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===Family and friends===
===Family and friends===
While studying at [[Juilliard]], Williams befriended [[Christopher Reeve]]. They had several classes together in which they were the only students, and they remained good friends for the rest of Reeve's life. Williams visited Reeve after the horse riding accident that rendered him a [[quadriplegic]], and cheered him up by pretending to be an eccentric Russian doctor (similar to his role in ''[[Nine Months]]''). Williams claimed that he was there to perform a [[colonoscopy]]. Reeve stated that he laughed for the first time since the accident and knew that life was going to be okay.<ref name="reeve">{{Cite book | last = Reeve | first = Christopher | title = Still Me | publisher=Random House | location = New York | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-067945235-5| pages = 167–172}}</ref>
While studying at [[Juilliard]], Williams befriended [[Christopher Reeve]]. They had several classes together in which they were the only students, and they remained good friends for the rest of Reeve's life. Williams visited Reeve after the horse riding accident that rendered him a [[quadriplegic]], and cheered him up by pretending to be an eccentric Russian doctor (similar to his role in ''[[Nine Months]]''). Williams claimed that he was there to perform a [[colonoscopy]]. Reeve stated that he laughed for the first time since the accident and knew that life was going to be okay.<ref name="reeve">{{Cite book | last = Reeve | first = Christopher | title = Still Me | publisher=Random House | location = New York | year = 1998 | isbn = 978-067945235-5| pages = 167–172}}</ref>
[[File:Robin Williams.jpg|thumb|left|Wiliams' at the [[USS Enterprise (CVN-65)|USS ''Enterprise'' (CVN-65)]] in 2005]]

On August 20, 2007, Williams' elder brother, Robert Todd Williams, died of complications from heart surgery performed a month earlier.<ref>[http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre5247lm-us-williams/ Newsdaily.com]</ref>
On August 20, 2007, Williams' elder brother, Robert Todd Williams, died of complications from heart surgery performed a month earlier.<ref>[http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre5247lm-us-williams/ Newsdaily.com]</ref>



Revision as of 16:10, 31 December 2011

Robin Williams
At "Stand Up for Heroes", a benefit organized by the Bob Woodruff Family Fund to raise money for injured U.S. servicemen (2007)
Birth nameRobin McLaurin Williams
Born (1951-07-21) July 21, 1951 (age 73)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
MediumStand-up, film, television
NationalityAmerican
Years active1972–present
GenresCharacter comedy, physical comedy, improvisational comedy, satire/political satire, observational comedy, blue comedy
SpouseValerie Velardi
(1978–1988; 1 child)
Marsha Garces Williams
(1989–2008; 2 children)
Susan Schneider
(2011–present)
WebsiteRobinWilliams.com
Template:Infobox comedian awards

Robin McLaurin Williams[2][3] (born July 21, 1951)[4] is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork and Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting. He has also won two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Grammy Awards.[5][6]

Early life

Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Laura McLaurin (née Smith, 1922–2001), was a former model from New Orleans, Louisiana.[7] His father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams (September 10, 1906 – October 18, 1987), was a senior executive at Ford Motor Company in charge of the Midwest region. His maternal great-great-grandfather was senator and Mississippi governor Anselm J. McLaurin.[8] Williams is of English, Welsh, Irish, and French ancestry.[9] He was raised in the Episcopal Church (his mother practiced Christian Science).[10][11] He grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he was a student at the Detroit Country Day School,[12] and later moved to Woodacre, Marin County, California, where he attended the public Redwood High School. Williams studied at Claremont McKenna College (then called Claremont Men's College) for four years.[13] He has two half-brothers: Todd (who died August 14, 2007) and McLaurin.[14]

Williams has described himself as a quiet child whose first imitation was of his grandmother to his mother. He did not overcome his shyness until he became involved with his high-school drama department.[15]

In 1973, Williams was one of only 20 students accepted into the freshman class at the Juilliard School, and one of only two students to be accepted by John Houseman into the Advanced Program at the school that year, the other being Christopher Reeve.[16] In his dialects class, Williams had no trouble mastering all dialects quickly. Williams left Juilliard in 1976.

