Will Clinger has worked as an actor, producer, writer and TV show host, and appeared on various stages and screens for over 30 years. He is probably best known as the host and segment producer of Wild Chicago, a television program that looked at the offbeat side of the city and aired on WTTW/Channel 11. His work on the show earned him fourteen Midwest Emmy awards. Will is currently producing and hosting the half-hour TV series Wild Travels, airing nationally on PBS (Midwest Emmy - Outstanding Achievement for On-Camera Talent). He has produced and hosted several documentaries: Vanishing Act – Memories of Vaudeville, Lost and Found – Chicago’s Offshore Treasures, The Bleacher Bums – Rabid Fans of Wrigley Field, and The Legend of Del Close, the first two of which also received Midwest Emmys.
Will has acted in the feature films Witless Protection, Stranger Than Fiction, Something Better Somewhere Else, Camp Manna, B-Roll, After Effect, No Sleep ‘Til Madison, Stash, and Serious Business, as well as the short films Stealing Kisses, Hit and Run, Rain Rain, and Train Town (which won a Silver Award at the 2007 Chicago International Film Festival and a 2008 Best of the Midwest award for Best Short Film). Will’s work in Train Town was nominated for a 2008 BMA Award for Best Actor. He has also guest starred on a number of network and cable television shows, including Chicago P.D., Sirens, Play by Play, ER, Early Edition, America's Most Wanted and The Untouchables, as well as the pilots Peep Show and JimMortal, and has a recurring role on the fourth season of Fargo.
Clinger wrote, directed and starred in the TV pilot William Flugle's Travel Adventures with William Flugle; it was an official selection at the Monmouth Film Festival, the Chicago Comedy Film Festival and the Chicago International REEL Shorts Festival, where it was named Best Comedy. He wrote, produced, co-directed and starred in the short film The Calvin Lewis Bobby Mayfair Show[s], which won an Audience Award at the Chicago Comedy Film Festival.
For the stage, Will wrote and performed the one-man play Dr. Harlon’s Keys to Better Living (Royal George Theatre) and
co-wrote and performed in the musical Two for the Show (Theater Wit), which received the After Dark Award for Best New Work and was nominated in the same category for the Joseph Jefferson Award. In addition to acting with numerous Chicago area theaters, he has appeared with the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, the Peninsula Players in Door County, Wisconsin and traveled all over the country with the Second City National Touring Company. He bears a startling resemblance to Willie B. Famous of the comedic bluegrass group The Famous Brothers.
Will has acted in the feature films Witless Protection, Stranger Than Fiction, Something Better Somewhere Else, Camp Manna, B-Roll, After Effect, No Sleep ‘Til Madison, Stash, and Serious Business, as well as the short films Stealing Kisses, Hit and Run, Rain Rain, and Train Town (which won a Silver Award at the 2007 Chicago International Film Festival and a 2008 Best of the Midwest award for Best Short Film). Will’s work in Train Town was nominated for a 2008 BMA Award for Best Actor. He has also guest starred on a number of network and cable television shows, including Chicago P.D., Sirens, Play by Play, ER, Early Edition, America's Most Wanted and The Untouchables, as well as the pilots Peep Show and JimMortal, and has a recurring role on the fourth season of Fargo.
Clinger wrote, directed and starred in the TV pilot William Flugle's Travel Adventures with William Flugle; it was an official selection at the Monmouth Film Festival, the Chicago Comedy Film Festival and the Chicago International REEL Shorts Festival, where it was named Best Comedy. He wrote, produced, co-directed and starred in the short film The Calvin Lewis Bobby Mayfair Show[s], which won an Audience Award at the Chicago Comedy Film Festival.
For the stage, Will wrote and performed the one-man play Dr. Harlon’s Keys to Better Living (Royal George Theatre) and
co-wrote and performed in the musical Two for the Show (Theater Wit), which received the After Dark Award for Best New Work and was nominated in the same category for the Joseph Jefferson Award. In addition to acting with numerous Chicago area theaters, he has appeared with the Michigan Shakespeare Festival, the Peninsula Players in Door County, Wisconsin and traveled all over the country with the Second City National Touring Company. He bears a startling resemblance to Willie B. Famous of the comedic bluegrass group The Famous Brothers.