Talk:Robin Williams

Link to Comedy Central's 100 Greatest list

I think it's footnote 18 presently. It takes you to the IMDB page for Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time. Who the fuck cares about that? We want to see the list. Here's the link from Lenny Bruce's page. I'd make the change myself but, you know, wikipedia is dead.

Herpes

I am not questioning the content or its accuracy of the statement that Williams gave his partner the STD genital Herpes (not the cold sore). I am questioning whether its appropriate to include the private health info of a public figure. Its a slippery slope to a Wikipedia "List of American Citizens with HIV/AIDs" under the guise of public health protection. We would never list the accusations of STDs in an encyclopedia article about Bill Clinton or George Bush... why do it with Robin Williams. Again, I'm not questioning the accuracy of the statement that that he gave her Herpes, just whether its relevant, etc. We wouldn't build a Wikipedia list of those who had transmitted the common cold, but afterall, one person is the epicenter of any contagions, and I just don't see how its relevant to Williams, who may, or may not have known he carried the Herpes virus. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.236.175.55 (talk) 15:02, 26 October 2011 (UTC)

Early Life

There is a mistake in this section. Robin Williams attended Claremont Men's College for one year, not four, then dropped out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 134.173.189.73 (talk) 21:06, 5 November 2009 (UTC)

Another typo in this section. "WIlliams left Juilliard in 1976" <should be> "Williams left Juilliard in 1976" --Canislupuslupus (talk) 11:13, 31 March 2010 (UTC)

"Notable roles"

We're going to need some sort of clear criteria for what makes a role notable, because the infobox gets changed on a regular basis. I'm thinking the following: A role is notable if:

• It was his first role
• It was his first starring role
• He (or the film) has been nominated for or has won a major award

Any other thoughts?-Wafulz 13:51, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

Agreed, no other thoughts really. --Rwlinda 19:29, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

McLaurim?

According to the bio on imdb.com, Robin's middle name is McLaurin, not McLaurim as this page states. I'd edit it myself but this page has been locked. Not a big deal, but it ought to be fixed.

I believe "McLaurin" is a typo on their site. His biographies say "McLaurim".-Wafulz 12:20, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

I know for a fact that the correct spelling of his middle name is Mc Laurim. As Wafulz mentioned, it says so in his biographies, but Robin himself also mentioned it several times in interviews. --Rwlinda 19:11, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

Strange that IMDB would list his middle name as "McLaurin", and his mother's name is "Laura McLaurin Smith" (listed in the article), but his middle name is "McLaurim"?? Doesn't make sense. This needs further research. --Schmendrick 21:18, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

The Biography Channel states his middle name as "McLaurin". Can someone else find a stronger case against changing it? http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/83:730/Robin_Williams.htm --Schmendrick 21:29, 2 October 2007 (UTC)

There's this. The website might have misspelled the name, but it appears to be a transcript of his own words. From what I've been able to glean, McLaurim seems to be a variation of McLaurin. It does look odd to have a middle name that's almost - but not quite - identical to one's mother's maiden name, but I suppose this is one of those odd cases. I can't find anywhere that this issue has been discussed in favour of one or other spelling. I think we have to accept it's McLaurim. -- JackofOz 03:19, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

You can watch the interview on YouTube and he does indeed say "McLaurim". I won't include the links but you can search "Robin Williams Actors Studio". MrBlondNYC 09:04, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anselm_J._McLaurin His great great grandfather. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.86.130.209 (talk) 19:09, 9 November 2008 (UTC)

Are you referring to the Actor's Studio interview? He says McLaurin, not McLaurim. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAY6HFOJOLM&feature=related Madgenberyl (talk) 07:37, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

This is the kind of thing that gets Wikipedia ridiculed. McLaurin doesn't exist as a name, but because one or two misguided people misheard it and happened to be the first to enter the name, the mistake gets propagated. The BBC reference is clear, and surely more reliable than IMDb? Madgenberyl (talk) 20:04, 13 June 2011 (UTC)

McLaurin exists as a last name. McLaurim is very rare. As someone said, Anselm J. McLaurin is Robin's great-great-grandfather. All Hallow's Wraith (talk) 02:03, 1 September 2011 (UTC)

Add External Link ?

Links to fansites are generally not allowed on wikipedia, but I think this fansite deserves a link on this page as it contains a huge amount of official news and information on the actor. It'd be great to have the link added to this page. I think www.robin-williams.net should be added to the external link section. Any thoughts? --Rwlinda 18:34, 4 July 2007 (UTC)

If it adds to the article greatly, i don't see why not. --Vergency (talk) 01:28, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

--"fansites are generally not allowed on Wikipedia"... this is technically an incorrect assumption... fansites are often considered taboo by many editors of Wikipedia... this is due to the editor's preference rather than Wikipedia's guidelines... but editors often choose not to include fansites for a variety of reasons, e.g. a vast majority of fansites violate the format of Wikipedia's guidelines for external links, also the relevance of the fansite equated to the article (how does the fansite relegate in validity?, which fansites provide factual and/or varifiable information?, why is one fansite chosen over another? Does the fansite contain information that could cause an issue of liability for Wikipedia?) As you can see there are many problematic factors to consider when adding fansites (or even quoting from them)... (or any external link for that matter.) But external links to fansites are allowable if they have validity to the article in question... read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:External_links for further information. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.186.111.99 (talk) 01:31, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