Television career

After appearing in the cast of the short-lived The Richard Pryor Show on NBC, Williams was cast by Garry Marshall as the alien Mork in the hit TV series Happy Days.[17] As Mork, Williams improvised much of his dialogue 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 sitcom, Mork and Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982; the show was written to accommodate Williams' improvisations. Although he played the same character as in his appearance in Happy Days, the show was set in the present day, in Boulder, Colorado, instead of the late '50s in Milwaukee. Mork was an extremely popular character, featured on posters, coloring books, lunchboxes, and other merchandise.

Starting in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Williams began to reach a wider audience with his standup comedy, including three HBO comedy specials, Off The Wall (1978), An Evening with Robin Williams (1982), and Robin Williams: Live at the Met (1986). Also in 1986, Williams reached an ever wider audience to exhibit his style at the 58th Academy Awards show.[citation needed]

His stand-up work has been a consistent thread through his career, as is seen by the success of his one-man show (and subsequent DVD) Robin Williams: Live on Broadway (2002). He was voted 13th on Comedy Central's list "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time" in 2004.[18]

After some encouragement from his friend Whoopi Goldberg, he was set to make a guest appearance in the 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "A Matter of Time", but he had to cancel due to a scheduling conflict;[19] Matt Frewer took his place as a time-traveling con man, Professor Berlingoff Rasmussen. Williams, along with Billy Crystal, appeared in a cameo together at the beginning of an episode of the third season of Friends. Both Williams and Crystal's parts weren't originally in the script. They were apparently in the building where the show was shooting and were asked to improvise their lines.[20]

Williams appeared on an episode of the American version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Season 3, Episode 9: November 16, 2000). During a game of "Scenes from a Hat", the scene "What Robin Williams is thinking right now" was drawn, and Williams stated "I have a career. What the hell am I doing here?"[21] On December 4, 2010, he appeared with Robert De Niro on SNL in the sketch What Up with That.

Movie roles

Most of Williams' acting career has been in film, although he has given some performances on stage as well (notably as Estragon in a production of Waiting for Godot with Steve Martin). His performance in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) resulted in Williams being nominated for an Academy Award.[17] Many of his roles have been comedies tinged with pathos.

His role as the Genie in the animated film Aladdin (1992) was instrumental in establishing the importance of star power in voice actor casting. Williams also used his voice talents in Fern Gully, as the holographic Dr. Know in the 2001 film A.I. Artificial Intelligence, in the 2005 animated film Robots, the 2006 Academy Award-winning Happy Feet, and an uncredited vocal performance in the film Everyone's Hero. Furthermore, he was the voice of The Timekeeper, a former attraction at the Walt Disney World Resort about a time-traveling robot who encounters Jules Verne and brings him to the future.

In 1998, he won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his role as a psychologist in Good Will Hunting.[17] Williams has also starred in dramatic films, which earned him two subsequent Academy Award nominations: First for playing an English teacher in Dead Poets Society (1989), and later for playing a troubled homeless man in The Fisher King (1991);[17] that same year, he played an adult Peter Pan in the movie Hook. Other acclaimed dramatic films include Awakenings (1990) and What Dreams May Come (1998). In the 2002 film Insomnia, Williams portrays a writer/killer on the run from a sleep-deprived Los Angeles policeman (played by Al Pacino) in rural Alaska. And also in 2002, in the psychological thriller One Hour Photo, Williams played an emotionally disturbed photo development technician who becomes obsessed with a family for whom he has developed pictures for a long time. In 2006 Williams starred in The Night Listener, a thriller about a radio show host who realizes he has developed a friendship with a child who may or may not exist.

He is known for his improvisational skills and impersonations. His performances frequently involve impromptu humor designed and delivered in rapid-fire succession while on stage. According to the Aladdin DVD commentary, most of his dialogue as the Genie was improvised.

In 2006, he starred in five movies including Man of the Year and was the Surprise Guest at the 2006 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. He appeared on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that aired on January 30, 2006.

At one point, he was in the running to play the Riddler in Batman Forever until director Tim Burton dropped the project. Earlier, Williams had been a strong contender to play the Joker in Batman. He had expressed interest in assuming the role in The Dark Knight, the sequel to 2005's Batman Begins,[22] although the part of the Joker was played by Heath Ledger, who went on to win, posthumously, the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He was portrayed by Chris Diamantopoulos in the made-for-TV biopic Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy (2005), documenting the actor's arrival in Hollywood as a struggling comedian.

