Jack Wills and Wallace Shawn: Difference between pages

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{{Infobox Actor
'''Jack Wills''' is a [[United Kingdom|British]] chain of high end retail stores that stock clothing and accessories aimed at young middle to upper class students. The Jack Wills brand is wholly owned by Jack Wills Ltd which is a private UK [[limited company]]. The Jack Wills registered office and original store is located at 22 Fore Street, Salcombe, Devon. The chain currently has 29 stores, 5 of which are located in London.<ref name="Jack Wills">[http://www.jackwills.com Jack Wills Website]</ref> The managing director of the chain is Peter Williams, whose grandfather, Jack Wills, gives the name to the company.<ref name="Jack Wills"/>
| name = Wallace Shawn
| image = Wallace Shawn.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Wallace Shawn in [[Washington, D.C.]], 2005
| birthdate = {{birth date and age|1943|11|12}}
| location = [[New York City]]
| deathdate =
| birthname = Wallace Shawn
| othername =
}}
'''Wallace Shawn''' (born [[November 12]], [[1943]]), sometimes credited as '''Wally Shawn''', is an [[United States|American]] [[actor]] and playwright. Regularly seen on [[film]] and [[television]], where he is usually cast as a comic [[character actor]], he has pursued a parallel career as a [[playwright]] whose work is often dark, politically charged and [[controversial]].


== Brand ==
==Biography==
===Personal life===
Shawn was born into a prominent Jewish family in [[New York City]], where he continues to reside. He is the son of [[William Shawn]], longtime [[Editing|editor]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'', and [[journalist]] Cecille Shawn ([[married and maiden names|née]] Lyon); his brother [[Allen Shawn|Allen]] is a [[composer]].<ref>[http://www.filmreference.com/film/81/Wallace-Shawn.html Wallace Shawn Biography (1943-)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Shawn attended [[The Putney School]], a private liberal arts high school in [[Putney, Vermont]], and graduated with a B.A. in history from [[Harvard University]]. He studied [[economics]] and [[philosophy]] at [[Oxford University|Oxford]], originally intending to become a diplomat; he also traveled to [[India]] as an English teacher, on a Fulbright program. Since 1979, he has made a living primarily as an actor.


Shawn's longtime companion is writer [[Deborah Eisenberg]].
The label is promoted as a ‘lifestyle brand’, like its competitor [[Abercrombie and Fitch]] and similarly, Jack Wills has created a lifestyle based on a [[preppy]], public school culture. Their retail outlets reflect this aspirational lifestyle with luxury store layouts and their advertising (such as in the Handbooks), which feature young university-age models participating in various activities stereotypically associated with this lifestyle, such as countryside walks. On the website, visitors who have created an account can reserve copies of classic books recommended by the company, can find out about Jack Wills [[varsity match|varsity]] [[polo]] events and can view galleries on Jack Wills’ parties.<ref name="Jack Wills"/> Account-holders can also post messages on the website’s message board. This shows how Jack Wills' is promoted as a lifestyle, not merely a retailer.


== Products ==
===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.


Shawn made his film debut in 1979, playing [[Diane Keaton]]'s ex-husband in [[Woody Allen]]'s ''[[Manhattan (film)|Manhattan]]''. His best-known film roles include the evil Vizzini in the [[fairy tale]] [[comedy]] ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]'' (1987) and debate teacher Mr. Hall in ''[[Clueless (film)|Clueless]]'' (1995). His rare non-comic film roles include two collaborations with [[Andre Gregory]] and [[Louis Malle]]: the semi-autobiographical dialogue ''[[My Dinner with Andre]]'', and a combined production-and-backstage-drama of ''[[Uncle Vanya]]'' titled ''[[Vanya on 42nd Street]]''.
Its products are aimed at the higher end of the market, as many of its clothing and accessories retail at relatively high prices. The chain calls its string of stores ‘University Outfitters’ due to the store locations; many are located in university towns and many of the advertising campaigns feature university-age students to target that particular market.<ref name="Jack Wills"/>


