During his final years, Williams struggled with severe depression before his death fromsuicide in 2014 at hisParadise Cay, California, home at age 63.[a] According to his widow, Williams had been diagnosed withParkinson's disease, and had been experiencing depression, anxiety, and increasing paranoia.[12] His autopsy found "diffuseLewy body disease",[12][13] andLewy body dementia professionals said his symptoms were consistent withdementia with Lewy bodies.[13][14][15] In the weeks following his suicide, Williams was celebrated in a wave of tributes.
Early life and education
Robin McLaurin Williams was born atSt. Luke's Hospital inChicago,Illinois,[16] on July 21, 1951.[17][b] His father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams (1906–1987), was a senior executive inFord'sLincoln-Mercury Division.[20][21] His mother, Laurie McLaurin (1922–2001), was a former model fromJackson, Mississippi, whose great-grandfather was Mississippi senator and governorAnselm J. McLaurin.[22] Williams had two older half-brothers: a paternal half-brother, Robert (also known as Todd),[23] and a maternal half-brother, McLaurin.[24] While his mother was a practitioner ofChristian Science, Williams was raised in his father'sEpiscopal faith.[25][26] During a television interview onInside the Actors Studio in 2001, Williams credited his mother as an important early influence on his humor, and he tried to make her laugh to gain attention.[27]
Williams attended public elementary school at Gorton Elementary School inLake Forest and laterDeer Path Junior High School.[28] He described himself as a quiet child who did not overcome his shyness until becoming involved with his high school drama department,[29] while friends recalled him as being very funny.[28] In late 1963, when Williams was 12, his father was transferred to Detroit. The family lived in a 40-room farmhouse on 20 acres (8 ha)[20] in suburbanBloomfield Hills, Michigan, where Williams attended the private all-boysDetroit Country Day School.[28][30] He excelled academically, served as class president, and was on the school's wrestling team, but was also bullied for his weight and would play at home by himself.[31]
With both parents working, Williams was partly raised by the family's maid, who was his main companion. When Williams was 16, his father took early retirement and the family moved toTiburon, California.[20][32][33] Following their move, Williams attendedRedwood High School in nearbyLarkspur. Williams described the school asGestalt, he went on to join the drama club becoming involved in theater, which first helped foster his interest in arts and entertainment.[31] At the time of his graduation in 1969, he was voted "Most Likely Not to Succeed" and "Funniest" by his classmates.[34] After high school graduation, Williams enrolled atClaremont Men's College inClaremont, California, to studypolitical science; he dropped out to pursue acting.[20][35] Williams studied theater for three years at theCollege of Marin, acommunity college inKentfield, California. According to the College of Marin's drama professor, James Dunn, the depth of the young actor's talent became evident when Williams was cast in the musicalOliver! asFagin. He often improvised during his time in the drama program, leaving cast members in hysterics.[36] Dunn called his wife after one late rehearsal to tell her Williams "was going to be something special".[36]
In 1973, Williams attained a full scholarship to theJuilliard School (Group 6, 1973–1976) inNew York City. He was one of 20 students accepted into the freshman class, and Williams andChristopher Reeve were the only two accepted byJohn Houseman for the school's Advanced Program that year. Williams's classmates includedWilliam Hurt andMandy Patinkin.[37][38] According to biographer Jean Dorsinville,Franklyn Seales and Williams were roommates at Juilliard.[39] Reeve recalled his first impression of Williams when they were new students at Juilliard: "He wore tie-dyed shirts with tracksuit bottoms and talked a mile a minute. I'd never seen so much energy contained in one person. He was like an untied balloon that had been inflated and immediately released. I watched in awe as he virtually caromed off the walls of the classrooms and hallways. To say that he was 'on' would be a major understatement."[38]
Williams and Reeve had a class in dialects taught byEdith Skinner, whom Reeve said was one of the world's leading voice and speech teachers. According to Reeve, Skinner was bewildered by Williams and his ability to instantly perform in many different accents.[38]
Their primary acting teacher wasMichael Kahn, who was "equally baffled by this human dynamo".[38] Williams already had a reputation for being funny, but Kahn criticized his antics as simple stand-up comedy. In a later production, Williams silenced his critics with his well-received performance as an old man inTennessee Williams'sNight of the Iguana. Reeve wrote, "He simplywas the old man. I was astonished by his work and very grateful that fate had thrown us together."[38] The two remained close friends until Reeve's death in 2004. Their friendship was like "brothers from another mother", according to Williams's son Zak.[40]
During the summers of 1974 to 1976, Williams worked as abusboy atThe Trident inSausalito, California.[41] He left Juilliard[42][43] during his junior year in 1976, following Houseman's suggestion that the school had nothing more they could teach him.[37][44]Gerald Freedman, another of his teachers at Juilliard, called Williams a "genius" and that the school's conservative and classical style of training did not suit him; to those who knew him, it came as no surprise that Williams left.[45]
Career
1976–1982: Stand-up comedy andMork & Mindy
Robin Williams stars as Mork on ABC Television'sMork & Mindy, 1978.
