Even before he was ten years old, John Ellis was set on the course he was to follow. His parents introduced him to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. John was hooked, not only by the characters he saw on stage but by the thought of being up there himself, as king or villain or — most wonderful of all — as clown, making an entire audience roar with laughter. Soon after, in movies and TV, he met many other people who would become his teachers: Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Jack Benny — and every clown in every show he ever saw!
Since moving to Bainbridge Island in 1989, John has led a “Yes, and…” kind of life. As his nominators point out,“He has been an actor in Bainbridge Performing Arts productions for many years, along with those of Island Theatre and the monthly performances of The Edge, a troupe he co-founded 20 years ago with Frank Buxton.” Together John and Frank also created the SmARTfilm series at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art.
John is a playwright, a teacher, and a visual artist who works in “charcoal, graphite, monotype, crayon or whatever else might be lying around.” And beyond that, he has been a regular 4th of July Parade announcer and an emcee for cultural events. He is a family man, an active community member, a philanthropist for cultural causes, and a devoted friend. John Ellis could well say, along with Walt Whitman, “I am large; I contain multitudes.”
Listen to Bainbridge Community Broadcasting’s interview with John Ellis: