Robin Williams - Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 65.140.13.186 (talk) at 19:26, 13 November 2020 (Undid revision 988533530 by DannyS712 (talk)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 19:26, 13 November 2020 by 65.140.13.186 (talk) (Undid revision 988533530 by DannyS712 (talk))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) American actor and comedian Not to be confused with Robbie Williams. For other people with the same name, see Robin Williams (disambiguation).

Small Weiner
Williams in December 2011
Born	Robin McLaurin Williams (1951-07-21)July 21, 1951 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	August 11, 2014(2014-08-11) (aged 63) Paradise Cay, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Suicide by hanging
Resting place	Ashes scattered in San Francisco Bay
Education	Claremont McKenna College College of Marin Juilliard School
Occupation(s)	Actor, comedian
Years active	1976–2014
Spouses	Valerie Velardi (m. 1978; div. 1988) Marsha Garces (m. 1989; div. 2010) Susan Schneider (m. 2011)
Children	3, including Zelda
Comedy career
Medium	Stand-up, film, television
Genres	Observational comedy, improvisational comedy, physical comedy, political satire, self-deprecation, surreal humour

On September 30, 1988, the Space Shuttle Discovery STS-26 crew started its day with a wakeup call from Robin Williams imitating his character in the 1987 film Good Morning, Vietnam.

Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014) was not blessed in the manly department.

He was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and a wide variety of memorable voices, he is often regarded as one of the best comedians of all time. Williams began performing stand-up comedy in San Francisco and Los Angeles during the mid-1970s, and rose to fame for playing the alien Mork in the sitcom Mork & Mindy (1978–1982).

After his first starring film role in Popeye (1980), Williams starred in several critically and commercially successful films including The World According to Garp (1982), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), Awakenings (1990), The Fisher King (1991), Patch Adams (1998), One Hour Photo (2002), and World's Greatest Dad (2009). He also starred in box office hits such as Hook (1991), Aladdin (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Jumanji (1995), The Birdcage (1996), Good Will Hunting (1997), and the Night at the Museum trilogy (2006–2014). He was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning Best Supporting Actor for Good Will Hunting. He also received two Primetime Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and five Grammy Awards.

In August 2014, at age 63, Williams committed suicide by hanging at his home in Paradise Cay, California. His widow, Susan Schneider Williams—as well as medical experts and the autopsy—attributed his suicide to his struggle with Lewy body disease.

Early life

Robin McLaurin Williams was born at St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, on July 21, 1951. His father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams, was a senior executive in Ford's Lincoln-Mercury Division. His mother, Laurie McLaurin, was a former model from Jackson, Mississippi, whose great-grandfather was Mississippi senator and governor Anselm J. McLaurin, a Democrat. Williams had two elder half-brothers: paternal half-brother Robert (also known as Todd) and maternal half-brother McLaurin. He had English, French, German, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry. While his mother was a practitioner of Christian Science, Williams was raised in his father's Episcopal faith. During a television interview on Inside 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.

Williams attended public elementary school in Lake Forest at Gorton Elementary School and middle school at Deer Path Junior High School. He described himself as a quiet child who did not overcome his shyness until he became involved with his high school drama department. His friends recall him as very funny. In late 1963, when Williams was 12, his father was transferred to Detroit. The family lived in a 40-room farmhouse on 20 acres in suburban Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he was a student at the private Detroit Country Day School. He excelled in school, where he was on the school's wrestling team and was elected class president.

As both his parents worked, Williams was partially raised by the family's maid, who was his main companion. When he was 16, his father took early retirement and the family moved to Tiburon, California. Following their move, Williams attended Redwood High School in nearby Larkspur. At the time of his graduation in 1969, he was voted "Most Likely Not to Succeed" and "Funniest" by his classmates. After high school graduation, Williams enrolled at Claremont Men's College in Claremont, California, to study political science; he dropped out to pursue acting. Williams studied theatre for three years at the College of Marin, a community college in Kentfield, California. According to College of Marin's drama professor James Dunn, the depth of the young actor's talent became evident when he was cast in the musical Oliver! as Fagin. Williams often improvised during his time in the drama program, leaving cast members in hysterics. Dunn called his wife after one late rehearsal to tell her Williams "was going to be something special".

In 1973, Williams attained a full scholarship to the Juilliard School (Group 6, 1973–1976) in New York City. He was one of 20 students accepted into the freshman class, and he and Christopher Reeve were the only two accepted by John Houseman into the Advanced Program at the school that year. William Hurt and Mandy Patinkin were also classmates. According to biographer Jean Dorsinville, Franklyn Seales and Williams were roommates at Juilliard. Reeve remembered 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."

Williams and Reeve had a class in dialects taught by Edith Skinner, who 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. Their primary acting teacher was Michael Kahn, who was "equally baffled by this human dynamo". 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 in Tennessee Williams' Night of the Iguana. Reeve wrote, "He simply was the old man. I was astonished by his work and very grateful that fate had thrown us together." The two remained close friends until Reeve's death in 2004. Reeve had famously struggled for years with being quadriplegic after a horse-riding accident. Their friendship was like "brothers from another mother", according to Williams' son Zak. Williams paid many of Reeve's medical bills and gave financial support to his family.