Williams began performing stand-up comedy in theSan Francisco Bay Area in 1976.[46] His first performance took place at theHoly City Zoo, a San Francisco comedy club where he worked his way up from tending bar.[47] During the 1960s, San Francisco had been a hub for rock music, thehippie movement,drugs, and asexual revolution. By the late 1970s, Williams played a leading role in what criticGerald Nachman described as the city's "comedy renaissance".[8]: 6 Reflecting on that era, Williams said that he found out about "drugs and happiness" during that period, adding that he saw "the best brains of my time turned to mud".[37] Williams moved to Los Angeles and continued performing stand-up at clubs, includingthe Comedy Store. There, in 1977, he was seen by television producerGeorge Schlatter, who asked him to appear on a revival of his showLaugh-In. The show aired later that year and marked Williams' television debut.[37] That same year, he performed a show at theL.A. Improv forHome Box Office.[48] Although theLaugh-In revival failed, it opened doors for Williams' television career; he continued performing stand-up at comedy clubs such as theRoxy to help keep his improvisational skills sharp.[37][49] Williams also took his act overseas and performed atthe Fighting Cocks in London.[50]
David Letterman, who knew Williams for nearly 40 years, recalled first seeing him perform as a newcomer at the Comedy Store in Hollywood. Letterman, already an established comedian at the time, described Williams' arrival as "like a hurricane", saying that he thought to himself, "Holy crap, there goes my chance in show business."[51] Williams' first credited film role was a minor part in the 1977 low-budget comedyCan I Do It... 'Til I Need Glasses?. However, his first starring performance was asthe title character inPopeye (1980), in which Williams showcased the acting skills previously demonstrated in his television work. The film's commercial disappointment was not blamed on his performance.[52][53]
Photo by Michael Dressler, used as cover photo forTime, March 12, 1979
After theLaugh-In revival, and appearing in the cast ofThe Richard Pryor Show onNBC, Williams was cast byGarry Marshall as the alien Mork in the 1978Happy Days episode "My Favorite Orkan".[37][54] Sought after as a last-minute cast replacement for a departing actor, Williams impressed the producer with his quirky humor when he sat on his head when asked to take a seat for the audition.[55] As Mork, Williams improvised much of his dialogue and physical comedy, speaking in a high, nasal voice, and he made the most of the script. The cast and crew, as well as television network executives, were deeply impressed with Williams's performance. The executives moved quickly to sign Williams four days later before competitors could make their own offers.[56]
Mork's appearance proved so popular with viewers that it led to the spin-off television sitcomMork & Mindy, which co-starredPam Dawber, and ran from 1978 to 1982; the show was written to accommodate his extreme improvisations in dialogue and behavior. Although he portrayed the same character as inHappy Days, the series was set in the present inBoulder, Colorado, instead of the late 1950s inMilwaukee.Mork & Mindy at its peak had a weekly audience of sixty million and was credited with turning Williams into a "superstar".[37] Among young people, the show was very popular because Williams became "a man and a child, buoyant, rubber-faced, an endless gusher of ideas", according to criticJames Poniewozik.[57]
Mork became popular, featured on posters, coloring books, lunch-boxes, and other merchandise.[58]Mork & Mindy was such a success in its first season that Williams appeared on the March 12, 1979, cover ofTime magazine.[59][60] The cover photo, taken by Michael Dressler in 1979, is said to have "[captured] his different sides: the funnyman mugging for the camera, and a sweet, more thoughtful pose that appears on a small TV he holds in his hands", according to Mary Forgione of theLos Angeles Times.[61] This photo was installed in theNational Portrait Gallery in theSmithsonian Institution shortly after Williams died to allow visitors to pay their respects.[61] He also appeared on the cover of the August 23, 1979, issue ofRolling Stone, photographed byRichard Avedon.[62][63]
With his success onMork & Mindy, Williams began to reach a wider audience with his stand-up comedy, starting in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, including threeHBO comedy specials:Off The Wall (1978),An Evening with Robin Williams (1983), andA Night at the Met (1986).[64] Williams won aGrammy Award for Best Comedy Album for the recording of his 1979 live show at theCopacabana in New York City,Reality... What a Concept.[65]
