Robin Williams
This page refers to the actor and comedian. For other uses, see Robin Williams (disambiguation)Robin McLaurin Williams (born
July 21,
1951[A birthdate in 1952 is misinformation, see RobinWilliams.net FAQ.] in
Chicago, Illinois) is an
Academy Award-winning
American actor and
comedian. As an actor he has had starring roles on television, stage, and film.
Early life
Williams was born in 1951 in
Chicago, Illinois and raised in
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan and
Marin County, California. His father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams, of
English,
Welsh and
Irish descent, was a senior executive at
Ford in charge of the Midwest area, and his mother Laurie was a
New Orleans-born former model of
French descent.
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1560252138] He has two half-brothers.
Early stand-up and TV career
Williams first achieved notice for his
stand-up routines performing for tips and working clubs like the Purple Onion in
San Francisco. After studying at
Claremont McKenna College (then called
Claremont Men's College) with the Strut and Fret theatre group in
Claremont, California, and at
Juilliard Drama School (where he befriended and roomed with actor
Christopher Reeve), he was cast by
Garry Marshall as the alien
Mork in a guest star part in the TV series
Happy Days. As Mork, Williams improvised much of his dialogue and devised plenty of rapid-fire verbal and physical comedy, speaking in a high, nasal voice. Mork's appearance was so popular with viewers that it led to a spin-off hit
television series,
Mork and Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982. Williams became an overnight sensation, and Mork was featured on posters, coloring books, lunchboxes, and other merchadise. His nonsensical
catchphrases, including the greeting "nanoo nanoo" and the swear word "shazbat", were widely known.
The majority of Williams' acting career has been in film, although he has given some memorable performances on stage as well (notably as
Estragon in a production of
Waiting for Godot). His first starring roles,
Popeye (1980) and
The World According to Garp (1982), were both flops, but with
Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) Williams was nominated for an
Academy Award and established a screen identity. Many of his roles have been comedies tinged with pathos (e.g.
The Birdcage,
Mrs. Doubtfire).
In particular, his role as the
Genie in the
animated film Aladdin was instrumental in establishing the importance of star power in
voice actor casting. Later, Williams once again used his voice talents in
Bicentennial Man, the 2005 animated feature,
Robots, and an uncredited vocal performance in 2006's
Everyone's Hero.
Williams has also starred in dramatic films. He was nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award for his role as an unorthodox and inspiring English teacher in
Dead Poets Society (1989). His later dramas included
Awakenings (1990) and
What Dreams May Come (1998).
In 1997 he won an
Oscar as
Best Supporting Actor for his role as a psychologist in
Good Will Hunting. However, by the early 2000s, he was thought by some to be typecast in films such as
Patch Adams (1998) and
Bicentennial Man (1999) that critics complained were excessively maudlin. This apparently prompted Williams to take radically unconventional roles, beginning with the dark comedy as a lowlife kiddie show host in
Death to Smoochy, followed by
One Hour Photo in a watershed performance as an obsessed film developer,
Insomnia as a sociopathic writer, and
The Final Cut, which is more in tune with Williams as a protagonist.
He is known for his wild
improv skills and
impersonations. Because his quick-wit performances frequently involve ingenious humor designed and delivered in rapid-fire succession completely while on stage, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest impromptu comedians of all time. He is a talented
mimic and can jump in and out of characters and various accents at an extremely fast pace. Williams states that he began doing impersonations as a child, mimicking his aunt's southern accent.
His most recent role was in the movie
The Night Listener, a screen adaption of the popular mystery novel, in which he plays a gay radio show host who must figure out the story behind a mysterious fourteen-year-old caller.
Personal life, charity work
Williams' first marriage was to Valerie Velardi on
June 4,
1978, with whom he had one child, Zachary (born 1983). The marriage ended in 1988. On
April 30,
1989, he married Marsha Garces. They have two children, Zelda Ray (born 1989) and Cody Alan (born 1992).