Year of birth

Robin Williams was born in 1951. That's a fact, as he celebrated his 50th birthday in the summer of 2001 and said many times this year (for example, during his "working on material" shows in San Francisco this past may) that he's 55 and will turn 56 this july. IMDB as well as his fansite that's filled with official information has the correct date/year listed as well.--Rwlinda 12:01, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Strange as it seems, any given person is not necessarily the best source of accurate information about their own date of birth, as they were far too young at the time to be aware of it and they have to rely on information provided by their family, and their memories of that are fallible. Further, actors are notorious for having an interest in having the public think they're older or younger than they actually are (I'm not saying that RW is guilty of this, just that it's a consideration). Finally, Wikipedia is sourced from published material, not from hearsay. The best source would be his birth certificate. Anyone got it? But thanks for the information. I'll make an edit to the footnote about his birthday. -- JackofOz 11:56, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

Williams states that he is 55 in an interview published July 4, 2007 (before his birthday on July 21) - "But at 55, you know, I'm a character actor". I can see no reason why he would be wrong about his own birthdate. Usually actors lie to make themselves seem younger. All Hallow's Wraith (talk) 21:28, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

Celebrities are often wrong about their birthdays. They might like pretending to be older or younger or they might just like messing with people.-Wafulz (talk) 02:30, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

I don't know, Williams stated "I was born outside Chicago in 1951" in this 1999 interview.[1]. This March 2002 interview states that he just turned 50.[2] And so does this interview from February of that year.[3] This October 2002 interview states that he is 51 at the time, and describes the details of his "50th birthday party" celebration "last year" (2001).[4] Why should we trust Encyclopedia Britannica, which has an error rate equal to Wikipedia? (or other reference books, that I doubt are any more reliable than that) All Hallow's Wraith (talk) 17:26, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

At this point only some sort of official documentation (ie, birth certificate) will answer the question.-Wafulz (talk) 17:30, 9 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, it is unfortunate that the sources conflict. But which is most reliable? Williams himself stating it would seem the best one, but as has been said he may not be the most accurate. In the interview for 2007, it was done in April, before he turned 56 later in the year. Where do Britanicca and the other bios get their info from? If not from Williams himself, they must have their data wrong, and we shouldn't be relying on incorrect data. I suggest we switch it back to just 1951. --Vergency (talk) 01:27, 14 March 2008 (UTC)

It's not our decision to say who is most reliable. The only authoritative answer can come from official government documentation, so something like a birth certificate, driver's license, or similar. Other articles (Nancy Reagan, Ann Coulter, and Audrey Hepburn come to mind) use this solution when resolving disputes.-Wafulz (talk) 23:00, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

Right anyone got access to a database to find this out then? --Vergency (talk) 23:19, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

I don't think there's an easy way to see it for free.-Wafulz (talk) 01:04, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

Christian?

I heard rumor recently that Robin has become a Christian - which has my absolute attention ;) Just imagine.. what a person who knows the core of the industry might say.

Like what?--Threedots dead (talk) 14:30, 15 February 2008 (UTC)

joke theft?

it says nothing here about the apparent theft of jokes (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joke_thievery)

This definitely needs to be mentioned, I just can't find a good source for it - Hellkyte —Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.7.123.51 (talk) 21:30, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

I read the article that was sourced for Robin Williams stealing jokes. First of all its from a gossip website. Second of all it states that he's stealing jokes, but never cites a single joke that he stole. I wouldn't count this as a credible source, and thus I will delete the comment. Until you can find a "credible source" its just your opinion. Coolmanwc4 (talk) 18:14, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Joe Rogan said on his podcast that where comics were appearing clubs frequented by Williams, that they would set up a red light / green light system to notify those on stage and back stage that Williams was in the house, and so to use their best material at their discretion incase he should dteal it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 116.30.145.163 (talk) 10:57, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

I feel it needs to be mentioned, but it continues to be left off by Williams' fans and wikipedia nazi's who demand an "authentic" source....as if there were an encyclopedia to joke thieves. However, if there was one, Williams would be on the cover. Ask any comedian or comedy fan and they will name Williams, Mencia, and Leary. It's literally discussed by dozens of comedians, has been discussed on podcasts, on stage by comedians, in print in various forms, and is so well known that it is common knowledge to anyone remotely familiar with the comedy genre. However, that is not good enough and won't be until some joe blow who proclaims himself an expert and says so in a book or newspaper article. Then wiki-nazi's will finally have their primary source. Literally Marc Maron and Paul Mooney could say it and it would be considered "gossip." My joe blow neighbor could write a book and say it and then it becomes fact.......it's a complete joke.--Jmurdock21 (talk) 20:23, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