1982–1999: Film stardom and acclaim
Williams starred as the lead character inThe World According to Garp (1982), which he noted "may have lacked a certain madness onscreen, but it had a great core".[47] CriticRoger Ebert wrote of his performance, "Although Robin Williams plays Garp as a relatively plausible, sometimes ordinary person, the movie never seems bothered by the jarring contrast between his cheerful pluckiness and the anarchy around him."[66] Williams continued with other smaller roles in less successful films, such asThe Survivors (1983) andClub Paradise (1986), although he said these roles did not help advance his film career.[47]
Williams appeared oppositeSteve Martin atLincoln Center in anoff-Broadway production ofWaiting for Godot in 1988.[70][71] Many of his subsequent roles were in comedies tinged withpathos, such asMrs. Doubtfire (1993) andPatch Adams (1998).[72] Looking over most of Williams's filmography, one writer was "struck by the breadth" and radical diversity of most of the roles Williams portrayed.[73] In 1989, he played a private-school English teacher inDead Poets Society, which included a final, emotional scene that some critics said "inspired a generation" and became a part of pop culture.[74] Similarly, Williams's performance as atherapist inGood Will Hunting (1997) deeply affected even some real therapists.[75] InAwakenings (1990), he plays a doctor modeled afterOliver Sacks, who wrote the book on which the film is based. Sacks later said the way Williams's mind worked was a "form of genius". In 1991, Williams played an adultPeter Pan in the filmHook, although he had said that he would have to lose 25 pounds for the role.[76]Terry Gilliam, who directed Williams in two of his films,The Fisher King (1991) andThe Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), said in 1992 that Williams had the ability to "go from manic to mad to tender and vulnerable... [Williams had] the most unique mind on the planet. There's nobody like him out there."[77]
Williams in Washington, D.C., in 1998
While Williams voiced characters in several animated films, his voice role as theGenie in the animated musicalAladdin (1992) was written for Williams. The film's directors said that they had taken a risk by writing the role.[78] At first, Williams refused the role because it was aDisney movie and he did not want the studio profiting by selling merchandise based on the movie. Williams accepted the role with certain conditions: "I'm doing it basically because I want to be part of this animation tradition. I want something for my children. One deal is, I just don't want to sell anything—as in Burger King, as in toys, as in stuff."[79] Williams improvised much of his dialogue, recording approximately 30 hours of tape,[20] and impersonated dozens of celebrities, includingEd Sullivan,Jack Nicholson,Robert De Niro,Groucho Marx,Rodney Dangerfield,William F. Buckley Jr.,Peter Lorre,Arnold Schwarzenegger, andArsenio Hall.[80] Williams's role inAladdin became one of his most recognized and best-loved, and the film was the highest-grossing of 1992; it won numerous awards, including aSpecial Golden Globe Award for Vocal Work in a Motion Picture for Williams. His performance paved the way for other animated films to incorporate actors with more star power.[81] Williams was named aDisney Legend in 2009.[82]
Due to Disney breaking an agreement with Williams regarding the use of the Genie in the advertising forAladdin, he refused to sign for the direct-to-video sequel,The Return of Jafar (1994); the Genie was instead voiced byDan Castellaneta. WhenJeffrey Katzenberg was replaced byJoe Roth as Walt Disney Studios chairman, Roth organized a public apology to Williams.[83] He would, in turn, reprise the role in the second sequel,Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996).[84] During this time, Williams lent his voice toFernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992). Other dramatic performances by Williams includeMoscow on the Hudson (1984),What Dreams May Come (1998), andBicentennial Man (1999).[85] During the early 2000s, Williams demonstrated a new rank of his versatility by playing darker roles than he had in the previous decades. Williams appeared with fellow comedian,Billy Crystal, in an unscripted cameo at the beginning of a 1997 episode of the third season ofFriends.[86]