Robin and Marsha founded the
Windfall Foundation, a philanthropic organization to raise money for many different charities. Williams devotes much of his energy doing work for charities, including the
Comic Relief fund-raising efforts. He is also a
cycling fan, known to own hundreds of bicycles and to attend the
Tour de France. Through his interest in cycling, he has been a friend and supporter of
Lance Armstrong and his foundation, performing at events for the foundation.
Watching his frantic mannerisms and immediate changes in characters in his comedy, some have speculated that Williams is affected by
bipolar disorder, or an atypical form of high-functioning
Asperger syndrome but this has never been confirmed. A more likely explanation for his remarkable creativity and intense impulsive humor may be the reason that he is often referred to as "the poster child for
ADD," though this statement is often said with a sarcastic edge.
He was portrayed by
Chris Diamantopoulos in the
made for television biopic Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy (2005), documenting the actor's arrival in
Hollywood a struggling comedian and becoming an overnight star when he landed the role in
Mork & Mindy.
In the 2006
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards he was the Surprise Guest.
On
August 9th,
2006, it was reported that Williams recently checked himself into a rehabilitation center for alcoholism. His publicist has confirmed, saying "After 20 years of sobriety, Robin Williams found himself drinking again and has decided to take proactive measures to deal with this for his own well-being and the well-being of his family. He asks that you respect his and his family's privacy during this time. He looks forward to returning to work this fall to support his upcoming film releases."
Williams currently resides in
San Francisco, California.
Computer games
Williams is a self-confessed
gamer known to enjoy online
video games, recently playing
Warcraft 3,
Half-Life[http://www.pro-hl.com/robin_williams_interview.shtml] and the
first-person shooter Battlefield 2 as a sniper.
[http://thearchies.blogspot.com/2005/12/mork-me.html] In addition, he also plays the tabletop wargame
Warhammer 40,000. He stated in an interview for a video game magazine, that Nintendo contacted him once and told him because of his love of video games, if there ever is a live action
Pokémon movie made he'd be their first, last and only choice to play
Professor Oak. He also named his daughter Zelda because his son is a devoted fan of the
Legend of Zelda video game series. Williams was even in talks to do a voice for the game
Half-Life 2, because he is a big fan of the series. However, scheduling conflicts prevented this.
On
January 6,
2006 he performed live at
Consumer Electronics Show during
Google keynote.
[http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/06/live-coverage-of-the-google-keynote/]In the 2006
E3, on the invitation of
Will Wright, he demoed the creature editor of
Spore while simultaneously commenting on the creature's look: "This will actually make a
platypus look good."
[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1734727723734486891] He also complimented the game's versatility, comparing it to
Populous and
Black & White.
* Robin Williams has performed in the
USO for U.S. troops stationed in
Iraq for 3 years. Just days after the start of the
Iraq War, Williams performed for American troops stationed in
Afghanistan.
* He was roommates with the late
Superman star
Christopher Reeve. They remained good friends for the remainder of Reeve's life. Williams visited Reeve after the horseback riding accident that paralyzed him from the neck down and tried to cheer him up by arriving dressed as a clown doctor. Reeve stated that Robin was the first thing to make him laugh after the accident.
* An episode of
Mork and Mindy was made to highlight
Superman: The Movie. Mearth (
Jonathan Winters) began idolizing Christopher Reeve's character, after his parents took him to see the movie. The episode deals with Mork overcoming jealousy of Superman.
* He is a
Democrat and a
San Francisco resident (he owns a large house in the upper-class
Sea Cliff neighborhood).
* After some encouragement from his friend
Whoopi Goldberg, he was set to make a guest appearance in the
Star Trek: The Next Generation episode,
A Matter of Time, but had to pull out due to a scheduling conflict;
Matt Frewer took his place as time-traveling con man, Professor Berlingoff Rasmussen.