Biographies of living persons are subject to more stringent rules than other articles. If we said "Water hates women" or "The Aswan Dam tortures puppies" no one can readily sue us for it. Saying, however, "Joe Livingperson Doe is a thief" is a good way to get sued by Doe, unless we cite a reliable source directly saying that. If your neighbor writes that book, gets it through the legal team at a major publisher and the book goes to press then yes, we would have a reliable source. Until then, you have other comedians throwing around accusations about another comedian. That happens in every field and isn't noteworthy unless it is given substantial coverage in reliable sources. Whether you think this is a rule for Nazis (or "nazi's") is immaterial. WP:BLP is our policy. You abide by it, work to change it or you don't edit. - SummerPhD (talk) 21:18, 21 November 2013 (UTC)

No one is arguing that Robin Williams' article should say "He stole material/he was a plagiarist/joke thief." What people are saying is that the allegations are so wide spread and well known that the ALLEGATIONS should be mentioned. Leaving that out is leaving out a HUGE part of Williams' history. Williams himself has addressed the topic many times. It would be like leaving off his drug use. You're going to retort with, "That is different, Williams admitted to taking drugs. That is a self admitted fact. He has never admitted to taking material or being a plagiarist." I would respond with the argument that, once again, no one is trying to come out and say Williams' is a plagiarist. They are saying that allegations of plagiarism have followed him throughout his career. That also is a self admitted fact by Williams himself. My argument is also...what constitutes a "reliable source?" Who is the authoritative source on plagiarism in comedy? NO ONE IS, except for comedians themselves, and anyone who pressed a book would get that information from conducting the same kind of interviews you claim are inadmissible. Do you truly believe that every book that goes through press is a reliable source and contains only fact? If you believe that, then I have some beach front property in Nebraska you might be interested in. If you believe that wikipedia could be sued for such a statement, you need to brush up on your legal knowledge. Public figures are limited in the actions they can take against their character. In order for a public figure to sue on the grounds of slander or libel, the person who made a false claim had to know 100% that they were making a false claim. Not only that, no one is trying to add any false information to the page. They are trying to add factual, well documented, well reported, well known portion of Williams history. The fact that Williams HIMSELF can be quoted addressing the issue and admitting that allegations have followed him throughout his career should be good enough. If you can't see the ridiculousness of being able to use some random author's writing as a reliable source vs not being able to use an interview from the person whom the wiki article is about......then you're either dead set stubborn or..idk..--64.19.102.80 (talk) 16:27, 22 November 2013 (UTC)

This is, you say, "a HUGE part of Williams' history". Williams is a very well known comic/actor. I'd be shocked if a huge part of an A list star's history weren't discussed in independent reliable sources. So far, I haven't seen this. Instead, I've seen various comics saying it.

(So you're in the clear unless you "know 100%" the claim is false? Although I am not a lawyer, I'd advise against testing that theory. (And yes, major publishers do edit for this. Wikipedia isn't going to report that "person X said person Y is gay" as it's trivial. Popular press will use it as a true statement when they can't just say "Y is gay".) Rather, you'll want to be able to show that you made significant effort to verify the truthfulness.)

At the end of the day, several editors have reverted you. Now you'll need a consensus to add the material. - SummerPhD (talk) 21:27, 22 November 2013 (UTC)

This issue is pretty much dead, but this is the first time I've dealt with wikipedia in many months. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how many editors have reverted me. They all dealt with the issue that I said James Harden's nickname is "The Beard." But it kept being reverted because of the fact that it is used on t-shirts, he has been referred to that name by sportscasters, sports reporters on ESPN, he has referred to himself as that name, has been referred to in interview by other players as such, has been referred to by that name in AP articles, (I could go on...but the editors want an official source, and as I stated over and over, there is no official nickname guide you can reference. On Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s wiki page, his widely used nickname Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. is listed, however I do not see any official nickname source. So I still stand by my original claim on that issue like I do on this issue.

And yes, public figures are held to a higher standard. Imagine the amount of lawsuits Michael Jackson could've had every time someone called him a child abuser or said he was gay. That was the entire issue in the Flynt v Falwell case. (Do you think Larry Flynt went through significant effort to make sure that Jerry Falwell had intercourse with his mother?) The only issue I'm aware of in which a public figure sued over gossip and rumor is when Tom Cruise filed a lawsuit in the United Kingdom (not in the USA) against a tabloid that stated he was gay, and he "threatened" to sue another publication that called him a jerk. Of course they never followed through with the suit because you can't sue someone based on their opinion. Not that that would even matter in this situation. I have never said that the article should read "Robin Williams is a joke thief." I argued for possibly a Controversy banner that would say something akin to, "Robin Williams has faced allegations from other notable comedians such as (person x, person y, and person z.) Notable incidents include (person A) performing a stand up routine on the January 1, 1990 edition of (Jay Leno, Dave Letterman...) and Williams performing a nearly identical set during his performance 6 months later on the June 10, 1990 (HBO special, Jay Leno..whatever). Williams addressed these allegations on (person b's) talk show/in a (Playboy Magazine, Vanity Fair, People...) article by saying (such and such and such and such.)

I think it's ludicrous to say we can't use Robin Williams' own words and interviews as a source.--Jmurdock21 (talk) 17:09, 29 April 2014 (UTC)

Williams' interest in cycling is mentioned too often.

