Artist Bio

(Bio as of November 2008)

William J. Norris most recently appeared at the Goodman in A Christmas Carol during the 2007/2008 Season. Mr. Norris has been a theater professional for 37 years. his other Goodman credits include productions of Cry, the Beloved Country; Romance; and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. He has performed multiple times at Victory Gardens, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire and Meadow Brook Theatre. He has appeared at The Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, the Mickery Theatre in Amsterdam and Vienna’s English Theatre in Austria. Last season he appeared at the Chicago Symphony Center as Antonio Salieri and as Winslow Homer at the Art Institute of Chicago. This past summer he played Henry (The Old Actor) in The Fantastiks both at Syracuse Stage and Indiana Repertory Theatre. Mr. Norris is also a playwright; his plays Dillinger, His Satanic Majesty and Before I Wake premiered in Chicago and have been produced nationwide. His play Bloody Bess was given a revival last spring by Backstage Theatre; and his adaptation of A Christmas Carol is being mounted this holiday season at the Mac-Inich Theater. Mr. Norris’ two one-acts, R.E.M. and Hunting in Dreams, will premiere at TinFish Theatre in the spring of 2009. Mr. Norris’ television and film credits include The Last Frontier, The Untouchables, The Babe, The Pit and the Pendulum and The Last Affair. He is also the co-screenwriter of the cult classic Herbert West: Re-Animator. He has been honored for his work as actor, director and writer with awards that include an Emmy, a Jeff and five Artisans.

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