Disputes with Disney

In gratitude for his success with the Disney/Touchstone film Good Morning, Vietnam, Robin Williams voiced the Genie in the Disney animated film Aladdin for SAG scale pay ($75,000), on condition that his name or image not be used for marketing, and his (supporting) character not take more than 25% of space on advertising artwork, since Toys was scheduled for release one month after Aladdin's debut. The studio went back on the deal on both counts, especially in poster art by having the Genie in 25% of the image, but having other major and supporting characters portrayed considerably smaller. Disney's Hyperion book, Aladdin: The Making Of An Animated Film, listed both of Williams' characters "The Peddler" and "The Genie" ahead of main characters, but was forced to refer to him only as "the actor signed to play the Genie".[23]

Williams and Disney had a bitter falling-out, and as a result Dan Castellaneta voiced the Genie in The Return of Jafar, the Aladdin animated television series, and had recorded his voice for Aladdin and the King of Thieves. When Jeffrey Katzenberg was fired from Disney and replaced by former 20th Century Fox production head Joe Roth (whose last act for Fox was greenlighting Williams' film Mrs. Doubtfire), Roth arranged for a public apology to Williams by Disney. Williams agreed to perform in Hollywood Pictures' Jack, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and even agreed to voice the Genie again for the King Of Thieves sequel (for considerably more than scale), replacing all of Castellaneta's dialogue.[24]

When Williams re-teamed with Doubtfire director Chris Columbus for 1999's Bicentennial Man, Disney asked that the budget be cut by approximately $20 million, and when the film was released on Christmas Day, it flopped at the box office. Williams blamed Disney's marketing and the loss of content the film had suffered due to the budget cuts. As a result, Williams was again on bad terms with Disney, and Castellaneta was once again recruited to replace him as Genie in the Kingdom Hearts video game series and the House of Mouse TV series. The DVD release for Aladdin has no involvement whatsoever from Williams in the bonus materials, although some of his original recording sessions can be seen.

Robin Williams has recently made peace with the Walt Disney Company and in 2009 agreed to be inducted into the Disney Hall of Fame, designated as a Disney Legend.[25]

Stand-up career

Williams has done a number of stand-up comedy tours since the early 1970s. Some of his most notable tours include An Evening With Robin Williams (1982), Robin Williams: At The Met (1986) and Robin Williams LIVE on Broadway (2002). The latter broke many long-held records for a comedy show. In some cases, tickets were sold out within thirty minutes of going on sale.

After a six year break, in August 2008 Williams announced a brand new 26-city tour titled "Weapons of Self Destruction". He was quoted as saying that this was his last chance to make cracks at the expense of the current Bush Administration, but by the time the show was staged only a few minutes covered that subject. The tour started at the end of September 2009, finishing in New York on December 3, and was the subject of an HBO special on December 8, 2009.[26]

Accusations of plagiarism

Williams was accused of stealing material from other comics to the extent that David Brenner claims that he confronted Williams personally and threatened him with bodily harm if he heard Williams utter another one of his jokes.[27]

Theater career

In theatre, Williams has headed his own one-man show, Robin Williams: Live on Broadway, that played at The Broadway Theatre in July 2002.[28] He made his Broadway acting debut in Rajiv Joseph's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, which opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on March 31, 2011.[29][30][31] He previously appeared opposite Steve Martin at Lincoln Center in an Off-Broadway production of Waiting for Godot.[32]

Personal life

Marriages and children

Robin Williams' first marriage was to Valerie Velardi on June 4, 1978. They have one child, Zachary Pym (Zak) (born April 11, 1983). During Williams' first marriage, he was involved in an extramarital relationship with Michelle Tish Carter, a cocktail waitress whom he met in 1984. She sued him in 1986, claiming that he did not tell her he was infected with the herpes simplex virus before he embarked on a sexual relationship with her in the mid-1980s, during which, she said, he transmitted the virus to her. The case was settled out of court. Williams and Velardi divorced in 1988.[33]

On April 30, 1989, he married Marsha Garces, his son's nanny who was already several months pregnant with his child. They have two children, Zelda Rae (born July 31, 1989) and Cody Alan (born November 25, 1991). However, in March 2008, Garces filed for divorce from Williams, citing irreconcilable differences.[34]

Williams married his third wife, graphic designer Susan Schneider, on October 23, 2011 in St. Helena, California.[35]