During the summers of 1974, 1975, and 1976, Williams worked as a busboy at The Trident in Sausalito, California. He left Juilliard during his junior year in 1976 at the suggestion of Houseman, who said there was nothing more Juilliard could teach him. Gerald Freedman, another of his teachers at Juilliard, said Williams was a "genius" and that the school's conservative and classical style of training did not suit him; no one was surprised that he left.

Career

Stand-up comedy

Williams began performing stand-up comedy in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1976. He gave his first performance at the Holy City Zoo, a comedy club in San Francisco, where he worked his way up from tending bar. In the 1960s, San Francisco was a center for a rock music renaissance, hippies, drugs, and a sexual revolution, and in the late 1970s, Williams helped lead its "comedy renaissance", writes critic Gerald Nachman. Williams says he found out about "drugs and happiness" during that period, adding that he saw "the best brains of my time turned to mud."

Williams moved to Los Angeles and continued performing stand-up at clubs including The Comedy Store. There, in 1977, he was seen by TV producer George Schlatter, who asked him to appear on a revival of his show Laugh-In. The show aired in late 1977 and was his debut TV appearance. That year, Williams also performed a show at the L.A. Improv for Home Box Office. While the Laugh-In revival failed, it led Williams into his television career; he continued performing stand-up at comedy clubs such as the Roxy to help keep his improvisational skills sharp. In England, Williams notably performed at The Fighting Cocks.

With his success on Mork & Mindy, Williams began to reach a wider audience with his stand-up comedy, starting in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, including three HBO comedy specials: Off The Wall (1978), An Evening with Robin Williams (1983), and A Night at the Met (1986). Williams won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for the recording of his 1979 live show at the Copacabana in New York, Reality ... What a Concept.

David Letterman, who knew Williams for nearly 40 years, recalls seeing him first perform as a new comedian at The Comedy Store in Hollywood, where Letterman and other comedians had already been doing stand-up. "He came in like a hurricane," said Letterman, who said he then thought to himself, "Holy crap, there goes my chance in show business."

Williams said that partly due to the stress of performing stand-up, he started using drugs and alcohol early in his career. He further said that he neither drank nor took drugs while on stage, but occasionally performed when hung over from the previous day. During the period he was using cocaine, he said it made him paranoid when performing on stage.

Williams once described the life of stand-up comedians:

"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."

Some, such as the critic Vincent Canby, were concerned that his monologues were so intense it seemed as though at any minute his "creative process could reverse into a complete meltdown." His biographer, Emily Herbert, described his "intense, utterly manic style of stand-up defies analysis ... beyond energetic, beyond frenetic ... dangerous ... because of what it said about the creator's own mental state."

Williams felt secure that he would not run out of ideas, as the constant change in world events would keep him supplied. He also explained that he often used free association of ideas while improvising in order to keep the audience interested. The competitive atmosphere caused problems; for example, some comedians accused him of stealing their jokes, which Williams strongly denied. David Brenner claims that he confronted Williams' agent and threatened bodily harm if he heard Williams utter another one of his jokes. Whoopi Goldberg defended him, asserting that it is difficult for comedians not to reuse another comedian's material, and that it is done "all the time". He later avoided going to performances of other comedians to deter similar accusations.

During a Playboy 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 novelist Jerzy Kosiński to his fear of losing his creativity and sharpness, Williams felt 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.

Williams' stand-up work was a consistent thread through his career, as seen by the success of his one-man show (and subsequent DVD) Robin Williams: Live on Broadway (2002). In 2004, he was voted 13th on Comedy Central's list "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time". 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 an HBO special on December 8, 2009.

Television

Mork & Mindy

Main article: Mork & Mindy

After the Laugh-In revival and appearing in the cast of The Richard Pryor Show on NBC, Williams was cast by Garry Marshall as the alien Mork in a 1978 episode of the TV series Happy Days, "My Favorite Orkan". Sought after as a last-minute cast replacement for a departing actor, Williams impressed the producer with his quirky sense of humor when he sat on his head when asked to take a seat for the audition. As Mork, Williams improvised much of his dialogue and physical comedy, speaking in a high, nasal voice and made the most of the ill-considered script. The cast and crew, as well as TV network executives were deeply impressed with his performance.

Mork's appearance proved so popular with viewers that it led to the spin-off television sitcom Mork & Mindy, which co-starred Pam Dawber, and ran from 1978 to 1982; the show was written to accommodate his extreme improvisations in dialog and behavior. Although he portrayed the same character as in Happy Days, the series was set in the present in Boulder, Colorado, instead of the late 1950s in Milwaukee. Mork & Mindy at its peak had a weekly audience of sixty million and was credited with turning Williams into a "superstar". According to critic James Poniewozik, the series was especially popular among young people as Williams became a "man and a child, buoyant, rubber-faced, an endless gusher of invention".