Williams's performances garnered various accolades, including anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance inGood Will Hunting;[54] as well as two previous Academy Award nominations, forDead Poets Society, and as a troubled homeless man inThe Fisher King, respectively.[54] Among the actors who helped Williams during his acting career, he credited Robert De Niro, from whom Williams learned the power of silence and economy of dialogue when acting. FromDustin Hoffman, with whom Williams co-starred inHook, he learned to take on totally different character types, and to transform his characters by extreme preparation.Mike Medavoy, producer ofHook, told its director,Steven Spielberg, that he intentionally teamed up Hoffman and Williams for the film because he knew they wanted to work together, and that Williams welcomed the opportunity of working with Spielberg.[87] HavingWoody Allen, who directed him and Billy Crystal inDeconstructing Harry (1997), helped Williams. Allen knew that Crystal and Williams had often worked together on stage.[88]
2000–2014: Children's films, return to television, and final years
Williams at aUnited Service Organization (USO) show on December 20, 2007Williams at the USO World Gala in Washington, D.C., on October1, 2008
Williams was the host of a talk show forAudible that aired in April 2000 and was only available on Audible's website.[89][90] InInsomnia (2002), Williams portrayed a murderer on the run from a sleep-deprived Los Angeles police detective (played byAl Pacino) in rural Alaska.[91] That same year, in the psychological thrillerOne Hour Photo, Williams portrayed an emotionally disturbed photo development technician who becomes obsessed with a family for whom he has developed pictures for a long time.[92] In the 2004 science fiction psychological thrillerThe Final Cut, Williams played a professional who specializes in editing the memories of unsavory people into uncritical memorials that are played at funerals. His many television appearances included an episode ofWhose Line Is It Anyway?,[93] and Williams starred in an episode ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit. He headlined his ownone-man show,Robin Williams: Live on Broadway, which played at theBroadway Theatre in July 2002.[94]
Williams's stand-up work was a consistent thread throughout his career, as seen by the success of his one-man show (and subsequent DVD),Robin Williams: Live on Broadway (2002). In 2004, Williams was voted 13th onComedy Central's list of "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time". Two years later, he was the Surprise Guest at theNickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards,[95] and appeared on an episode ofExtreme Makeover: Home Edition that aired January 30.[96] After a six-year hiatus, in August 2008, Williams announced a new 26-city tour,Weapons of Self-Destruction. The tour began at the end of September 2009, and concluded in New York on December 3, and was the subject of anHBO Special on December 8, 2009.[97]
Years after the films, Janet Hirshenson revealed in an interview that Williams had expressed interest in portrayingRubeus Hagrid in theHarry Potter film series, but was rejected by director Chris Columbus due to the "British-only edict".[98] In 2006, Williams starred in five movies, includingMan of the Year, a political satire, andThe Night Listener, a thriller about a radio show host who realizes that a child with whom he has developed a friendship may not exist.[85] Williams continued to provide voices in other animated films, includingRobots (2005), theHappy Feetfilm franchise (2006–2011), and an uncredited vocal performance inEveryone's Hero (2006). He also voiced the holographic character Dr. Know in the live-action filmA.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). Williams was the voice ofThe Timekeeper, a former attraction at theWalt Disney World Resort about a time-traveling robot who encountersJules Verne and brings him to the future.[99]
Williams married actress Valerie Velardi in 1978, following a live-in relationship with comedian, writer, and actressElayne Boosler.[106] Velardi and Williams met in 1976 while he was working as a bartender at a San Francisco tavern. Their son, Zachary Pym, was born in 1983.[107] Velardi and Williams were divorced in 1988.[108]
While it was reported that Williams began an affair with Zachary's nanny,Marsha Garces, in 1986,[109] Velardi stated in the 2018 documentary,Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, that the relationship with Garces began after the two had separated.[110] On April 30, 1989, Williams married Garces, who was six months pregnant with their first child. They had two children,Zelda Rae (born 1989) and Cody Alan (born 1991). In March 2008, Garces filed for divorce from Williams, citing irreconcilable differences.[111][112] Their divorce was finalized in 2010.[113]