Family and friends

While studying at Juilliard, Williams befriended Christopher Reeve. They had several classes together in which they were the only students, and they remained good friends for the rest of Reeve's life. Williams visited Reeve after the horse riding accident that rendered him a quadriplegic, and cheered him up by pretending to be an eccentric Russian doctor (similar to his role in Nine Months). Williams claimed that he was there to perform a colonoscopy. Reeve stated that he laughed for the first time since the accident and knew that life was going to be okay.[16]

Wiliams' at the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) in 2005

On August 20, 2007, Williams' elder brother, Robert Todd Williams, died of complications from heart surgery performed a month earlier.[36]

Addiction and health problems

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Williams had an addiction to cocaine; he has stated that he has since quit. Williams was a close friend of and frequent partier alongside John Belushi. He 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. The grand jury helped too."[17]

On August 9, 2006, Williams checked himself in to a substance-abuse rehabilitation center (located in Newberg, Oregon), later admitting that he was an alcoholic.[37] His publicist delivered the announcement:

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 him and his family's privacy during this time. He looks forward to returning to work this fall to support his upcoming film releases.[38]

Williams was hospitalized in March 2009 due to heart problems. He postponed his one-man tour in order to undergo surgery to replace his aortic valve.[39][40] The surgery was successfully completed on March 13, 2009, at the Cleveland Clinic.[41][42]

Other interests

Williams is a member of the Episcopal Church. He has described his denomination in a comedy routine as "Catholic Lite – same rituals, half the guilt."[43]

Williams speaking at the 2008 BBC World Debate.

Williams is an avid enthusiast of games, even naming both his children after game characters. He named his daughter after Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda action-adventure game series.[44][45][46] They both have even been featured in an advert for the Nintendo 3DS remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.[47] On this note, his son may have been named after Cody from the beat 'em up game Final Fight.[48] He also enjoys pen-and-paper role-playing games and online video games, recently playing Warcraft 3, Day of Defeat, Half-Life,[49] and the first-person shooter Battlefield 2 as a sniper.[50] He was also previously a fan of the Wizardry series of role-playing video games.[51]

On January 6, 2006, he performed live at Consumer Electronics Show during Google's keynote.[52] In the 2006 E3, on the invitation of Will Wright, he demonstrated the creature editor of Spore while simultaneously commenting on the creature's look: "This will actually make a platypus look good."[53] He also complimented the game's versatility, comparing it to Populous and Black & White. Later that year, he was one of several celebrities to participate in the Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day.[54]

A fan of professional road cycling, he was a regular on the US Postal and Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team bus and hotels during the years Lance Armstrong dominated the Tour de France.[55] He owns over 50 bicycles.[56]

He also enjoys rugby union and is a big fan of former All Black, Jonah Lomu.[57]

Williams is a supporter of eco-friendly vehicles. He currently drives a Toyota Prius,[58] and is on the waiting list for an Aptera 2 Series electric vehicle.[59]

Williams has recently announced that he would love to play The Riddler in the next installment to the Batman films by director Christopher Nolan, though Nolan has stated that The Riddler will not be featured in the film.[60]

Williams performing at Camp Victory for the USO on December 13, 2010.

Charity work

Williams and his former wife, Marsha, founded the Windfall Foundation, a philanthropic organization to raise money for many different charities. Williams devotes much of his energy to charity work, including the Comic Relief fundraising efforts (the program is hosted by himself, Billy Crystal, and Whoopi Goldberg).[17] In December 1999, he sang in French on the BBC-inspired music video of international celebrities doing a cover of the Rolling Stones' "It's Only Rock & Roll" for the charity Children's Promise.[61]

In response to the 2010 Canterbury Earthquake, Williams donated all proceeds of his "Weapons of Self Destruction" Christchurch performance to helping rebuild the New Zealand city. Half the proceeds were donated to the Red Cross and half to the mayoral building fund with the words "I hope this donation will go some way to helping the extensive rebuilding effort in the city."[62] Williams has performed with the USO for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.[63]