* During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Williams had a serious addiction to cocaine; he has since kicked the habit. One quote attributed to him: "Cocaine is God's way of telling you that you are making too much money." Williams was a close friend and frequent partier alongside
John Belushi. Williams says the death of his friend and the birth of his son prompted him to quit drugs: "Was it a wake-up call? Oh yeah, on a huge level. A grand jury will sober you up pretty quickly."
* For a time he dated adult film actress
Christy Canyon.
* At high school, he won a "Faisal" award for "Most Likely To Not Succeed"
* He appeared on an episode of
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that aired on
January 30,
2006. Via a live video link to the De'Aeth family whose house and animal rescue shelter were being made over, he encouraged their son Cody, a budding comedian, and gave the family's shelter a
recreational vehicle used in the movie
R.V.* According to the
Aladdin DVD commentary, most of his
dialogue as the Genie was
improvised.
* Williams speaks French. However, he does not do his own French dubbing in movies as
Jodie Foster sometimes did.
* He is a fan of the
Tour de France cycle race and good friend of 7-time Yellow Jersey winner
Lance Armstrong.
* He was the voice of
The Timekeeper, a former attraction at the
Walt Disney World Resort about a time-travelling robot who encounters Jules Verne and brings him to the future.
* He once appeared on an episode of
Whose Line is it Anyway? (Season 3, Episode 9: Nov. 16, 2000). During a game of "Scenes from a Hat," the scene "What Robin Williams is thinking right now" was pulled, and Williams stated "I have a career. What the hell am I doing here?"
* Shown donating blood numerous times directly after
9/11 to help victims of the attacks.
* At one point was in the running to play the
Riddler in the third
Batman film until director
Tim Burton dropped the project. Williams had earlier been a prime candidate to play the
Joker in the first film, and later expressed interest in assuming the role in sequel to 2005's
Batman Begins.
* He is good friends with
film director Chris Columbus who is also a
San Francisco resident.
* Is a huge fan of the Japanese anime
Neon Genesis Evangelion. (in fact, the toy used in
One Hour Photo was from Robin's personal collection). Also, in the CGI film
Robots (movie), William's character carries a spear nearly identical to the Lance of Longinus prominiently featured in EVA.
* Williams is a
Knighted member of the peerage for the West Kingdom of the
Society for Creative Anachronism.
* He is good friends with "Fellow Whovian"
Steve Martin, sometimes when both their schedules aren't too heavy they get together to watch DVDs of
Doctor Who.
* Is a fan of
rugby union, in particular the
All Blacks and is a close friend of
Jonah Lomu.
* In
2005 he successfully sued
Michael Clayton a former cast member of the
Legends in Concert stage show at the
Imperial Palace in
Las Vegas and his agent
Michael Pool for misrepresenting Clayton as the real Robin Williams to a
Star Tribune newspaper reporter and a Fire Department in
Missouri. A permanent injunction was issued against Clayton preventing him from ever performing as Robin Williams.
Reality...What a Concept (1977)
Throbbing Python of Love (1983)
A Night at the Met (1986)
Pecos Bill (1988)
Live 2002 (2002)
DVDs
Robin Williams: Live on Broadway (2002)
Guest appearances
*George Martin:
In My Life (1998) with
Bobby McFerrin*Himself on the American Version of
Whose Line is it Anyway.
*Himself:
Mind of Mencia*Man having lost his wife to his best friend:
Friends
*Man who loses his wife in a robbery. Homicide: Life on the Street (1994)*
"Road Trip with Robin"*
"Robin Williams mimic ends 'fraud'" (
BBC News)
*
"Robin Williams' impersonator stopped" (
AskMen.com)
*
"Robin Williams Enters Rehab - August 9, 2006"(
Access Hollywood)
*
The Robin Williams Fansite*
Robin Williams bio and pictures
*
Robin Williams Quotations*
Lovece, Frank,
New York Newsday (April 27, 2006):