In 2011, Williams married graphic designer Susan Schneider, and they remained married until his death.[113][114] They lived at their house inSea Cliff, San Francisco, California.[111] Williams said, "My children give me a great sense of wonder. Just to see them develop into these extraordinary human beings."[115]
Interests
Williams at theBBC World Debate on February 27, 2008
Williams was a fan of anime and collectible figures. His daughter described him as a "figurine hoarder"; one of his figures was the character Deunan Knute from the 2004 anime filmAppleseed, of which Williams was a fan. He also liked the 2004 anime filmGhost in the Shell 2: Innocence.[125][126]
Williams was raised and sometimes identified himself as anEpiscopalian. In a comedy routine, Williams described his denomination as: "I have that idea of Chicago Protestant, Episcopal—Catholic light: half the religion, half the guilt."[130] He also described himself as an "honorary Jew".[131]
Philanthropy
In 1986, Williams teamed up with Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal to establishComic Relief USA. This annual HBO television benefit devoted to the homeless raised $80million as of 2014.[132]Bob Zmuda, creator of Comic Relief, explains that Williams felt blessed because he came from a wealthy home, but wanted to do something to help those less fortunate.[133] Williams made benefit appearances to support literacy and women's rights, along with appearing at benefits for veterans. He was a regular on theUSO circuit, where Williams traveled to 13 countries and performed to approximately 90,000 troops.[134] After his death, the USO thanked Williams "for all he did for the men and women of our armed forces".[135]
Williams and his second wife Marsha founded a philanthropic organization called the Windfall Foundation to raise money for many charities. In December 1999, he sang in French on theBBC-inspired music video of international celebrities doing a cover version ofthe Rolling Stones' 1974 single "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" for the charity Children's Promise.[136]
In response to the2010 Canterbury earthquake, Williams donated all proceeds of hisWeapons of Self DestructionChristchurch performance to help rebuild the New Zealand city. Half the proceeds were donated to theRed Cross and half to the mayoral building fund.[137] Williams performed with the USO for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.[138] For several years, Williams supportedSt. Jude Children's Research Hospital.[139]
Substance abuse
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Williams wasaddicted to cocaine.[54][140] He was a casual friend of theSaturday Night Live comedianJohn Belushi,[77] and partied with him the night before Belushi died of a drug overdose in 1982. The shock of Belushi's death, along with the birth of his son Zak, prompted Williams to get sober: "Was it a wake-up call? Oh yeah, on a huge level. The grand jury helped, too."[54] Williams turned to exercise and cycling to help alleviate his depression after Belushi's death; according to the bicycle shop owner Tony Tom, Williams said "cycling saved my life".[141][142][143]
In 2003, Williams began abusing alcohol again during production of the filmThe Big White (2005) in Alaska.[140] In 2006, he checked into a substance-abuse rehabilitation center inNewberg, Oregon.[144][145] Years later, Williams acknowledged his failure to maintainsobriety, but said that he never returned to using cocaine, saying in a 2010 interview: "Cocaine—paranoid and impotent, what fun. There was no bit of me thinking, ooh, let's go back to that. Useless conversations until midnight, waking up at dawn feeling like a vampire on a day pass."[146] In mid-2014, Williams was admitted tothe Hazelden Foundation Addiction Treatment Center inCenter City, Minnesota, again for alcoholism.[147]
Williams's publicist, Mara Buxbaum, commented that he hadsevere depression before his death.[151] His wife, Susan Schneider, said that in the period before his death, Williams had been sober but was diagnosed with early-stageParkinson's disease, which he had not made public.[152][153] An autopsy revealed that Williams had diffuseLewy bodies, which had been misdiagnosed as Parkinson's, and this may have contributed to his depression.[154][155][156]