Shawn frequently appears on television, where he has appeared in many genres and series. He has had recurring roles as the Ferengi [[Grand Nagus Zek]] on ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'', a comic ex-reporter on ''[[Murphy Brown]],'' the Huxtables' neighbor on ''[[The Cosby Show]]'', a psychiatrist on ''[[Crossing Jordan]]'', and [[Marilu Henner]]'s love interest on ''[[Taxi (TV series)|Taxi]]''. He is also a [[voice actor]] for [[animated films]] and [[animated TV series]], including ''[[Toy Story]]'', ''[[Toy Story 2]]'', ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]'' (cameo appearance as Rex the Green Dinosaur), Gilbert Huph in ''[[The Incredibles]]'', and two episodes of ''[[Family Guy]]'' (as Stewie's half-brother Bertram). Shawn also cameoed as the voice of Principal Fetchit in ''[[Chicken Little (2005 film)|Chicken Little]]'' and voiced the character of Munk in ''[[Happily N'Ever After]]''. Another recent role was the megalomaniacal industrialist Baron von Westphalen in ''[[Southland Tales]]''.
Jack Wills' retail products can be viewed via a [[catalogue]], either online or in a printed copy. They are named ‘handbooks’ and are released each season, named the Autumn Handbook, the Spring Handbook and the Summer Handbook. Jack Wills’ clothes and accessories are marketed as classically ‘[[British]]’ in style, and inspired by traditional [[British]] heritage. A wide variety of products are sold including [[vintage]] sportswear, beachwear and leisure wear. Typical ranges in ladieswear include [[hoodies]], shirts, [[polo shirt|polos]], knitwear, skirts, blazers, underwear, jeans and [[outerwear]], amongst others. Typical ranges in menswear include similar selections, but also feature [[rugby shirts]].


In a DVD extra for ''The Princess Bride'', Shawn claimed (somewhat surprisingly, given his wide assortment of comedic film roles) that he lacks a sense of humor and played Vizzini in a way that seemed appropriate to him without actually getting the jokes.
Jack Wills also sells accessories for both genders, including scarves, belts, gloves, hats and ties. Scarves are more than often striped and mimic [[academic scarves]], similar to those worn in the colleges of [[Oxbridge]].


== Stereotypes ==
===Playwright===
Shawn's early plays, such as ''[[Marie and Bruce]]'' (1978), portrayed emotional and sexual conflicts in an [[absurd]]ist style, with language that was both lyrical and violent. In the conversations with [[Andre Gregory]] that became ''[[My Dinner with Andre]]'', Shawn later 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 (critic)|John Simon]] called ''Marie and Bruce'' "garbage" and described Shawn as "one of the worst and 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 [[pornography|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: in ''Aunt Dan and Lemon'', which Shawn described as a cautionary tale against [[fascism]], the character Lemon explained her neo-[[Nazism|Nazi]] beliefs with such conviction that some critics called the play effectively pro-fascist. The monologue ''The Fever'', originally created by Shawn to be performed for small audiences in apartments, was dismissed by some critics as "liberal guilt"; it 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 repressive [[anti-communism|anti-communist]] regimes.
Jack Wills’ ranges are similar to its competitor, American brand [[Abercrombie and Fitch]]. <ref name="Times Online">[http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article2145997.ece Sloane summer essentials] at Times Online</ref> It is known for its ‘public school’ and ‘[[preppy]]’ style, due to its expensive products, which are not usually affordable to everyone. This has therefore led to its connotations of ‘public school’ attire – customers are stereotyped as likely to attend a public school (also called an [[independent school]]). Jack Wills’ also has affiliations with [[polo]], a sport stereotypically considered to be played and watched by the [[upper class]].


Three of Shawn's plays have been adapted into films: ''The Designated Mourner'' (basically a film of [[David Hare (dramatist)|David Hare]]'s stage production), ''Marie and Bruce'', and ''The Fever''. Oscar winner [[Vanessa Redgrave]] stars in the film adaptation ''[[The Fever (2004 film)|The Fever]]'' (2004) <ref>[http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/316296/The-Fever/overview ''The Fever'' - Review Summary] ''[[New York Times]]''.</ref>, which first aired on [[HBO]] on [[June 13]], [[2007]].
[[Category:Clothing retailers of the United Kingdom]]

[[Category:Clothing brands]]
Shawn has also written political commentary for ''[[The Nation (U.S. periodical)|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|Bertolt Brecht's]] ''[[The Threepenny Opera]],'' which opened at Studio 54 in Manhattan on [[March 25]], [[2006]]. He appears briefly in voiceover during "Song about the Futility of Human Endeavor."