Filmography

Film credits
Year Title Role Notes
1977 Can I Do It 'Till I Need Glasses? Himself
1980 Popeye Popeye
1982 The World According to Garp T.S. Garp
1983 The Survivors Donald Quinelle
1984 Moscow on the Hudson Vladimir Ivanov Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1986 Seize the Day Tommy Wilhelm
1986 Club Paradise Jack Moniker
1986 The Best of Times Jack Dundee
1987 Good Morning, Vietnam Adrian Cronauer
1988 The Adventures of Baron Munchausen King of the Moon
1988 Portrait of a White Marriage Air Conditioning Salesman Uncredited
1988 Rabbit Ears: Pecos Bill Narrator Voice
1989 Dead Poets Society John Keating
1989 I'm from Hollywood Himself
1990 Cadillac Man Joey O'Brien
1990 Awakenings Dr. Malcolm Sayer
1990 Back to Neverland Himself
1991 Dead Again Doctor Cozy Carlisle
1991 The Fisher King Parry
1991 Hook Peter Banning/Peter Pan
1991 Rabbit Ears: The Fool and the Flying Ship Narrator Voice
1992 Toys Leslie Zevo Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
1992 Aladdin Genie, merchant
1992 The Timekeeper The Timekeeper
1992 FernGully: The Last Rainforest Batty Koda Voice
1992 Shakes the Clown Mime Class Instructor
1993 Mrs. Doubtfire Daniel Hillard/Mrs. Doubtfire
1993 Being Human Hector
1994 In Search of Dr. Seuss Father
1995 Jumanji Alan Parrish
1995 To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt
1995 Nine Months Dr. Kosevich Nominated—American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
1996 Aladdin and the King of Thieves Genie Voice
1996 Hamlet Osric
1996 The Secret Agent The Professor
1996 Jack Jack Powell Nominated—Blimp Award for Favorite Movie Actor
1996 The Birdcage Armand Goldman
1997 Good Will Hunting Sean Maguire
1997 Flubber Professor Philip Brainard
1997 Deconstructing Harry Mel/Harry's Character
1997 Fathers' Day Dale Putley
1998 Patch Adams Hunter "Patch" Adams
1998 Junket Whore Himself
1998 What Dreams May Come Chris Nielsen
1999 Bicentennial Man Andrew Martin
1999 Jakob the Liar Jakob Heym/Narrator
1999 Get Bruce Himself
2000 Model Behavior Faremain
2001 A.I. Artificial Intelligence Dr. Know Voice
2002 The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch Hans Hänkie
2002 Insomnia Walter Finch Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor
2002 Death to Smoochy 'Rainbow' Randolph Smiley
2002 One Hour Photo Seymour 'Sy' Parrish
2004 Noel Charlie Boyd/The Priest
2004 House of D Pappass
2004 The Final Cut Alan W. Hakman
2005 The Big White Paul Barnell
2005 Robots Fender
2005 The Aristocrats Himself
2006 Man of the Year Tom Dobbs
2006 Night at the Museum Theodore Roosevelt
2006 Happy Feet Ramon/Lovelace Voice
2006 Everyone's Hero Napoleon Cross Voice
2006 RV Bob Munro
2006 The Night Listener Gabriel Noone
2007 License to Wed Reverend Frank
2007 August Rush Maxwell "Wizard" Wallace
2009 Shrink Holden
2009 World's Greatest Dad Lance Clayton
2009 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Theodore Roosevelt
2009 Old Dogs Dan Rayburn
2011 Happy Feet 2 Ramon, Lovelace Voice
Television credits
Year Title Role Notes
1977 The Richard Pryor Show Himself
  • Writer
  • "Man with Bad Arm", "John Brownstein, Defense Attorney/Archeologist/Shopper", "Himself", "Himself/Titanic Survivor/Voice of Gun"
1977 Laugh-In