In this section of the page:

""" 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. """

Williams' interest in cycling is over-emphasised; especially considering this is an excerpt from the "Charity" section.

His cycling has already been explained in the section above Charity (Other Interests).

The above excerpt I have showed should show the link between Williams' interest in cycling and the charity work; not details of his bicycling hobby.

Incongruity

In the intro section of this article it mentions that Robin's first impressions were of his Grandma to his Mother.

While later on it mentions that these impressions were of his aunt...

Which one is true? 58.161.112.76 11:42, 7 September 2007 (UTC)

Plagiarism

Has anybody else noticed that most of this article is an exact copy of the LA Auditions source 13 October 2007 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dandan44sou (talk • contribs) 00:40, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

New movie

I'm not entirely sure how to note this on the page, but Robin Williams is filming another movie [5]. — Super Martyo boing! 02:47, 17 July 2008 (UTC)

Did he say this while entertaining navy?

"I see a lot of people yelling for peace but I have not heard of a plan for peace. So, here's one plan."

1) "The US will apologize to the world for our "interference" in their affairs, past & present. You know, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Tojo, Noriega, Milosevic, Hussein, and the rest of those "good ole boys", we will never "interfere" again.

2) We will withdraw our troops from all over the world, starting with Germany , South Korea , the Middle East , and the Philippines They don't want us there, anyway. We would station troops at our borders. No one allowed sneaking through holes in the fence.

3) All illegal aliens have 90 days to get their affairs together and leave. We'll give them a free trip home. After 90 days the remainder will be gathered up and deported immediately, regardless of whom or where they are. They're illegal!!! France will welcome them

4) All future visitors will be thoroughly checked and limited to 90 days unless given a special permit!!!! No one from a terrorist nati on will be allowed in. If you don't like it there, change it yourself and don't hide here. Asylum would never be available to anyone. We don't need any more cab drivers or 7-11 cashiers.

5) No foreign "students" over age 21. The older ones are the bombers. If they don't attend classes, they get a "D" and it's back home baby.

6) The US will make a strong effort to become self-sufficient energy wise. This will include developing nonpolluting sources of energy but will require a temporary drilling of oil in the Alaskan wilderness. The caribou will have to cope for a while .

7) Offer Saudi Arabia and other oil produc ing countries $10 a barrel for their oil. If they don't like it, we go someplace else. They can go somewhere else to sell their production. (About a week of the wells filling up the storage sites would be enough.)

8) If there is a famine or other natural catastrophe in the world, we will not "interfere." They can pray to Allah or whomever, for seeds, rain, cement or whatever they need. Besides most of what we give them is stolen or given to the army. The people who need it most get very little, if anything.

9) Ship the UN Headquarters to an isolated island someplace. We don't need the spies and fair weather friends here. Besides, the building would make a good homeless shelter or lockup for illegal aliens.

10 ) All Americans must go to charm and beauty school. That way, no one can call us "Ugly Americans" any longer. The Language we speak is ENGLISH...learn it..or LEAVE...Now, isn't that a winner of a plan?

"The Statue of Liberty is no longer saying "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses." She's got a baseball bat and she's yelling, 'you want a piece of me?' " —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.98.97.158 (talk) 17:25, 3 September 2008 (UTC)

I'd almost guarantee not. I would assume you got it in some e-mail attributed to Robin Williams. You see these poor attempts at humor get forwarded all over by racist bastards who just want to get the attention by saying it was a famous person who says it. That way, stupid people who think that just because someone they think is funny said it will think it's okay to agree with them despite the obviously idiotic material espoused within. So no, he didn't say that stuff. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 148.61.216.116 (talk) 06:34, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

I find Robin Williams criminally unfunny, but I'd hate to think that even someone who craves attention as much as he does would stoop that low. Sounds like a very rabidly xenophobic (and misinformed) right-wing rant to me, something a latter-day Bob Hope or John Wayne might come up with. Guv2006 (talk) 10:41, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Just to be perfectly clear about it, this is from one of those spam emails that get sent around every so often, and it has been variously attributed to a lot of people, including George Carlin. Snopes.com attributes it to a usenet posting from 2003. Wildhartlivie (talk) 10:44, 18 May 2009 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:Robinwilliams aladdin.JPG

The image Image:Robinwilliams aladdin.JPG is used in this article under a claim of fair use, but it does not have an adequate explanation for why it meets the requirements for such images when used here. In particular, for each page the image is used on, it must have an explanation linking to that page which explains why it needs to be used on that page. Please check

• That there is a non-free use rationale on the image's description page for the use in this article.
• That this article is linked to from the image description page.

This is an automated notice by FairuseBot. For assistance on the image use policy, see Wikipedia:Media copyright questions. --22:14, 2 October 2008 (UTC)

Awards page

Maybe we can create a subpage for awards won by Williams? Something like List of awards won by Robin Williams. Tonight, for example, he won the "Favorite Scene Stealing Star" award at the 35th People's Choice Awards but I am not sure where on here to put it. TJ Spyke 03:21, 8 January 2009 (UTC)

Red Belt?