==Plays==
* ''The Hotel Play'' (1970)
* ''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; new translation)
* ''Grasses of a Thousand Colors'' (2008)

==Film and television roles==
* ''[[All That Jazz]]'' (dir. [[Bob Fosse]], 1979) - Assistant insurance man
* ''[[Manhattan (film)|Manhattan]]'' (dir. [[Woody Allen]], 1979) - Jeremiah
* ''[[Atlantic City (film)|Atlantic City]]'' (dir. [[Louis Malle]], 1980) - Walter
* ''[[My Dinner with Andre]]'' (dir. [[Louis Malle]] 1981) - co-written with [[Andre Gregory]]
* ''[[Crackers (1984 film)|Crackers]]'' (dir. [[Louis Malle]], 1984)
* ''[[The Cosby Show]]'' (TV series; guest appearances 1987-91) - Jeffrey Engels
* ''[[The Bostonians (film)|The Bostonians]]'' (dir. [[James Ivory (director)|James Ivory]], 1984)
* ''[[The Hotel New Hampshire (film)|The Hotel New Hampshire]]'' (1984) - Freud
* ''[[Heaven Help Us (film)|Heaven Help Us]]'' (film) (1985)
* ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]'' (1987; dir. [[Rob Reiner]]) - Vizzini
* ''[[Radio Days]]'' (dir. [[Woody Allen]], 1987) - Masked Avenger (radio-show character)
* ''[[Prick Up Your Ears]]'' (dir. [[Stephen Frears]], [[1987 in film|1987]]) - [[John Lahr]]
* ''[[The Moderns]]'' (dir. [[Alan Rudolph]], 1988)
* ''[[We're No Angels]]'', 1989
* ''[[Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills]]'' (dir. [[Paul Bartel]], [[1989 in film|1989]])
* ''[[Nickel & Dime]]'' (1992) - Everett Willits
* ''[[Mom and Dad Save The World]] (1992) - Sibor
* ''[[Stargate SG1]]'' - Appeared as character in Season 9 episode [[The Ties That Bind]]
* ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' (TV series, recurring role 1993-1999) - Grand Nagus Zek
* ''[[The Pink Panther (1993 TV series)]] - The Little Man
* ''[[Vanya on 42nd Street]]'' (dir. [[Louis Malle]], 1994) - Uncle Vanya
* ''[[The Meteor Man (film)|The Meteor Man]]'' (1993) - Mr. Little
* ''[[Canadian Bacon]]'' (1995) - Canadian Prime Minster Clark MacDonald
* ''[[Just Like Dad]]'' (1995) - The dad
* ''[[A Goofy Movie]]'' (1995) - voice of Principal Mazur
* ''[[Toy Story]]'' (1995), ''[[Toy Story 2]]'' (1999), and ''[[Toy Story 3]]'' (2010) - voice of Rex
* ''[[House Arrest (film)|House Arrest]]'' (1996)-Victor 'Vic' Finley
* ''[[Clueless (film)|Clueless]]'' (movie & TV series, 1996-97) - Mr. Hall
* ''[[Vegas Vacation]]'' (dir. [[Stephen Kessler]], 1997) - Marty
* ''[[The Curse of the Jade Scorpion]]'' (dir. [[Woody Allen]], 2001) - George Bond
* ''[[Crossing Jordan]]'' (TV series, recurring role 2002- ) - Dr. Howard Stiles
* ''[[Duplex]]'' 2003 - Herman
* ''[[The Haunted Mansion (film)|The Haunted Mansion]]'' (dir. Rob Minkoff) 2003 - Ezra
* ''[[The Incredibles]]'' (2004) - voice of Gilbert Huph, Bob Parr's boss
* ''[[Melinda and Melinda]]'' (dir. [[Woody Allen]], 2004) - Sy
* ''[[Family Guy]]'' (TV series; two appearances) - voice of Bertram, Stewie's half-brother
* ''[[Chicken Little (2005 film)|Chicken Little]]'' (2005) - voice of Principal Fetchit
* "[[Fat Actress]]" (2005 Showtime series) - Doctor Von Oight
* ''[[Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers]]'' (2006) - voice of Purple Pirate Paul
* ''Air Buddies'' (2006) - voice of Billy the Goat
* ''[[Happily N'Ever After (film)|Happily N'Ever After]]'' (2007) - voice of Munk
* ''[[Southland Tales]]'' (dir. [[Richard Kelly (director)|Richard Kelly]], 2008) - Baron von Westphalen
* ''[[The L Word]]'' (2008) - William Halsey
* ''[[Kit Kittredge: An American Girl]]'' (2008) - Mr. Gibson
* ''[[Scooby-Doo and the Goblin King]]'' (2008) - Mr. Gibbles
* ''[[Gossip Girl (TV series)|Gossip Girl]]'' (2008-2009) - Cyrus Rose