Mork became popular, featured on posters, coloring books, lunch-boxes, and other merchandise. Mork & Mindy was such a success in its first season that Williams appeared on the March 12, 1979, cover of Time magazine. The cover photo, taken by Michael Dressler in 1979, is said to have " 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 the Los Angeles Times. This photo was installed in the National Portrait Gallery in the Smithsonian Institution shortly after his death to allow visitors to pay their respects. Williams also appeared on the cover of the August 23, 1979, issue of Rolling Stone, photographed by Richard Avedon.

Later appearances

Starting in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Williams began to reach a wider audience with his stand-up comedy, including three HBO comedy specials, Off the Wall (1978), An Evening with Robin Williams (1983), and A Night at the Met (1986). In 1986, Williams co-hosted the 58th Academy Awards. Williams was also a regular guest on various talk shows, including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman, on which he appeared 50 times.

Williams and Billy Crystal were in an unscripted cameo at the beginning of an episode of the third season of Friends. His many TV appearances included an episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and he starred in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2006, Williams was the Surprise Guest at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, and appeared on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that aired on January 30.

In 2010, he appeared in a sketch with Robert De Niro on Saturday Night Live, and in 2012, guest-starred as himself in two FX series, Louie and Wilfred. In May 2013, CBS started a new series, The Crazy Ones, starring Williams, but the show was canceled after one season.

Film

Dramatic roles

Many of his subsequent roles were in comedies tinged with pathos. Looking over most of his filmography, one writer was "struck by the breadth" and radical diversity of most roles Williams portrayed. In 1989, Williams played a private-school English teacher in Dead Poets Society, which included a final, emotional scene that some critics said "inspired a generation" and became a part of pop culture. Similarly, his performance as a therapist in Good Will Hunting (1997) deeply affected even some real therapists. In Awakenings (1990), Williams plays a doctor modeled after Oliver Sacks, who wrote the book on which the film is based. Sacks later said the way the actor's mind worked was a "form of genius". In 1991, he played an adult Peter Pan in the film Hook, although he had said he would have to lose 25 pounds for the role. Terry Gilliam, who co-founded Monty Python and directed Williams in two of his films, The Fisher King (1991) and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), said in 1992 that Williams had the ability to "go from manic to mad to tender and vulnerable ... the most unique mind on the planet. There's nobody like him out there."

Other performances Williams had in dramatic films include Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Awakenings (1990), What Dreams May Come (1998), and Bicentennial Man (1999). In Insomnia (2002), Williams portrays a writer / killer on the run from a sleep-deprived Los Angeles policeman (played by Al Pacino) in rural Alaska. Also in 2002, in the psychological thriller One Hour Photo, Williams portrays an emotionally disturbed photo development technician who becomes obsessed with a family for whom he has developed pictures for a long time. The last film of Williams' released during his lifetime was The Angriest Man in Brooklyn, a film addressing the value of life in which Williams plays Henry Altmann, a terminally ill man who reassesses his life and works to redeem himself.

His roles in comedy and dramatic films garnered Williams several accolades, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Good Will Hunting; as well as two previous Academy Award nominations, for Dead Poets Society, and as a troubled homeless man in The Fisher King, respectively.

Among the actors who helped him during his acting career, he credited Robert De Niro, from whom he learned the power of silence and economy of dialogue when acting. From Dustin Hoffman, with whom he co-starred in Hook, he learned to take on totally different character types, and to transform his characters by extreme preparation. Mike Medavoy, producer of Hook, 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. Williams benefited from working with Woody Allen, who directed him and Billy Crystal in Deconstructing Harry (1997), as Allen had knowledge of the fact that Crystal and Williams had often performed together on stage.

Voice roles

Williams voiced characters in several animated films. His voice role as the Genie in the animated musical Aladdin (1992) was written for him. The film's directors said they had taken a risk by writing the role. At first, Williams refused the role since it was a Disney movie, and he did not want the studio profiting by selling merchandise based on the movie. He 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." Williams improvised much of his dialogue, recording approximately 30 hours of tape, and impersonated dozens of celebrities, including Ed Sullivan, Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro, Groucho Marx, Rodney Dangerfield, William F. Buckley Jr., Peter Lorre, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Arsenio Hall. His role in Aladdin became one of his most recognized and best-loved, and the film was the highest-grossing of 1992; it won numerous awards, including a Golden Globe for Williams. His performance led the way for other animated films to incorporate actors with more star power. He was named a Disney Legend in 2009.

Williams continued to provide voices in other animated films, including FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), Robots (2005), Happy Feet (2006), and an uncredited vocal performance in Everyone's Hero (2006). He also voiced the holographic Dr. Know character in the live-action film A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). 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.