What is the reasoning behind a link to Red Belt being in the "Gross" column of the entry for August Rush in the Filmography table? Obscure reference? Random vandalism? Jgsampson (talk) 08:01, 18 January 2009 (UTC)

1972 Robin Williams waited tables at the Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur Ca.,while attending Collage of Marin in Northern Ca.

1972- Robin Williams waited tables at the Lark Creek Inn resturant in Larkspur Ca . Chef Friend used to ask Robin to do his funny one -man skits, Chef Friend know Robin was very gifted and talented with words,Chef stated;I would laugh till my sides hurt! While waiting on tables at the restaurant; Robin was also attending drama classes at the Collage of Marin in Kentfield Ca., Robin was in a play called 'Your a Good Man Charley Brown'.Robin and Chef Stephen Friend went to the same highschool at Redwood High in Larkspur Ca. —Preceding [[Wikipedia:Signatures|76.253.64.43 (talk) 04:00, 5 March 2009 (UTC)]] comment added by Chef Stephen Friend(76.253.64.43 (talk) 04:03, 5 March 2009 (UTC))3/5/09[Special:Contributions/76.253.64.43|76.253.64.43]] (talk) 03:22, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

DEAD?

I heard on reddit.com that he is dead, is this true? q.v. http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/827sm/i_heard_some_sad_news_on_talk_radio_robin/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.9.19.61 (talk) 04:08, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

i also heard on reddit that he's dead. nutin yet on news.google to verify. who are you, reddit-man? 80.250.159.240 (talk) 04:14, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

No. Do not believe everything you hear on the reddits. Other sources say he's fine. (google robin williams health) (71.207.177.1 (talk) 04:16, 5 March 2009 (UTC))

---I never heard of www.reddit.com before, but I went and checked it out. www.reddit.com appears to be a hearsay site, and therefore would not be a good candidate for primary source verifiability. I went to ET {Entertainment Tonight} (www.etonline.com), where they write "sources tell ET that the 57-year-old actor is not in intensive care, and is expected to leave the hospital tomorrow."---this post was dated on March 4th... so if true, Williams would have been long out of the hospital by now. Unfortunately however, they use the weasel word phraseology "sources tell"...which is just bad Journalism {i.e. which sources?, whom?} Wolfpeaceful (talk) 15:43, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

---According to the Washington Post "Oscar winner Robin Williams is expected to make a complete recovery from his recent heart surgery in the next two months and plans to resume his comedy tour afterward, his representatives said on Monday. Williams, 57, one of Hollywood's leading comedians and known for his manic stand-up routine steeped in wacky accents and improvisation, had surgery on March 13 at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio." I would personally deem the Washington Post a more reliable source than www.reddit.com but hey I'm a stickler for that. 75.186.111.99 (talk) 23:34, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

References Section Malformed

Some references are numbered, some have bullet form. Editorial correction is needed. Jtbagwelljr (talk) 22:50, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

One of them only linked to articles in Wikipedia. The other was unnecessary because its subject was already sourced. I deleted both. Thanks for the heads up. Belasted (talk) 22:59, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

Actually, I don't knwo what I'm doing, so nevermind. It seems like the reference section was designed that way because I see refbegin and ref end templates, instead of just reflist. So I don't want to mess with it. Belasted (talk) 23:05, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

Heart Valve Surgery

I remember Robin Williams was on the Charlie Rose show some years ago and talked about having a porcine value implant. Is this his second heart-valve surgery, or was he just talking about the possibility back then? DonPMitchell (talk) 00:52, 6 March 2009 (UTC)

Mayday!

I've noticed Williams seems to say "Mayday/M'aider" in some of his films. I've noticed it in Mrs Doubtfire, Good Morning Vietnam and as a bee in Aladdin. Has anyone noticed it in any of his other films and would be it too trivial to include in the article? Craigy (talk) 12:22, 9 March 2009 (UTC)

--What would the relevance of an idiomatic phraseal usage by the actor contribute to the article? Personally I don't see much importance to the repeated phrase.. it's simply a phrase he ad-libs during filming, a practice many actors do... But if you really wanted to include references to these vocalized expressions, you could possibly give a section on his styles of humor and acting styles in which you'd give clear-cut examples... otherwise I don't think it's that important. 75.186.111.99 (talk) 01:56, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

Edit Semiprotected

{{editsemiprotected}}

His heart surgery was performed on March 13, 2009 —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jlutz555 (talk • contribs) 00:06:09, 2009-03-25

Done I had trouble accessing the first citation, but the last two should be enough. I changed the date from March 23 to March 13. -- kenb215 talk 10:00, 25 March 2009 (UTC)

Personal life

I am new here, so I this is my first contribution... and I have been unable to figure out how to add it , so alas I am posting it here...

the folllowing quote...

"Cocaine is God's way of telling you, you're making too much money."

was also from the same source as the previous quote in the same paragraph: [12] "Robin Williams". James Lipton (host). Inside the Actors Studio. Bravo. 2001-06-10. No. 710, season 7.