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

==External links==
*[http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/pep/pepdesc.cfm?id=4158 An Innocent Man in Guantanamo with readings by Wallace Shawn] at LIVE from the New York Public Library, April 4, 2008
*[http://www.lannan.org/lf/rc/event/wallace-shawn/ Lannan Foundation: Wallace Shawn reading of ''The Fever'']
{{Memoryalpha}}
*{{imdb name|id=0001728|name=Wallace Shawn}}
*{{voice actor|id=1812|name=Wallace Shawn}}
*[http://www.graphesthesia.com/ws/ Graphesthesia.com: Wallace Shawn] (fan site)

{{DS9 cast}}

{{Persondata
|NAME=Shawn, Wallace
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Actor and playwright
|DATE OF BIRTH=[[November 12]], [[1943]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[New York City]], [[New York]], [[United States]]
|DATE OF DEATH=living
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shawn, Wallace}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:American film actors]]
[[Category:American television actors]]
[[Category:American voice actors]]
[[Category:The Collegiate School alumni]]
[[Category:Guggenheim Fellows]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of The American Academy of Arts and Letters]]
[[Category:People from New York City]]
[[Category:The Princess Bride]]

[[de:Wallace Shawn]]
[[fr:Wallace Shawn]]
[[ja:ウォーレス・ショーン]]
[[no:Wallace Shawn]]
[[pl:Wallace Shawn]]

Revision as of 17:45, 12 October 2008

Wallace Shawn
Wallace Shawn in Washington, D.C., 2005
Born
Wallace Shawn

Wallace Shawn (born November 12, 1943), sometimes credited as Wally Shawn, is an American actor and playwright. Regularly seen on film and television, where he is usually cast as a comic character actor, he has pursued a parallel career as a playwright whose work is often dark, politically charged and controversial.

Biography

Personal life

Shawn was born into a prominent Jewish family in New York City, where he continues to reside. He is the son of William Shawn, longtime editor of The New Yorker, and journalist Cecille Shawn (née Lyon); his brother Allen is a composer.[1] Shawn attended The Putney School, a private liberal arts high school in Putney, Vermont, and graduated with a B.A. in history from Harvard University. He studied economics and philosophy at Oxford, originally intending to become a diplomat; he also traveled to India as an English teacher, on a Fulbright program. Since 1979, he has made a living primarily as an actor.

Shawn's longtime companion is writer Deborah Eisenberg.

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.

Shawn made his film debut in 1979, playing Diane Keaton's ex-husband in Woody Allen's Manhattan. His best-known film roles include the evil Vizzini in the fairy tale comedy The Princess Bride (1987) and debate teacher Mr. Hall in Clueless (1995). His rare non-comic film roles include two collaborations with Andre Gregory and Louis Malle: the semi-autobiographical dialogue My Dinner with Andre, and a combined production-and-backstage-drama of Uncle Vanya titled Vanya on 42nd Street.

Shawn frequently appears on television, where he has appeared in many genres and series. He has had recurring roles as the Ferengi Grand Nagus Zek on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a comic ex-reporter on Murphy Brown, the Huxtables' neighbor on The Cosby Show, a psychiatrist on Crossing Jordan, and Marilu Henner's love interest on Taxi. He is also a voice actor for animated films and animated TV series, including Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. (cameo appearance as Rex the Green Dinosaur), Gilbert Huph in The Incredibles, and two episodes of Family Guy (as Stewie's half-brother Bertram). Shawn also cameoed as the voice of Principal Fetchit in Chicken Little and voiced the character of Munk in Happily N'Ever After. Another recent role was the megalomaniacal industrialist Baron von Westphalen in Southland Tales.

In a DVD extra for The Princess Bride, Shawn claimed (somewhat surprisingly, given his wide assortment of comedic film roles) that he lacks a sense of humor and played Vizzini in a way that seemed appropriate to him without actually getting the jokes.

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 the conversations with Andre Gregory that became My Dinner with Andre, Shawn later 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 worst and 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: in Aunt Dan and Lemon, which Shawn described as a cautionary tale against fascism, the character Lemon explained her neo-Nazi beliefs with such conviction that some critics called the play effectively pro-fascist. The monologue The Fever, originally created by Shawn to be performed for small audiences in apartments, was dismissed by some critics as "liberal guilt"; it 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 repressive anti-communist regimes.

Three of Shawn's plays have been adapted into films: The Designated Mourner (basically a film of David Hare's stage production), Marie and Bruce, and The Fever. Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave stars in the film adaptation The Fever (2004) [2], 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 voiceover during "Song about the Futility of Human Endeavor."

Plays

Film and television roles

References

  1. ^ Wallace Shawn Biography (1943-)
  2. ^ The Fever - Review Summary New York Times.

Further reading

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

External links

Template:Persondata

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