Later films

Years after the films, Janet Hirshenson revealed in an interview that Williams had expressed interest in portraying Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series, but was rejected by director Chris Columbus due to the "British-only edict". In 2006, he starred in five movies, including Man of the Year and The Night Listener, the latter being a thriller about a radio show host who realizes that a child with whom he has developed a friendship may or may not exist.

After his death in 2014, four films starring Williams were released: Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, A Merry Friggin' Christmas, Boulevard, and Absolutely Anything.

Stage work

Williams appeared opposite Steve Martin at Lincoln Center in an off-Broadway production of Waiting for Godot in 1988. He headlined his own one-man show, Robin Williams: Live on Broadway, which played at the Broadway theatre in July 2002. He made his Broadway acting debut in Rajiv Joseph's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, which opened at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on March 31, 2011.

Internet

Williams hosted a talk show for Audible, which premiered in April 2000 and was available exclusively from Audible's website.

Work

Filmography

Main article: Robin Williams filmography

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Waiting for Godot	Estragon	Lincoln Center Theatre, New York
2011	Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo	Tiger	Richard Rodgers Theatre, Broadway

Discography

Reality ... What a Concept, (Casablanca, 1979)
Throbbing Python of Love, (Casablanca, 1983)
A Night at the Met, (Columbia, 1986)
Live 2002, (Columbia, 2002)
Weapons of Self Destruction, (Sony Music, 2009)

Personal life

Marriages and children

Williams married his first wife, Valerie Velardi, in June 1978, following a live-in relationship with comedian Elayne Boosler. Velardi and Williams met in 1976 while he was working as a bartender at a tavern in San Francisco. Their son Zachary Pym "Zak" Williams was born in 1983. Velardi and Williams were divorced in 1988.

While it was reported that Williams began an affair with Zachary's nanny Marsha Garces in 1986, Velardi stated in the 2018 documentary Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind that the relationship with Garces began after the two had separated. On April 30, 1989, Williams married Garces, who was six months pregnant with his child. They had two children, Zelda Rae Williams (born 1989) and Cody Alan Williams (born 1991). In March 2008, Garces filed for divorce from Williams, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce was finalized in 2010.

Williams married his third wife, graphic designer Susan Schneider, on October 22, 2011, in St. Helena, California. The two lived at their house in Sea Cliff, San Francisco, California.

Williams said, "My children give me a great sense of wonder. Just to see them develop into these extraordinary human beings." In May 2019, Zak Williams and his fiancée Olivia June announced the birth of their son, McLaurin "Mickey" Clement Williams, Robin's first grandchild. McLaurin was Robin's middle name. Cody Williams and his fiancée were married on July 21, 2019, on what would have been Williams' 68th birthday.

Other interests

His favorite books were the Foundation trilogy by Isaac Asimov, with his favorite book as a child being The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which he later shared with his children.

Williams was an enthusiast of both pen-and-paper role-playing games and video games. His daughter Zelda was named after the title character from The Legend of Zelda, a family favorite video game series, and he sometimes performed at consumer entertainment trade shows.

Williams was a big fan of anime and collecting figures. His daughter described him as a "figurine hoarder", one of his figures being the fictional character Deunan Knute from the anime film Appleseed which he was a fan of. He also liked the film Innocence Ghost in the Shell, and received a DVD copy of Paranoia Agent with a signature from its director, Satoshi Kon.

He also became a devoted cycling enthusiast, having taken up the sport partly as a substitute for drugs. Eventually, he accumulated a large bicycle collection and became a fan of professional road cycling, often traveling to racing events, such as the Tour de France. In 2016, his children donated 87 of his bicycles in support of the Challenged Athletes Foundation and Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.

In New York City, Williams was part of the West Side YMCA runners running team and showed promising results with 34:21 minutes at a 10K run in Central Park in 1975.

Religion and politics

Williams was raised and sometimes identified himself as an Episcopalian, but later in life, he did not follow any organized religion. He described his denomination in a comedy routine as "I have that idea of Chicago protestant, Episcopal—Catholic light: half the religion, half the guilt." He also described himself as an "honorary Jew", and on Israel's 60th Independence Day in 2008, he appeared in Times Square, along with several other celebrities to wish Israel a happy birthday.

Williams was a long-time supporter of the Democratic Party and donated over $150,000 in addition to donations to special interest groups.

Philanthropy

In 1986, Williams teamed up with Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal to found Comic Relief USA. This annual HBO television benefit devoted to the homeless has raised $80 million as of 2014. 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. Williams made benefit appearances to support literacy and women's rights, along with appearing at benefits for veterans. He was a regular on the USO circuit, where he traveled to 13 countries and performed to approximately 90,000 troops. After his death, the USO thanked him "for all he did for the men and women of our armed forces".

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 the BBC-inspired music video of international celebrities doing a cover of The Rolling Stones single "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" for the charity Children's Promise.

