By Peter Lindblad
Don’t let the wacky, oddball persona fool you. Harland Williams is more than just an improvisational comedy master who says whatever comes into his mind, although it’s usually hilarious. He’s a true Renaissance man.
Just go and watch some of the clips on YouTube of his visits with (now former) late-night talk show host Conan O’Brien, like this one
They are legendary. What many don’t know about Williams, however, is that he’s an artist, who developed his drawing and painting skills at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. After dropping out of school, and working as forest ranger, he continued to hone his abilities as a painter and a poet, before the comedy bug bit him and he moved to Los Angeles.
Like his comedy, Williams’ art is … well, unpredictable and he likes it that way.
“You might have an idea that you want to draw a cat, but you don’t know what the cat is going to look like,” said Williams. “And so, I think it’s all about the mystery … and the composition … I like to be surprised when I sit down to write a short story or a movie. [I want] … the ending to be as big a prize in a journey as the start, so I think art’s like that. You never really know what it’s going to look like, and that’s the beauty of when you do improv.”
Famous for his roles in the movies “Dumb and Dumber” and “There’s Something About May,” Williams will be performing at the Skyline Comedy Club in Appleton July 15-17 in a special event. He’s doing five shows.
Williams is also a musician, playing in a hobby band with his cousin, Barenaked Ladies’ keyboardist Kevin Hearn, that is known as The Cousins. In a video for the band’s 2001 single, “Falling for the First Time,” Williams plays a security guard.
These days, Williams said he is indulging in another of his interests.
“Well, you know what I’ve been really dabbling in lately, is … I’ve been writing a lot of short stories, like short stories between 50 and 120 pages,” said Williams.
Williams dips his toe into everything from horror to drama, putting the stories up on his website at harlandwilliams.com and on audio. He said the exercises have been “really fulfilling,” as a way to pass the time during the pandemic, which kept off stages for more than a year. One is about a bus driver in New York City on his final day of work, as he lands in trouble. Another, more serious tale is about a little boy surviving in war-torn Aleppo, Syria.
Harland said it “… really kind of lets me tell these stories that I don’t think I’d ever be able to.”