Chuckster1953 (talk) 08:30, 28 March 2009 (UTC)

The quote from Robin about him being Episcopalian is actually a quote where he is describing how he views his character in "License To Wed", not his own personal life. You can see by following the citation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chuckp123 (talk • contribs) 22:57, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

((deleted my comment, as it is not particularly relevent)) Also, this "Personal Section" really needs revamped ("tweaked"), it "reads" rather incoherently. There appears to be no correlation to the sentences ("paragraphs", if you want to call them that.) It's just a bit of random information. Wolfpeaceful (talk) 18:02, 27 April 2009 (UTC) I have somewhat corrected this problem, by categorizing the material into subsections... Wolfpeaceful (talk) 18:27, 28 April 2009 (UTC)

Filmography

Its not seize the day. it's Dead Poets Society. also his role is john keating not whilhem. some one should change this. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jakmcd (talk • contribs) 20:11, 20 April 2009 (UTC)

the 1997 film Fathers Day (co-starred with billy crystal)is not mentioned in RW's filmography i dont know how to add it but heres the link to the wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fathers'_Day_(film) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jreidus (talk • contribs) 22:42, 4 October 2009 (UTC)

Yes, it is. 1997 in order: Good Will Hunting, Flubber, Deconstructing Harry, and Father's Day. Wildhartlivie (talk) 01:21, 5 October 2009 (UTC)

"Joke Thief?"

So, I'm definitely not an expert on this subject, but from what I understand Robin Williams is very very notorious in the stand up comic industry as a joke thief. Now, from what I have seen so far I haven't run across any serious journalism that has accused him of this, although there are a lot of rumours on this to the point that there is a wikipedia reference to it in the Joke Thief article. I don't think at this point this should be included, but if someone can find a good reference this should be in his Stand Up section. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.194.205.70 (talk) 02:38, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

Nothing can be written about such claims without reliable and verifiable third party sourcing. In checking Joke thievery, neither reference to the claim about Williams is valid. The first was a blog post with content gleened from usenet posts and not at all considered reliable and the second was no longer accessible. Both were removed as a WP:BLP violation and the same would be true here. Wildhartlivie (talk) 03:04, 14 July 2009 (UTC)

happy days

it states he was cast as mork in happy days. this is incorrect - he was cast as mork in mork and mindy —Preceding unsigned comment added by Cuthbert mf (talk • contribs) 13:37, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Williams first appeared as Mork in a Happy Days episode. The entire sequence is correct in the article:

"Williams was cast by Garry Marshall as the alien Mork in the hit 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 sitcom, Mork and Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982."

Mork and Mindy was a spin-off from Happy Days. Wildhartlivie (talk) 18:18, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Popeye and discography?

Is there a reason that there is no mention of his singing on the soundtrack, and subsequent album, of the “Popeye” film?79.67.148.152 (talk) 20:07, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

Intro edit/ potential improvement

I strongly feel the intro to the Robin Williams wiki page can be improved. The page begins with a reference to Mork & Mindy, which ended 28 years ago and is therefore very outdated. I request that this phrase be moved to the end of the intro paragraph. I wanted to discuss it first before I tried to actually make the edit. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Relax777 (talk • contribs) 03:14, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

I agree that the lead could be improved. However, according to WP:LEAD, the introduction should summarize the entire article and factually, Mork and Mindy should come first, since that is the vehicle that shot him to fame. Were it not for that show, the rest wouldn't have happened as it did. The rest of the lead does need fleshed out, however and Mork doesn't have to occupy much more than the initial statement plus probably mentioning the Emmy nomination for it. Wildhartlivie (talk) 03:30, 14 October 2009 (UTC)

Thank you. Robin Williams has been a lead or supporting actor in 71 major motion pictures. He has been one of the world's leading stand-up comedians for over 25 years. He has been the star of one TV series. Yes, that TV series was his start as a famous entertainer, but it is a guess or judgment call as to whether the rest of his career wouldn't have happened as it did. I do not feel the intro to this wiki page is sufficient or even close to sufficient to give proper credit to the subject. He is known worldwide as a movie actor and comedian, not a TV actor. As you mentioned, the intro should summarize the entire article. The article itself actually needs a lot of work. This is just an idea: the article could open with a broader statement about the entire career of Williams and the entire article, such as "Williams has been a lead or supporting actor in 71 major motion pictures. (Keep the content abt the awards- He has won ____ and been nominated for ____.) He has been a leading stand-up comedian for ___ years....He began his career as the star in the TV series M&M.... I will be glad to discuss this and let others make the changes. Thanks. Relax777 (talk) 17:24, 15 October 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Relax777 (talk • contribs) 17:02, 15 October 2009 (UTC)

Claremont McKenna College

While attending Claremont McKenna College, briefly, in the mid-80s I heard stories about how Williams had attended, also briefly, about ten years before. The article here says he attended all four years, but everything I've heard seems to indicate that he dropped out after a semester or two. Knowing the college as I do, I must say that the notion of Williams sticking it out there for the duration is almost inconceivable...a worse "fit" one could not imagine. CMC (as it is known) is a very conservative, buttoned-down, business-oriented, jock place, even more so back then. Bamjd3d (talk) 19:47, 24 November 2009 (UTC)bamjd3d

Robin Williams Years at CMC

I attended Claremont McKenna College from 1970 - 1974. Robin Williams was not in attendance at CMC during my years at the school. I too understood he had attended the year before I arrived and dropped out. This story is consistant with his age and high school graduation.