In response to the 2010 Canterbury earthquake, he donated all proceeds of his Weapons of Self Destruction Christchurch performance to help rebuild the New Zealand city. Half the proceeds were donated to the Red Cross and half to the mayoral building fund. Williams performed with the USO for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For several years, Williams supported St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Health

Addiction

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Williams had an addiction to cocaine. He was a casual friend of John Belushi, and the Saturday Night Live comic's death in 1982 from a drug overdose, which happened the morning after the two had partied together, along with the birth of his own son Zak, prompted him to quit drugs and alcohol: "Was it a wake-up call? Oh yeah, on a huge level. The grand jury helped, too." Williams later said of Belushi's death, "It sobered the shit out of me." Williams turned to exercise and cycling to help alleviate his depression shortly after Belushi's death; according to bicycle shop owner Tony Tom, Williams said, "cycling saved my life."

In 2003, Williams started drinking again while working on a film in Alaska. In 2006, he checked himself in to a substance-abuse rehabilitation center in Newberg, Oregon, saying he was an alcoholic. Years afterward, Williams acknowledged his failure to maintain sobriety, but said he never returned to using cocaine, declaring in a 2010 interview:

No. 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. No.

In mid-2014, Williams admitted himself into the Hazelden Foundation Addiction Treatment Center in Center City, Minnesota, for treatment for alcoholism.

Later health complications

In March 2009, he was hospitalized due to heart problems. He postponed his one-man tour for surgery to replace his aortic valve, repair his mitral valve, and correct his irregular heartbeat. The surgery was completed on March 13, 2009, at the Cleveland Clinic.

His publicist, Mara Buxbaum, commented that he was suffering from severe depression before his death. His wife, Susan Schneider, said that in the period before his death, Williams had been sober, but was diagnosed with early stage Parkinson's disease, which was information he was "not yet ready to share publicly". An autopsy revealed that Williams had diffuse Lewy body dementia, which had been diagnosed as Parkinson's. This may have contributed to his depression.

In an essay published in the journal Neurology 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' initial condition included a sudden and prolonged spike in fear and anxiety, stress and insomnia; which worsened in severity to include memory loss, paranoia, and delusions. According to Schneider, "Robin was losing his mind and he was aware of it ... He kept saying, 'I just want to reboot my brain.'"

Death

On August 11, 2014, at his home in Paradise Cay, California, Williams committed suicide by hanging. His body was cremated at Monte's Chapel of the Hills in San Anselmo, and his ashes were scattered over San Francisco Bay the next day.

The final autopsy report, released in November 2014, concluded that he "died of asphyxia due to hanging". Neither alcohol nor illegal drugs were involved, and prescription drugs present in his body were at therapeutic levels. The report also noted that Williams had been suffering from depression and anxiety. An examination of his brain tissue suggested Williams suffered from "diffuse Lewy body dementia". Describing the disease as "the terrorist inside my husband's brain", his widow Susan Schneider Williams said that "however you look at it—the presence of Lewy bodies took his life", referring to his previous diagnosis of Parkinson's. She revealed that in the year before his death Williams had experienced a sudden and prolonged spike in fear and anxiety, depression, and insomnia, which worsened in severity to include memory loss, paranoia, and delusions. Medical experts struggled to determine a cause, and eventually diagnosed him with Parkinson's disease.

The Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) clarified the distinction between the term used in the 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 both Parkinson's disease dementia (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). 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." Ian G. McKeith, professor and researcher of Lewy body dementias, commented that Williams' symptoms and autopsy findings were explained by DLB.

Tributes

Williams's death instantly became global news. The entertainment world, friends, and fans responded to his death through social and other media outlets. His wife, Susan Schneider, said: "I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken." His daughter Zelda Williams responded to his death by saying the "world is forever a little darker, less colorful and less full of laughter in his absence."

President Barack Obama released a statement upon Williams' 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.

Williams was scheduled to be the "Blackmail" special guest for the final night of Monty Python's ten-date stage shows in London one month before his death, with his friend, Monty Python's Eric Idle, but cancelled, stating he was "suffering from severe depression" at the time. When the show was released on video, it was dedicated to Williams.

At the United Nations Headquarters on August 12, 2014, Robin Williams was celebrated during the opening of the International Youth Day. In the presence of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, Assistant Secretary General Thomas Gass paid tribute to Williams by standing on the pulpit of the ECOSOC Chamber and quoting Keating's lines from the 1989 film Dead Poets Society: "Dare to look at things in a different way!" Several fans similarly paid tribute to Williams on social media with photo and video reenactments of Dead Poets Society's "O Captain! My Captain!" scene.

Shortly after his death, Disney Channel, Disney XD, and Disney Junior all aired the original Aladdin commercial-free over the course of a week, with a dedicated drawing of the genie at the end of each airing before the credits. In honor of his theater work, the lights of Broadway were darkened for the evening of August 14, 2014. That night, the cast of the Aladdin musical honored Williams by having the audience join them in a sing-along of "Friend Like Me", an Oscar-nominated song originally sung by Williams in the 1992 film Aladdin.

