Edgar Oliver (born 1956?[1]) is an American stage and film actor, poet, performance artist and playwright. Born in Savannah, Georgia, he has lived and worked in New York City since 1977.[1] He is considered a "legend" of the downtown New York theatre scene.[2][3][4]
Oliver first started performing in New York City at the Pyramid Club in the mid-1980s. Notable New York City productions include his roles in Edward II with Cliplight Theater and numerous productions at the Axis Theatre Company including A Glance at New York (which played at the Edinburgh Festival) and his autobiographical one-man show East 10th Street: Self Portrait With Empty House which enjoyed an extended run with Axis.
His film credits include the Independent Spirit Award-winning The Jimmy Show and the multi-award-winning Henry May Long. He appeared in the latest Jared Hess film Gentlemen Broncos and also stars in the futurist thriller That's Beautiful Frank. He is also a frequent performer/storyteller with The Moth.
As a playwright Oliver has frequently been produced at La MaMa ETC, most notably the 2000 production of his play The Drowning Pages starred Deborah Harry (of Blondie fame).[5]
Oliver has published three poetry collections: A Portrait of New York by a Wanderer There, Summer, and The Man Who Loved Plants.
Oliver has also gained cult fame appearing on the Discovery Channel series Oddities and was notable for his line "Is that a straitjacket?", which was featured in the show's promos.
On November 26 2011, Third Man Records Released Tri-Color 45 of his "In The Park". Only 100 copies were produced: 50 were sold at Third Man Records in Nashville TN and 50 at the shop Obscura in New York.