Also, when I first saw Robin Williams on Mork and Mindy, I was struck with his humor. During my years at Claremont (which at the time was known as Clarement Men's College) we viewed the world and our situation with the same humor and expressions Robin Williams made so famous, first presented in Mork and Mindy. Little did we know we were world class in our college boy craziness. WABWabarr52 (talk) 21:01, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

McLaurim/McLaurin

Do we have an appropriate source for the correct spelling of his middle name? Or ideally, more than one, for safety? If not, perhaps it should just be dropped from the bold title: it is, after all, not how he's credited. (Earlier discussion seem to prefer "McLaurim", which is also what Britannica goes with. OTOH, it does sound somewhat peculiar, on the face of it.) Smartiger (talk) 05:18, 14 December 2009 (UTC)

Robin McLaurin Williams is listed in the Nevada Marriage Records on April 30, 1989. I would say that seals it. According to this long family tree, it is his maternal great-grandmother's maiden name. All Hallow's Wraith (talk) 01:59, 1 September 2011 (UTC)

Reason for not hosting academy awards

There is no citation to the claim Robin has not hosted the AA's again since making the joke about the screen writers guild. I think there should be a reference to back this up, otherwise maybe it should be removed. - 30th Dec 2009 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.159.78.17 (talk) 00:14, 31 December 2009 (UTC)

Pending changes

This article is one of a small number (about 100) selected for the first week of the trial of the Wikipedia:Pending Changes system on the English language Wikipedia. All the articles listed at Wikipedia:Pending changes/Queue are being considered for level 1 pending changes protection.

The following request appears on that page:

However with only a few hours to go, comments have only been made on two of the pages.

Please update the page as appropriate.

Note that I am not involved in this project any more than any other editor, just posting these notes since it is quite a big change, potentially.

Regards, Rich Farmbrough, 20:25, 15 June 2010 (UTC).

Grammy

Can someone add some detail about this guy's grammy awards and noms to the article.--TonyTheTiger (T/C/BIO/WP:CHICAGO/WP:FOUR) 03:19, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

Second this. Why does the opening paragraph state that he won five Grammy awards and the article has NOTHING about them...?!?!?! --gobears87 (talk) 10:15, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Short changed on his film career

How come "Cinema career" starts with Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)? What about Popeye, The World According to Garp, Moscow on the Hudson and Seize the Day (1986, notable because the "Carpe diem" theme recurred in Dead Poets Society, 1989)? -- Jack of Oz [your turn] 19:56, 2 March 2011 (UTC)

Deep Space nine.

It seems plausible that Robin Williams played the friendly cardassian's role, Mr Garrak, in the first episodes of Star Trek - Deep Space Nine. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.254.64.146 (talk) 03:01, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

He was considered for the roll, but it was not him. Whoopie Goldburg tried to talk him into playing a guest part on the next generation but they could not strange the shooting schedule. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.153.19.191 (talk) 03:02, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

Lawsuit

Who sued him, the cocktail waitress or his wife? It's not clear. I assume it was the waitress since a wife suing her husband seems unusual. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.14.122.241 (talk) 09:49, 29 March 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from 115.113.219.3, 2 July 2011

Under "Television Career", the phrase: Williams was cast by Garry Marshall as the alien Mork in the hit TV series "Happy Days", "Happy Days" should be replaced with "Mork and Mindy".

115.113.219.3 (talk) 05:49, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

Not done: It appears that he first started the role on Happy Days, and it was then spun off, so I think the current version is correct. Monty₈₄₅ 17:52, 2 July 2011 (UTC)

The Dark Knight Rises

He is feature prominantly in the teaser trailer for Batman 3 The Dark Knight Rises. Not sure what the roll is, it look likes he is a villain. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.153.19.191 (talk) 03:06, 4 July 2011 (UTC)

• I saw that too but he is not credited anywhere including on TDKR's Wikipedia page or on IMDB. I'd like to add this to his filmology but unfortunately I can't because the trailer is the only evidence right now that he's in TDKR but that's not sufficient enough for inclusion on Wikipedia. Does anyone have a suggestion on how this should be handled? TheGoofyGolfer (talk) 16:24, 19 October 2011 (UTC)

Third Marriage

Proposed addition to Robin Williams:

Robin Williams married for the third time to Susan Schneider, a graphic artist, on October 23, 2011 at Meadow Wood Resort in St. Helena, California in the Napa Valley. The couple met shortly before his heart surgery in 2009.

citing: People magazine online — Preceding unsigned comment added by ScoutDaddy70 (talk • contribs) 21:15, 24 October 2011 (UTC)

Robin Williams on Equals Three

Hello. Would it be appropriate if someone added Robin Williams' appearance on Equals Three to his article. Something like "In 2011, Williams appeared in an episode of Equals Three, hosted by Ray William Johnson." Thanks, --Jirachiwish (talk) 05:12, 9 November 2011 (UTC)

Made a recent apperance on a very pouplar webshow

I believe this needs to be added.