Fans of Williams created makeshift memorials at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and at locations from his television and film career, such as the bench in Boston's Public Garden featured in Good Will Hunting; the Pacific Heights, San Francisco, home used in Mrs. Doubtfire; the sign for Parrish Shoes in Keene, New Hampshire, where parts of Jumanji were filmed; and the Boulder, Colorado, home used for Mork & Mindy.

During the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards on August 25, 2014, close friend and fellow comedian Billy Crystal presented a tribute to Williams, referring to him as "the brightest star in our comedy galaxy". Afterwards, some of Williams' best comedy moments were shown, including his first ever The Tonight Show appearance, indicating his great life in making people laugh. Talk show hosts including David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon paid tribute to Williams on their respective shows.

On September 9, 2014, PBS aired a one-hour special devoted to his career, and on September 27, 2014, dozens of leading stars and celebrities held a tribute in San Francisco to celebrate his life and career.

British heavy metal band Iron Maiden dedicated a song to Williams, titled "Tears of a Clown", on their 2015 album The Book of Souls. The song looks into his depression and suicide, as well as how he attempted to hide his condition from the public.

A tunnel, painted with a rainbow, on Highway 101 north of the Golden Gate Bridge was officially named the "Robin Williams Tunnel" on February 29, 2016.

In 2017, Sharon Meadow in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, the home of the annual Comedy Day, was renamed Robin Williams Meadow.

In 2018, HBO produced a documentary about his life and career. Directed by Marina Zenovich, the film, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, was also screened at the Sundance Film Festival. That same year, a mural of Robin Williams was created on Market Street, in San Francisco. Work on a book biography was begun by New York Times writer David Itzkoff in 2014, and was published in 2018, entitled simply Robin.

In August 2020, Vertical Entertainment released a trailer for a new documentary, Robin's Wish, exploring Williams' battle with Lewy body dementia. The film, directed by Tylor Norwood, was digitally released on September 1, 2020.

Influences

Williams credited comedians including Jonathan Winters, Peter Sellers, Nichols and May, and Lenny Bruce as influences, admiring their ability to attract a more intellectual audience with a higher level of wit. He also liked Jay Leno for his quickness in ad-libbing comedy routines and Sid Caesar, whose acts he felt were "precious".

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. Williams was inspired by Winters' ingenuity, realizing, he said, "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."

During an interview in London in 2002, Williams told Michael Parkinson that Peter Sellers was an important influence, especially his multi-character roles in Dr. Strangelove, stating, "It doesn't get better than that." British comedy actors Dudley Moore and Peter Cook were also among his influences, he told Parkinson.

Williams was also influenced by Richard Pryor's fearless ability to talk about his personal life on stage, with subjects including 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, he told Parkinson, it was "cheaper than therapy" and gave him a way to release his pent-up energy and emotions.

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.

Judd Apatow

Although Williams was first recognized as a stand-up comedian and television star, he later became known for acting in film roles of substance and serious drama. He was considered a "national treasure" by many in the entertainment industry and by the public.

His on-stage 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. 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."

Williams created a signature free-form comedy persona so widely and uniquely identified that new comedians like Jim Carrey impersonated him, paving the way for the growing comedy scene which 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." According to Judd 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.

His film performances often influenced other actors, both in and out of the film industry. Director Chris Columbus, who directed Williams in Mrs. 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." Looking over most of his filmography, Alyssa Rosenberg at The Washington Post was "struck by the breadth" and radical diversity of most of his roles, writing that "Williams helped us grow up."

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Robin Williams

Throughout the course of his career Williams won numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Good Will Hunting (1997). He also won six Golden Globe Awards, including Best Actor—Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his roles in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), The Fisher King (1991) and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), along with the Cecil B. DeMille award in 2005. He also received two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and five Grammy Awards.