In an essay published in the journalNeurology two years after his death, Schneider revealed that the pathology of Lewy body disease in Williams was described by several doctors as among the worst pathologies they had seen. She described the early symptoms of his disease as beginning in October 2013. Williams's initial condition included a sudden and prolonged spike infear,anxiety,stress, andinsomnia, which worsened in severity and includedmemory loss,paranoia, anddelusions. According to Schneider, "Robin was losing his mind and he was aware of it... He kept saying, 'I just want to reboot my brain.'"[157]
Death
Williams died in hisParadise Cay, California, home on August 11, 2014.[11][158] His primary cause of death was declared assuicide by hanging amidLewy body dementia (LBD) and other associated factors.[159][155] Describing the disease as "the terrorist inside my husband's brain", Schneider said that "however you look at it—the presence of Lewy bodies took his life", referring to his previous diagnosis of Parkinson's.[157] She noted "how we as a culture don't have the vocabulary to discuss brain disease in the way we do about depression. Depression is a symptom of LBD and it's not about psychology – it's rooted in neurology. His brain was falling apart."[160] Medical experts had earlier struggled to determine a cause, and had eventually diagnosed him with Parkinson's disease.[157]
TheLewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) clarified the distinction between the term used in Williams's autopsy report, "diffuse Lewy body dementia", which is more commonly called "diffuse Lewy body disease", and refers to the underlying disease process—and the umbrella term, "Lewy body dementia"—which encompasses bothParkinson's disease dementia (PDD) anddementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).[13] According to LBDA spokesperson Dennis Dickson, "The report confirms he experienced depression, anxiety, and paranoia, which may occur in either Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies.... In early PD, Lewy bodies are generally limited in distribution, but in DLB, the Lewy bodies are spread widely throughout the brain, as was the case with Robin Williams."[13]Ian G. McKeith, professor and researcher of Lewy body dementias, said that Williams's symptoms and autopsy findings were explained by DLB.[14] Williams's body wascremated at Monte's Chapel of the Hills inSan Anselmo, and his ashes were scattered overSan Francisco Bay on August 21, 2014.[161][162]
Aftermath and tributes
Floral tributes to Williams at the San FranciscoPacific Heights home used for the filming ofMrs. Doubtfire, August 2014
After Williams's death was announced, media outlets published eulogies written by his family and associates, including Susan Schneider,Marsha Garces Williams,Zelda Williams,[163] andRussell Brand.[164] Many other artists and celebrities offered public acknowledgements on social media.[165] PresidentBarack Obama released a statement shortly after Williams's death:
Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between ... He arrived in our lives as an alien—but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit. He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most—from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets.[166]
At the time of his death, Williams planned to appear as the "Blackmail" special guest for the final night ofMonty Python'sten-date stage shows in London with his friendEric Idle but canceled, citing severe depression.[167] The show's home video release was dedicated to Williams.[167]
Shortly after Williams's death,Disney Channel,Disney XD, andDisney Junior airedAladdin commercial-free over the course of a week, with a dedicated drawing of the Genie at the end of each airing before the credits.[170] In honor of his theater work, the lights ofBroadway were darkened for the evening of August 14.[171] That night, the cast of theAladdin musical joined the audience in a sing-along of "Friend Like Me", an Oscar-nominated song originally performed by Williams.[172]
During the66th Primetime Emmy Awards on August 25, Billy Crystal presented a tribute to Williams, referring to him as "the brightest star in our comedy galaxy". Afterward, some of Williams's best comedy moments were shown, including his firstThe Tonight Show appearance, indicating his great life in making people laugh.[178][179] Talk show hosts, includingDavid Letterman,Conan O'Brien,Seth Meyers,Jimmy Kimmel, andJimmy Fallon, paid tribute to Williams on their respective shows.[180]
On September 9, 2014,PBS aired a one-hour special devoted to Williams's career.[181] Later that month, family members and celebrities paid tribute to his life and career in San Francisco.[182] British heavy metal bandIron Maiden dedicated a song to Williams, titled "Tears of a Clown", on their 2015 albumThe Book of Souls. The song looks into his depression and suicide, and how he attempted to hide his condition from the public.[183]
