Rubber-bodied actor/clown who works in film and TV but is primarily renowned for his vaudeville inspired performance art in which he performs silent comedy in old-fashioned baggy attire. Irwin studied classical acting at Oberlin College and clowning at the famed Ringling Brothers' and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. He also drew inspiration from great silent comics including Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd.Irwin made his feature debut as Ham Gravy, an old beau of Olive Oyl, in Robert Altman's "Popeye" (1980). In the early 1980s, he received numerous grants including the prestigious MacArthur