Robin Williams made a recent appearance to the Ray Williams Johnson =3 show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj9nrYVqmPg 184.15.102.157 (talk) 06:06, 10 November 2011 (UTC)

Right? Glad to see EqualsThree is so popular... Funny, couldnt find =3 mentioned on John Cho / Kal Penn / Harold & Kumar or any related article / talk page or them on Equals Three (RWJ) pages ... --TakeruDavis (talk) 15:54, 10 November 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from , 13 November 2011

Please add to Filmography: FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) as the voice for character Batty Koda. (Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fern_Gully and http://www.amazon.com/FernGully-Last-Rainforest-Samantha-Mathis/dp/6302481805)

208.95.51.137 (talk) 06:17, 13 November 2011 (UTC)

 Already done CTJF83 18:45, 14 November 2011 (UTC)

File:Robin williams frame.jpg Nominated for Deletion

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Theatre vs Theater

I'm an Australian spelling pedant who normally fixes spelling errors on sight, but I've got myself confused here. We Aussies spell it theatre. Americans, I think, spell it theater. That's fine by me. The Theater career section has the spelling theatre in the text straight after the heading where it's spelt the other way. I'm guessing that it should be theater. Both words should certainly be spelt the same way. HiLo48 (talk) 09:42, 25 December 2011 (UTC)

Done. Suggest next time not wasting time starting a comment section but just go and correct it. It took me two seconds and I clicked the 'minor edits' box. That's why you have an account, so you can do that! Cheers :) --gobears87 (talk) 10:20, 25 February 2012 (UTC)

Edit request from Tolkien fan73, 14 April 2012

Please add to Filmography: Dead Again (1991) as the character Cozy Carlisle. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Again) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tolkien fan73 (talk • contribs) 19:00, 14 April 2012 (UTC)

Edit Request - lawsuit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpes_genitalis is what he was accused of giving the waitress, NOT herpes simplex, as the wikipedia article states. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.93.2.182 (talk) 03:19, 3 May 2012 (UTC)

Death May 2012

Williams fell off a mountain in Austria while filming a movie. The article needs updating. Big news. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.88.176.112 (talk) 20:44, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

It's a hoax HiLo48 (talk) 23:47, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

Edit request, July 4 2012

Mentions him being on a waiting list for an Aptera, but Aptera is no longer in business and refunded all pre-orders. Line should be excised. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Lulfas (talk • contribs) 05:32, 5 July 2012 (UTC)

Edit request, October 23 2012

Someone removed all of the ethnicity categories apart from "Irish". Why is this? Unfortunately, I can't change it myself as the article is locked. Could someone change it for me? 82.19.51.214 (talk) 16:08, 23 October 2012 (UTC)

Edit request on 9 April 2013

To add 2014 popeye film to filmology Natman94 (talk) 03:26, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

 Not done Can you give a reliable reference? Tbhotch.^™ Grammatically incorrect? Correct it! See terms and conditions. 03:39, 9 April 2013 (UTC)

Typo

Just noticed a typo in the personal life section. His son was born in November, not Movember.

Fixed. Thank you. HiLo48 (talk) 07:30, 18 July 2013 (UTC)

Update to Robin Williams Film Career

I saw movie called "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" Robin Williams played the character of the King of the Moon. Released in 1988. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Timmoeller1952 (talk • contribs) 01:21, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

@Timmoeller1952: - The film is already included in the Robin Williams filmography. It appears that there are several films not included in the "Movie Roles" section, probably based on the notability of the films and the size of his role. GoingBatty (talk) 01:45, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Bipoloar Disorder?

I heard a long time ago, that Williams suffers from Bipolar disorder. Does anyone have more information on this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.16.113.3 (talk) 15:19, 14 September 2013 (UTC)

Lead image change

What do you guys think about File:Robin Williams 2011a (2).jpg being the new lead image, as it is of higher quality and he is more recognizable? --GouramiWatcher ^(Gulp) 14:17, 11 February 2014 (UTC)

I'm going to change it. Let me know if there is any concern. --GouramiWatcher ^(Gulp) 17:28, 12 February 2014 (UTC)

Not to be confused with Robbie Williams

That needs removed from the page, no one alive on planet Earth would confuse Robin for some unknown Australian.2605:A000:F881:2300:6017:571:C971:E110 (talk) 23:40, 31 July 2014 (UTC)

Oi, this Australian is offended. He's not one of us. He's a Pom! But I agree with your point, and have deleted the note. HiLo48 (talk) 01:52, 1 August 2014 (UTC)

Death 2014

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/robin-williams-dies-suspected-suicide-724724 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Justinabrahms (talk • contribs) 22:58, 11 August 2014 (UTC)

Press release: http://www.marinsheriff.org/uploads/854.pdf --Cawhee (talk) 23:01, 11 August 2014 (UTC) link NOT working!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Semi-protected edit request on 11 August 2014

Cause of death has not been identified as asphyxia, rather that is the preliminary suggestion

31.54.4.144 (talk) 23:13, 11 August 2014 (UTC)