In September 2020,Vertical Entertainment released a documentary titledRobin's Wish about Williams's battle with Lewy body dementia.[191] In May 2022, Williams was inducted into a hall of fame at theNational Comedy Center inJamestown, New York.[192] In 2025, the deceased Williams became the subject of a controversy over AI generated videos in which his daughter, Zelda Williams, pleaded for people to stop sending her AI videos of her father, stating that's "not what he would have wanted."[193]
Recognition and legacy
You can't look at any modern comic and say, "That's the descendant of Robin Williams", because it's not possible to be a Robin Williams rip-off.... He raised the bar for what it's possible to do, and made an enormous amount of us want to be comedians.
Although Williams was first recognized as a stand-up comedian and television star, he became known for acting in film roles of substance and serious drama. Williams was considered a "national treasure" by many in the entertainment industry and by the public.[77][195]
Williams's onstage energy and improvisational skill became a model for a new generation of stand-up comedians. Many comedians valued the way he worked highly personal issues into his comedy routines, especially his honesty about drug and alcohol addiction, along with depression.[196] According to media scholar Derek A. Burrill, because of the openness with which Williams spoke about his own life, "probably the most important contribution he made to pop culture, across so many different media, was as Robin Williams the person".[196]
Williams created a signature free-form comedy persona so widely and uniquely identified that new comedians likeJim Carrey impersonated him,[197] paving the way for the growing comedy scene that developed in San Francisco. Young comedians felt more liberated on stage by seeing his spontaneously diverse range: "One moment acting as a bright, mischievous child, then as a wise philosopher or alien from outer space".[198] According toJudd Apatow, the eclectic performer's rapid-fire improvisational style was an inspiration as well as an influence for other comedians, but his talent was so extremely unusual no one else could possibly attempt to copy it.[194]
Williams's film performances often influenced other actors, both in and out of the film industry. DirectorChris Columbus, who directed him inMrs. Doubtfire, says watching him work "was a magical and special privilege. His performances were unlike anything any of us had ever seen, they came from some spiritual and otherworldly place."[199] Looking over most of Williams's filmography, Alyssa Rosenberg atThe Washington Post was "struck by the breadth" and radical diversity of most of his roles, writing that "Williams helped us grow up".[73]
Comedic style
Williams said that, partly due to the stress of performing stand-up, he started using drugs andalcohol early in his career. He further said that he neither drank nor took drugs while on stage, but occasionally performed whenhung over from the previous day. During the period when he was usingcocaine, Williams said it made himparanoid when performing on stage.[77]
Williams once described the life of stand-up comedians as follows:
It's a brutal field, man. They burn out. It takes its toll. Plus, the lifestyle—partying, drinking, drugs. If you're on the road, it's even more brutal. You gotta come back down to mellow your ass out, and then performing takes you back up. They flame out because it comes and goes. Suddenly they're hot, and then somebody else is hot. Sometimes they get very bitter. Sometimes they just give up. Sometimes they have a revival thing and they come back again. Sometimes they snap. The pressure kicks in. You become obsessed and then you lose that focus that you need.[8]: 34–35
Some, such as the criticVincent Canby, were concerned that Williams's monologues were so intense that it seemed as though, at any minute, his "creative process could reverse into a complete meltdown".[200] His biographer, Emily Herbert, described Williams's "intense, utterly manic style of stand-up [which sometimes] defies analysis... [going] beyond energetic, beyond frenetic... [and sometimes] dangerous... because of what it said about the creator's own mental state."[200] Regarding the quick-fire delivery of his performance, Williams said, "Usually, you start off performing in bars, where you can't really take your time, because people go: [mimics a drunk person] 'Oy, what are you doing now?' So I developed a style that was very much synaptic: quick-firing, moving, so that they never really had a chance to lock on as a target."[201]