References

Footnotes

Kahn, Mattie (August 12, 2014). "When Norm Macdonald Met Robin Williams—'The Funniest Man in The World'". ABC News. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
Raab, Lauren; Parker, Ryan; Loomis, Nicky (August 11, 2014). "Robin Williams, 'funniest man alive,' dead at 63". The Bradenton Herald. Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
"Say What? Robin Williams' Most Iconic Character Voices". VH1 News. Viacom. August 12, 2014. Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
"Remembering Robin Williams—the man with 1000 voices". GQ Magazine UK. Condé Nast Britain. August 10, 2017. Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
"The 25 Funniest People Of All Time". Businessinsider.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
"50 Best Stand-Up Comics of All Time". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
"The 50 Best Stand-up Comics of All Time". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
^ Nachman, Gerald (2004). Seriously Funny: The Rebel Comedians of the 1950s and 1960s. Brno, Czech Republic: Back Stage Books. ISBN 978-0823047864.
"Robin Williams Has Been Voted Funniest Person Ever—Grintage Ireland". Grintageireland.com. Archived from the original on November 26, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
Martin, Nick (August 13, 2014). "San Francisco Neighbours Mourn Robin Williams". Sky News. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
^ "LBDA Clarifies Autopsy Report on Comedian, Robin Williams". Lewy Body Dementia Association. November 10, 2014. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
^ McKeith IG. "Robin Williams had dementia with Lewy bodies—so, what is it and why has it been eclipsed by Alzheimer's?". The Conversation. Archived from the original on April 11, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2018. {{cite news}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; November 4, 2016 suggested (help)
^ Stucker, Matthew (November 7, 2014). "Robin Williams' death ruled suicide". CNN. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
^ Schneider Williams, Susan (September 27, 2016). "The terrorist inside my husband's brain" (PDF). Neurology. 87 (13): 1308–1311. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000003162. PMID 27672165. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
"Chicago Native Robin Williams Recalled 'Good Times' Growing Up Here". CBS Local. August 11, 2014. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
Sources conflict. The Robin Williams Scrapbook and Encyclopædia Britannica, as well as two print biographies, The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography and Robin Williams: A Biography, give his birth year as 1952. However, in an interview published July 4, 2007, Williams refers to himself as being "55:" Monk, Katherine (July 4, 2007). "Marriage 101 with Robin Williams". Canada.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2008. He also verifies his date of birth as July 21, 1951, for a fansite interview in 2008: Stuurman, Linda. July 12, 2008. RWF talks with Robin Williams: Proost! Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine." The Robin Williams Fansite.
^ Kornbluth, Jesse (November 22, 1993). "Robin Williams' Change Of Life: Fighting For His Family In His New Film, 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' And In Real Life". New York Magazine. K-III Magazine Corporation. pp. 34–41. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
Shipman, Robert (August 13, 2014). "Genealogy buffs find Williams' roots in Evansville". Washington Times. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
Rubenstein, Steve (September 8, 2001). "Laurie Williams—comedian's mother". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
McLellan, Dennis (August 18, 2007). "R. Todd Williams, 69; winery founder, comic's brother". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2008.
Donahue, Michael (December 25, 1991). "Robin Williams' Half-brother Is An All-out Fan". Chicago Tribune. Scripps Howard News Service. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
"Full text of 'Anselm J. McLaurin (late a senator from Mississippi)'". Archive.org. 1911. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
Gristwood, Sarah (June 18, 1998). "Bobbin' Robin". Mail & Guardian Online. Archived from the original on October 4, 2006. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
Topel, Fred (July 3, 2007). "Robin Williams on License to Wed". CanMag. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
video: "Robin Williams—Inside The Actors Studio" Archived June 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, June 10, 2001
^ Cullotta, Karen Ann (August 13, 2014). "Robin Williams' childhood in Lake Forest remembered". Chicago Tribune. Sec. 1. p. 7. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
Terry Gross (host) (August 3, 2006). "Robin Williams: 'The Night Listener'". Fresh Air from WHYY (Radio). National Public Radio. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
Moore, Mary Ellen (January 1, 1979). Robin Williams. Grosset & Dunlap. ISBN 9780448171289. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Strauss, Valerie (August 11, 2014). "How high school changed Robin Williams' life". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 28, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
Weber, Bruce (May 28, 1989). "Robin Williams, the Comic, Confronts Robin Williams, the Actor". New York Times. p. A1. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
Klemesrud, Judy (April 15, 1984). "Robin Williams Dons an Emigre's Guise". New York Times. p. A21. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
Landrum, Gene N. (2007). Paranoia & Power: Fear & Fame of Entertainment Icons. Morgan James Publishing. pp. 30–31. ISBN 978-1600372742.
Golum, Rob (August 12, 2014). "Robin Williams, Oscar Winner, Dies After Hanging Himself". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on October 11, 2014.
^ Hansen, Megan (August 11, 2014). "'We knew him as a neighbor': Marin remembers Robin Williams". Marin Independent Journal. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
^ Maslon, Laurence; Kantor, Michael (2008). Make 'em Laugh: The Funny Business of America. New York City: Twelve. pp. 241–244. ISBN 978-0823047864.
^ Reeve, Christopher (1998). Still Me. New York City: Random House. pp. 167–172. ISBN 978-0-679-45235-5.
Dorsinville, Jean M. (2011). Franklyn V.E. Seales: Life of an Artist. iUniverse. p. 164. ISBN 9781462033324. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
"Robin Williams' son remembers his dad and Christopher Reeve's friendship" Archived November 23, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Fox News, November 23, 2014
"Robin Williams—obituary". The Daily Telegraph. August 12, 2014. Archived from the original on August 24, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
