1 episode
2008	The Return of Jezebel James	Garson Leeds	1 episode
2008	Cashmere Mafia	Animal Handler	1 episode
2008	Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King	Mr. Gibbles	Voice
2009	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Roy Batters	1 episode
2009	Life on Mars	Stephen Morrell - "The Sorcerer"	1 episode
2008–2009	The L Word	William Halsey	5 episodes
2009	ER	Teddy Lempell	1 episode
2010	The Daily Show with Jon Stewart	Alan Rubin	1 episode
2010	Damages	Sterling Biddle	1 episode
2008–2013	Gossip Girl	Cyrus Rose	11 episodes
2011	Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness	Taotie	Voice only
2011	Eureka	DoD psychological assessor Warren Hughes	3 episodes
2012	Fish Hooks	Rat King	Voice Episode: "Guys' Night Out"
2013-2014	The Good Wife	Charles Lester	2 episodes
2013	Adventure Time	Rasheeta	Voice Episode: "Puhoy"
2013	Uncle Grandpa	Ule Gapa	Voice Episode: "Belly Bros"
2014	Phineas and Ferb	Saul	Voice Episode: "Phineas and Ferb Save Summer"
2014	Mozart in the Jungle	Winslow
2014	Courage The Cowardly Dog	Eustace Bagge	Voice The Fog of Courage (Short)
2014	Mysteries Of Laura Kenneth Walters

Video games

Video Games
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Toy Story: The Video Game	Rex	Voice only
	Toy Story Activity Center
2004	The Incredibles: The Video Game	Gilbert Huph
2006	Family Guy Video Game!	Bertram
2008	The Princess Bride Game	Vizzini
2010	Toy Story 3: The Video Game	Rex
2012	Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse	Bertram

Writer

Writer
Year	Title	Notes
1981	My Dinner with Andre
1997	The Designated Mourner	Play Written by
2004	Marie and Bruce	Screenplay
	The Fever	Play Screenplay
2009	Essays	Book collection of essays, by Haymarket Books
2010	Tea Time	Short Script

Himself

Himself
Year	Title	Notes
1995	Charlie Rose	TV series 1 episode
	Showbiz Today	TV series 1 episode
2001	As You Wish: The Story of The Princess Bride
	E! True Hollywood Story	TV series 1 episode
2005	Now	TV series 2 episodes
	Clueless: The Class of '95
2007	Strange Culture
	Up Close with Carrie Keagan	TV series 1 episode
2008	USIDent TV: Surveilling the Southland
	The Windmill Movie
2009	Capitalism: A Love Story
	Made in Hollywood	TV series 1 episode
2010	MindFlux
2012	Up with Chris Hayes	TV series 1 episode
2014	BoJack Horseman	TV series 1 episode

Plays

Play Name	Year
Four Meals in May	1967
The Family Play	1970
The Hotel Play	1970
The Hospital Play	1971
Our Late Night	1975
A Thought in Three Parts	1976
Marie and Bruce	1978
Aunt Dan and Lemon	1985
The Fever	1990
The Designated Mourner	1997; film directed by David Hare, 1998
The Threepenny Opera	2006
Grasses of a Thousand Colors	2008

Further reading

• King, W.D. (1997). Writing Wrongs: The Work of Wallace Shawn. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-56639-517-8

External links

• Wallace Shawn at IMDb
• Wallace Shawn at the Internet Broadway Database
• Shawn at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Template:Worldcat id
• Hilton Als (Summer 2012). "Wallace Shawn, The Art of Theater No. 17". The Paris Review.
• Yahoo! author index
• An Innocent Man in Guantanamo with readings by Wallace Shawn at LIVE from the New York Public Library, April 4, 2008
• Lannan Foundation: Wallace Shawn reading of The Fever