Wallace Shawn (born November 12, 1943) is an American actor and writer. Ubiquitous on film and television, where he is usually cast in comic roles, he has pursued a parallel career as a playwright whose work is often dark, politically charged and controversial. He is known for talking with a lisp, and his high-pitched, nasal voice. Biography Shawn was born in New York City, where he still lives. He is the son of William Shawn, longtime editor of The New Yorker, and journalist Cecille Lyon Shawn; his brother Allen is a composer. Shawn attended The Putney School (a liberal arts high school in Putney,