Robin Williams

American comedian and actor Robin Williams (1951-2014) began his career in the mid-1970s as a stand-up comedian in comedy clubs in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Williams was known for his many impersonations and the different voices he used during his performances. He became famous as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork & Mindy (1978-1982). After three Oscar nominations, he won the award for his supporting role in Good Will Hunting (1997). He also received acclaim for films like Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), The Fisher King (1991), Aladdin (1992), Mrs Doubtfire (1993) and One Hour Photo (2002).


German collectors Autogram card by Bravo. Robin Williams in Mork & Mindy (1978-1982).


French postcard by Sonis, no. C. 97. Photo: Touchstone Pictures. Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society (Peter Weir, 1989).


British postcard by Boomerang. Photo: UIP. Nathan Lane and Robin Williams in The Birdcage (Mike Nichols, 1996).

A wildly comic talent and an effective dramatic actor

Robin McLaurin Williams was born in 1951, in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Laurie McLaurin (née Janin), was a former model, and his father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams, was a Ford Motor Company executive.

Williams was described as hyperactive in his youth. He developed his talent for making people laugh through stand-up comedy, among other things. Robin briefly studied political science at Claremont Men's College and theatre at the College of Marin before enrolling at The Juilliard School to focus on theatre.

After leaving Juilliard, he performed in nightclubs where he was discovered for the role of Mork, from Ork, in an episode of the TV series Happy Days (1974). The episode, Happy Days: My Favorite Orkan (1978), led to his famous spin-off weekly TV series, Mork & Mindy (1978-1982). He made his feature starring debut playing the title role in Popeye (1980), directed by Robert Altman.

Williams' continuous comedies and wild comic talents involved a great deal of improvisation, following in the footsteps of his idol Jonathan Winters. Good Morning, Vietnam (Barry Levinson, 1987) was an important film in Williams' career, as most of the humorous radio broadcasts in it were improvised by him on the spot. This led to Williams' first nomination for an Oscar, that for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

Williams proved to be an effective dramatic actor, also receiving Academy Award nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Dead Poets Society (Peter Weir, 1989), and The Fisher King (Terry Gilliam, 1991) opposite Jeff Bridges, before winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Good Will Hunting (Gus Van Sant, 1997), starring Matt Damon.


Dutch press photo by Kippa. Robin Williams in Mork & Mindy (1978-1982).


Dutch press photo by Kippa. Robin Williams and Mary Beth Hurt in The World According to Garp (George Roy Hill, 1982).


French postcard by Sonis, no. C. 96. Photo: Touchstone Pictures. Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society (Peter Weir, 1989).

A beloved hero to children the world over

During the 1990s, Robin Williams became a beloved hero to children the world over for his roles in a string of hit family-oriented films, including Hook (Steven Spielberg, 1991) opposite Dustin Hoffman, Mrs. Doubtfire (Chris Columbus, 1993) with Sally Field, Jumanji (Joe Johnston, 1995), and Flubber (Les Mayfield, 1997).

Disney asked him to play the voice of the genie in the animated film Aladdin (Ron Clements, John Musker, 1992). The writers had conceived and developed the character with Williams in mind, even before asking him for the role. At the time, it was not very common for well-known Hollywood actors to perform a voice in films. Williams agreed on the condition that Disney would not use his name or voice afterwards for marketing campaigns or sell merchandise.

At first, Disney kept that agreement but later broke its promise because of the popularity of the film and the genie character. When the makers came up with a second film, The Return of Jafar (1994), Williams refused to perform the voice of the genie again. It wasn't until a third Aladdin film, Aladdin and the King of Thieves (Tad Stones, 1996), that the dispute was settled and Williams once again stepped into the role of Genie.

Williams continued entertaining children and families into the 21st century with his work in Robots (Chris Wedge, Carlos Saldanha, 2005), Happy Feet (George Miller, 2006), and Night at the Museum (Shawn Levy, 2006). Other more adult-oriented films for which Williams received acclaim include The World According to Garp (George Roy Hill, 1982), Moscow on the Hudson (Paul Mazursky, 1984), Awakenings (Penny Marshall, 1990) with Robert De Niro, The Birdcage (Mike Nichols, 1996), Insomnia (Christopher Nolan, 2002), and One Hour Photo (Mark Romanek, 2002).

In 2009, Williams underwent heart surgery. After 30 years, he played another role in a television series, The Crazy Ones (2014) with Sarah Michelle Gellar. In 2014, Robin Williams was found dead at his home in Tiburon, California USA, the victim of an apparent suicide. The actor had been struggling with alcohol addiction for decades and had been depressed for some time, according to his spokeswoman. Three days after his death, his widow stated that he had recently known he was suffering from Parkinson's disease.

Williams was cremated a day after his death and his ashes were scattered in San Francisco Bay. After his death, the line "Oh captain, my captain" from the film Dead Poets Society became a tribute to Williams for many fans. Robin Williams was married three times, to Valerie Velardi (1978-1988, 1 child), Marsha Garces Williams (1989-2010, 2 children) and to Susan Schneider (2011-2014, his death). His children are Zak, Zelda and Cody Williams.


Vintage press photo by UIP / United Artists, no. 76/3A. Photo: Lorey Sebastian. Dan Futterman and Robin Williams in The Birdcage (Mike Nichols, 1996).


Vintage press photo by UIP / United Artists, no. 33/19A. Photo: Lorey Sebastian. Dan Futterman, Nathan Lane, Hank Azaria and Robin Williams in The Birdcage (Mike Nichols, 1996).


Vintage press photo by UIP / United Artists, no. 165/33A. Photo: Lorey Sebastian. Nathan Lane and Robin Williams in The Birdcage (Mike Nichols, 1996).

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch) and IMDb.