Fair comedian aims to bring joy to the masses

Bill Robison can hardly sit still inside the Northwest Montana Fair office — his hands fly about while he speaks, matching his expressive face as he bounces from one story to the next.

Performance is in his blood — whether he’s on stage or not.

Robison, 61, is part mime, part comedian, with a little musical flair in his repertoire for good measure. For the duration of the fair he’ll be showcasing his talents — and inciting laughter — on stage, as he strolls around the carnival grounds and in the grandstand prior to the evening rodeo. Robison thrives on audience engagement and bringing a little joy to the masses. He has performed his unique brand of physical comedy as an opener for Willie Nelson, on cruise ships and for cabarets, and said he came close to snagging a clown role with the infamous artistic troupe, Cirque du Soleil. Now, Robison makes a living traveling around the country performing at fairs and festivals and is a returning act at the Northwest Montana Fair.

The Seattle resident said he’s been performing “since the beginning of time — and I’ve never had the sense to stop,” he added. “The world needs it. It just feels good to make people laugh.”

He was drawn to mimery at a young age and recalls imitating the walk of an elderly woman when he was just 4 years old. He performed in every play his high school produced, and went on to study theater in college.

“The reality of actually being a performer didn’t hit until I was in high school and doing plays and I went, ‘I can do this —people do this for a living,’” he said.

After graduating, he worked professionally as an actor, playing largely comedic or character roles.

His show scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday (today) on the Huckleberry Stage will feature a mixture of music and miming antics.

“For example, I start to sing a song with a ukulele, but I get interrupted by a pesky fly that keeps buzzing around my head and that eventually turns into a full-scale fly fight a la the Warner Brothers cartoon,” Robison explained.

Another one his favorite bits transpires in what Robison calls “audience warm-up” where he’ll do improvisational comedy in the crowd before the main act goes on — anything from following folks to their seats or imitating them.

“A guy will be cutting up to go to his seat … and he’ll reach back for his girlfriend’s hand and of course I grab his hand and we keep going,” Robison said. “He’s walking and walking and either he realizes it or he doesn’t — I’ve walked them all the way to the chair and sat down.”

When Robison isn’t acting or miming, he spends his time hiking or traveling with his girlfriend Sandy and their two dogs in a 1974 VW bus. But his greatest joy is generating laughter. While he’s no stranger to more serious dramatic arts, Robison calls himself “a goofball” who needs to make people laugh.

“People gotta laugh,” he said. “It’s a thing that’s deep down. It’s in our DNA.”

He draws inspiration from the old silent comedians and icons such as Buster Keaton, Dick Van Dyke and Carol Burnett.

“My stage show is a big bag of tricks — singing, the mime stuff, audience interaction,” he said. “I am so pleased to be back here. It’s a great little fair — the people are really friendly.”

Reporter Mackenzie Reiss can be reached at (406) 758-4433 or mreiss@dailyinterlake.com.