Williams felt secure that he would not run out of ideas, as the constant change in world events would keep him supplied.[77] He also explained that he often usedfree association of ideas while improvising to keep the audience interested.[202] The competitive nature of the show made things difficult. For example, some comedians said that Williams had stolen their jokes, which he strongly denied.[77][203][204]David Brenner claimed that he confronted Williams's agent and threatened bodily harm if he heard him utter another one of his jokes.[205][206]Whoopi Goldberg defended Williams, asserting that it is difficult for comedians not to reuse another comedian's material, and that it is done "all the time".[207] Subsequently, he avoided going to performances of other comedians to deter similar accusations.[207]
During aPlayboy interview in 1992, Williams was asked whether he ever feared losing his balance between his work and his life. He replied, "There's that fear—if I felt like I was becoming not just dull but a rock, that I still couldn't speak, fire off or talk about things, if I'd start to worry or got too afraid to say something.... If I stop trying, I get afraid." While he attributed the recent suicide of novelistJerzy Kosiński to his fear of losing his creativity and sharpness, Williams felt that he could overcome those risks. For that, he credited his father for strengthening his self-confidence, telling him to never be afraid of talking about subjects which were important to him.[77]
Influences
Williams credited comedians, includingJonathan Winters,Peter Sellers,Nichols and May, andLenny Bruce as influences, admiring their ability to attract a more intellectual audience with a higher level of wit.[8]: 43 He also likedJay Leno for his quickness in ad-libbing comedy routines, andSid Caesar, whose acts he felt were "precious".[77]
Jonathan Winters was his "idol" early in life; Williams, aged eight, first saw him on television and paid him homage in interviews throughout his career.[8]: 259 [208] Williams was inspired by Winters's ingenuity, saying "that anything is possible, that anything is funny... He gave me the idea that it can be free-form, that you can go in and out of things pretty easily."[8]: 260
During an interview in London in 2002, Williams toldMichael Parkinson that Peter Sellers was an important influence, especially his multi-character roles inDr. Strangelove, stating, "It doesn't get better than that." British comedy actorsDudley Moore andPeter Cook were also among his influences, Williams told Parkinson.[209]
Williams was also influenced byRichard Pryor's fearless ability to talk about his personal life onstage, with subjects that included his use of drugs and alcohol, and Williams added those kinds of topics during his own performances. By bringing up such personal matters as a form of comedy, Williams told Parkinson that it was "cheaper than therapy", and gave him a way to release his pent-up energy and emotions.[8]: 121
^Most news sources at the time incorrectly reported that Williams died inTiburon, California, which is located on the same peninsula (Tiburon) and surrounds Paradise Cay, which is where his house was located.[10]Sky News correctly reported that Williams died in Paradise Cay.[11]
^Sources conflict: Some sources, includingThe Robin Williams Scrapbook as well as two print biographies,The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography andRobin Williams: A Biography, give his birth year as 1952. However, in an interview published on July 4, 2007, Williams refers to himself as being "55"[18] He also verifies his date of birth as July 21, 1951, for afansite interview in 2008.[19]
^"Robin Williams Live at the Roxy 1978". December 27, 2012. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. RetrievedAugust 31, 2023 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^abHochman, David (September 9, 2013). "Still Crazy: Years after Mork and Buffy, Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar hope to rope us in with a new sitcom".TV Guide. pp. 16–19.ISSN0039-8543.
^"Robin Williams".Television Academy.Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. RetrievedJanuary 28, 2020.
^"Robin Williams".Golden Globe Awards.Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. RetrievedJanuary 28, 2020.
^"Robin Williams – Artist". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. RetrievedAugust 2, 2020.Artist Robin Williams Wins 5 Nominations 9
Sources
David, Jay (1999).The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography. New York: Quill.ISBN978-0-688-15245-1.
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