1977 Eight is Enough Episode: "The Return of Auntie V"
1978 Happy Days Mork Episode: "My Favorite Orkan" (There are two versions of this episode. One with the original ending where events were all a dream of Richie Cunningham's and another that sets up the Mork and Mindy spin-off series. Williams appears in both versions.)
1978 America 2-Night Jason Shine Episodes: "Jason Shine" and "Olfactory Distosis Telethon"
1978–1982 Mork & Mindy Mork
1979 Happy Days Mork Episode: "Mork Returns"
1979 Out of the Blue Episode: "Random's Arrival"
1981 Saturday Night Live Himself Host/Various
1982 The Billy Crystal Comedy Hour Himself Episode: #1.1
1982 Faerie Tale Theatre Frog/Prince Robin Episode: "Tale of the Frog Prince"
1982 SCTV Network 90 Various Episode: "Jane Eyrehead"
1984 Saturday Night Live Himself Host/Various
1984 Pryor's Place Gaby Episode: "Sax Education"
1986 Saturday Night Live Himself Host/Various
1986 The Max Headroom Show Himself Episode: "Max Headroom's Giant Christmas Turkey"
1988 Saturday Night Live Himself Host/Various
1988 Wogan Himself
1991 Wogan Himself
1991 A Wish For Wings That Work The Kiwi Voice (Credited as Sudy Nim)
1992 The Larry Sanders Show Himself Episode: "Hank's Contract"
1994 Homicide: Life on the Streets Robert Ellison
1994 Live & Kicking Himself
1994 The Larry Sanders Show Himself Episode: "Montana"
1994 Nyhetsmorgon Himself Episode: "Filmen 'Mrs. Doubtfire' svensk premiär"
1994 In the Wild Himself Episode: "In the Wild: Dolphins with Robin Williams"
1995 Primer Plano Himself
1996 American Masters Himself Episode: "Take Two: Mike Nichols and Elaine May"
1996 Primer Plano
1996 HBO First Look Himself Episode: "Fathers Day"
1997 Friends Tomas Uncredited
1998 Nyhetsmorgon Himself/Sean Maguire Episode: "Filmen 'Good Will Hunting'"
1998 Hollywood Squares Himself Guest appearance
1998 Noel's House Party Himself Episode: #8.10
1999 L.A. Doctors Hugo Kinsley Episode: "Just Duet"
2000 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Himself Episode: #3.9
2002 Comedy Central Canned Ham Himself Episode: "Death to Smoochy"
2002 Leute heute Himself
2002 Supermarket Sweep Himself
2003 Player$ Himself Episodes: "E3 03, Playa", "Players Halloweenie Televizzie"
2003 Freedoom: A History of Us Josiah Quincy[disambiguation needed]/Ulysses S. Grant/Missouri Farmer/Wilbur Wright/Orville Wright Episodes: "Wake Up America", "A War to End Slavery", "Liberty for All", and "Safe for Democracy"
2003 Life With Bonnie Kevin Powalski Episode: "Psychic"
2004 This Hour Has 22 Minutes Himself
2005 Just For Laughs Himself
2006 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Himself
2006 Mind of Mencia Himself Episode: "That's F**king Historical"
2006 Getaway Himself Episode: #15.15
2008 American Idol: The Search for a New Superstar Ivan "Bob" Poppanoff the "Russian Idol"/Himself Episodes: "Idol Gives Back" and "Live Results Show: One Contestant Eliminated"
2008 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Merrit Rook
2009 SpongeBob SquarePants Himself Episode: "Truth or Square"
2009 TV Land Moguls Himself Episode: "The 80s"
2010 Alan Carr Chatty Man Himself
2010 Pentagon Channel Himself "Promotional Advertisement for the Pentagon Channel"
2011 Curiosity Himself Episode: "Your Body on Drugs"

