‏Wallace Shawn‏

American character actor and writer Wallace Shawn has one of those fun, mischievously homely faces just made to entertain. Though he got out of the starting gate rather slowly, he has since excelled on stage, television and film while managing to turn himself into a winner with his loser-type looks. Woody Allen's character in the movie Manhattan (1979) amusingly describes Wallace's character as "a homunculus", which is a pretty fair description of this predominantly bald, wan, pucker-mouthed, butterball-framed, slightly lisping gent. Wallace made his movie debut in Allen's heralded classic playing Diane Keaton's ex-husband.Born to privilege on November 12, 1943 in New York City, Wallace was the son of renowned editor William Shawn of "The New Yorker" fame and educated at both Harvard University, where he studied history, and Magdalen College, Oxford. Wallace initially taught English in India on a Fulbright scholarship, and then English, Latin and drama back in New York. However, a keen interest in writing and acting soon compelled him to leave his cushy position and pursue a stage career as both playwright and actor. During his distinguished career, Wallace turned out several plays. "Our Late Night", the first of his works to be performed, was awarded an off-Broadway Obie in 1975. "A Thought in Three Parts" (1976); "The Mandrake" (1977), which he translated from the original Italian and in which he made his acting debut; "Marie and Bruce" (1979); "Aunt Dan and Lemon" (1985) and "The Fever", for which he received his second Obie Award for "Best New Play" during the 1990-91 season, then followed. A popular support player in both comedy and occasional drama, his assorted kooks, creeps, eggheads and schmucks possessed both endearing and unappetizing qualities. He earned some of his best early notices partnered with theatre director/actor Andre Gregory in the unique Louis Malle-directed film Mein Essen mit André (1981). Shawn co-wrote the improvisatory, humanistic piece and his brother, Allen Shawn, was the composer. Shawn and Gregory would collaborate again for Malle in another superb, original-concept film Vanja auf der 42. Straße (1994). Among the quality offbeat filming involving has been Bruce Paltrow's Der verführte Mann (1982); James Ivory's Die Damen aus Boston (1984); Stephen Frears' Das stürmische Leben des Joe Orton (1987); Rob Reiner's Die Braut des Prinzen (1987); Alan Rudolph's Wilde Jahre in Paris (1988) and Mrs. Parker und ihr lasterhafter Kreis (1994); Paul Bartel's Luxus, Sex und Lotterleben (1989); and several others for Woody Allen: Radio Days (1987), Schatten und Nebel (1991), Im Bann des Jade Skorpions (2001) and Melinda und Melinda (2004). Of late, he has lent his vocal talents to a considerable number of animated pictures including Der Goofy Film (1995), Toy Story (1995) (and its sequel), Das Dschungelbuch - Mowglis Abenteuer (1998), Die Unglaublichen (2004), Himmel und Huhn (2005) and Es war k'einmal im Märchenland (2006).Over the decades, Shawn has scurried about effortlessly in a number of television guest appearances including Taxi (1978), Homicide (1993), Ally McBeal (1997), Criminal Intent - Verbrechen im Visier (2001) and Desperate Housewives (2004), and has drummed up a few recurring roles for himself in the process, including Die Bill Cosby Show (1984), Murphy Brown (1988), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Crossing Jordan: Pathologin mit Profil (2001). In the series Clueless - Die wichtigen Dinge des Lebens (1996), based on the highly successful of the same name Clueless - Was sonst! (1995), Shawn revisited his role as the owlish high school teacher.