Discography

  • Reality...What a Concept (1979)
  • Throbbing Python of Love (1983)
  • A Night at The Met (1986)
  • Pecos Bill (1988)
  • Live 2002 (2002)
  • Weapons of Self Destruction (2010)

Williams appeared in the music video of Bobby McFerrin's hit 1988 song "Don't Worry, Be Happy".[64] He teamed with McFerrin again to record a cover of The Beatles' "Come Together" for the 1998 George Martin album In My life.

He made a cameo in Cobra Starship's video "You Make Me Feel..." along with his daughter, Zelda Williams.[65]

References

  1. ^ Pantagraph.com | Free Time | Caliendo hopes 'Frank TV' makes good first impression
  2. ^ According to the Nevada Marriage Index, 1956-2005; at http://www.ancestry.com/
  3. ^ The official Michigan social register, 1967, Virginia F. Searcy
  4. ^ Sources conflict. The print biographies The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography and Robin Williams: A Biography give his birth year as 1952. The Robin Williams Scrapbook also gives a birth year as 1952, as does Encyclopædia Britannica. Williams refers to himself as being "55" in an interview published July 4, 2007. Monk, Katherine (2007-07-04). "Marriage 101 with Robin Williams". StarPhoenix. He also verifies his date of birth as July 21, 1951 in a fansite interview: Stuurman, Linda. RWF talks with Robin Williams: Proost!, May 25, 2008.
  5. ^ Thomas, Mike (2002-02-24). "A nose for laughs". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
  6. ^ McMullen, Marion (2002-10-05). "Article: Weekend TV: Star profile. (Features)". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
  7. ^ "If Robin Williams' comedies are inspired by his life no wonder he's been in therapy". Sunday Herald. 1999-03-14. Retrieved 2009-12-14.
  8. ^ Rubenstein, Steve (2001-09-08). "Laurie Williams - comedian's mother - SFGate". Articles.sfgate.com. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
  9. ^ "People News". monstersandcritics.com.
  10. ^ Gristwood, Sarah (1998-06-18). "Bobbin' Robin". Mail & Guardian Online. Archived from the original on October 4, 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  11. ^ Topel, Fred (2007-07-03). "Robin Williams on License to Wed". CanMag. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  12. ^ "Detroit Country Day: Frequently Asked Questions". Dcds.edu. Retrieved 2010-08-29.
  13. ^ October 1982 Playboy Magazine
  14. ^ McLellan, Dennis (2007-08-18). "R. Todd Williams, 69; winery founder, comic's brother" (PDF). Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  15. ^ Terry Gross (host) (2006-08-03). "Robin Williams: 'The Night Listener'". Fresh Air from WHYY (Radio). National Public Radio.
  16. ^ a b Reeve, Christopher (1998). Still Me. New York: Random House. pp. 167–172. ISBN 978-067945235-5.
  17. ^ a b c d e f James Lipton (host) (2001-06-10). "Robin Williams". Inside the Actors Studio. Season 7. Episode 710. Bravo.
  18. ^ "Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  19. ^ "Biography for Robin Williams". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
  20. ^ "Episode 24 | series: Friends". Internet Movie Database. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |season= ignored (|date= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ "Episode 9". Whose Line Is It Anyway?. Season 3. 2000-11-16. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ Otto, Jeff (2006-06-26). "Robin Williams, Joker?". IGN. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  23. ^ "Disney's got a brand-new Baghdad". Entertainment Weekly. 1992-09-04. Retrieved 2007-03-16.
  24. ^ Hill, Jim (2000). "Be Careful What You Wish For". Jim Hill Media. Retrieved 2008-03-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  25. ^ "2009 Disney Legends Award Recipients to Be Honored During D23 Expo in Anaheim". PR Newswire. 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
  26. ^ robinwilliams.com
  27. ^ Richard Zoglin (2008). Comedy at the Edge. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1-58234-624-3.
  28. ^ The Broadway League. "Robin Williams: Live on Broadway". IBDB: The Official Source for Broadway Information.
  29. ^ "Bengal Tiger to Roar at the Richard Rodgers Theatre March 11 Starring Robin Williams". Broadway.com, November 12, 2010.
  30. ^ "Culture Monster". "Robin Williams to star in 'Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo' on Broadway". Los Angeles Times. October 21, 2010.
  31. ^ "Tickets for Broadway's Bengal Tiger, Starring Robin Williams, Now on Sale" playbill.com, November 17, 2010.
  32. ^ "Review/Theater; 'Godot': The Timeless Relationship of 2 Interdependent Souls". The New York Times, November 7, 1988. Accessed May 4, 2011.
  33. ^ Hoffman, Jan (1992-08-09). "THE SEXES; Pillow Talk". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
  34. ^ Garchik, Leah (2008-03-27). "Robin Williams' wife files for divorce after nearly 19 years". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  35. ^ Ravitz, Justin (2011-10-24). "Robin Williams Weds!". Us Weekly.
  36. ^ Newsdaily.com
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  38. ^ "Robin Williams Enters Rehab for Alcohol". People. August 9, 2005. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
  39. ^ "Robin Williams in South Florida hospital". The Miami Herald. 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-03-04. [dead link]
  40. ^ Jones, Kenneth."Robin Williams' Spring Broadway Bow Postponed Due to Heart Surgery", playbill.com, March 5, 2009
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  49. ^ Interview at Pro-HL.com
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  65. ^ "Cobra Starship's 'You Make Me Feel ...' On the set of the new clip, Gabe Saporta explains how a magic photo booth tells a universal story". MTV.com. Retrieved 2011-06-28.

Bibliography

  • Jay David (1999). The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography. New York: Quill. ISBN 978-068815245-1.
  • Andy Dougan (1999). Robin Williams: A Biography. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 978-156025213-9.
  • Stephen J. Spignesi (1997). The Robin Williams Scrapbook. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Pub. ISBN 978-080651891-6.

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