"We'll Always Love You Robin!". Thetridentrestaurant.com. August 13, 2015. Archived from the original on September 16, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
Feeney, Nolan (August 12, 2014). "Listen to Robin Williams Talk About His Struggles on an April 26, 2010 Podcast". Time. Archived from the original on September 22, 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
"WTF with Marc Maron—Remembering Robin Williams". WTF with Marc Maron. August 11, 2014. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
"For Juilliard, Ex-Student Hams It Up". The New York Times. The Associated Press. May 18, 1991. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Blair, Caroline (August 12, 2014). "NC Comedian: Robin Williams Was My Hero, My Influence". Time Warner Cable News. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014.
Hartlaub, Peter; August 12, Leah Garchik | on; 2014 (August 12, 2014). "Robin Williams' heart never strayed far from San Francisco". www.sfgate.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020. {{cite web}}: |last3= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Zehme, Bill (February 25, 1988). "Robin Williams: The Rolling Stone Interview". Rolling Stone. pp. 29–32. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
video: "Young Robin Williams at the Los Angeles Improv, 1977 Archived February 1, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
Robin Williams at the Roxy, 1978 on YouTube
Benedictus, Leo (December 6, 2012). "Comedy gold: Robin Williams' A Night at the Met". The Guardian. London, England: Guardian Media Group. Archived from the original on June 26, 2019. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
"Grammy Award Nominees 1980—Grammy Award Winners 1980". Awardsandshows.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
^ Lockett, Dee (August 19, 2014). "Letterman Remembers the First Time He Met Robin Williams". Slate. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
^ Grobel, Lawrence (January 1992). "Playboy Interview: Robin Williams". Playboy. Beverly Hills, California: Playboy Enterprises.
^ Herbert, Emily (November 15, 2014). Robin Williams: When the Laughter Stops 1951–2014. London, England: John Blake Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781784183004. OCLC 889523094. Archived from the original on December 26, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
Robin Williams—Parkinson interview [2002] on YouTube. Accessed July 22, 2020.
"Robin Williams Accused of Stealing Jokes in Comedy Tell-All Book". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
"Robin Williams: Prince of Thieves". Kempa.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
Richard Zoglin (2008). Comedy at the Edge. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN 978-1582346243.
Sims, David (July 28, 2015). "In Conan O'Brien Versus Twitter Comedians, Whose Joke Is It Anyway?". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on July 21, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
^ Giles, Jeff (February 21, 1991). "Robin Williams: Fears of a Clown". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 15, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
"Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time". Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on March 11, 2008. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
Gans, Andrew (July 8, 2009). "HBO to Air Robin Williams' Weapons of Self-Destruction". Playbill. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
^ James Lipton (host) (June 10, 2001). "Robin Williams". Inside the Actors Studio. Season 7. Episode 710. Bravo. Archived from the original on February 4, 2007.
"Robin Williams Biography". Biography Channel. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
"'Happy Days' Cast Reveals How Robin Williams Got Cast as a "Martian" in Show's "Worst Script"". The Hollywood Reporter. November 20, 2014. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
Corliss, Richard (August 25, 2014). "Robin Williams: The Heart of Comedy". Time. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
"Mork & Mindy". retrojunk.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
"Robin Williams—March 12, 1979". Time. 2014. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
"How Robin Williams Went From Unknown To Star in 5 Months". Time. March 12, 1979. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
^ Forgione, Mary (August 12, 2014). "The lighter side of Robin Williams, now at National Portrait Gallery". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
Williams, Robin. Rolling Stone, May 18, 2006
"A History of Comedy Stars on the Cover of Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. June 1, 2011. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
O'Connor, John J (March 26, 1986). "The Academy Awards Ceremony". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
"Robin Williams on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show – 1991" on YouTube
Cook, Jon (April 4, 1997). "Comedians Crystal and Williams in "Friends" episode". canoe.ca. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Whose Line Is It Anyway?. Season 3. Episode 9. November 16, 2000. {{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter |serieslink= ignored (|series-link= suggested) (help)
"Kids' Choice Awards". CBS News. April 1, 2006. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
"Quick Takes: An 'Extreme Makeover' salute to military families". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. November 3, 2011. Archived from the original on December 7, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Stanhope, Kate (August 11, 2014). "Robin Williams Dies of Suspected Suicide at 63". TV Guide. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
Rose, Lacey; Goldberg, Lesley (May 10, 2013). "CBS Orders Chuck Lorre's 'Mom,' Robin Williams' 'Crazy Ones,' Will Arnett Comedy, More". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
Littleton, Cynthia (May 10, 2014). "CBS Renews 'Mentalist', Cancels 'Crazy Ones', 'Hostages', 'Intelligence' & 2 More". variety.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Rea, Steven (August 13, 2014). "Robin Williams, 63, comic genius". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
Spitznagel, Eric (August 12, 2014). "Popeye Is the Best Movie Robin Williams Ever Made". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
Anderegg, Michael, ed. (1991). Inventing Vietnam: The War in Film and Television. Culture And The Moving Image: Vol 6. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 238. ISBN 9780877228622.
Monk, Katherine (August 12, 2014). "A clown and his demons: Robin Williams mixed zany comedy, sharp satire and pathos (with video)". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
^ Rosenberg, Alyssa (August 11, 2014). "How Robin Williams helped us grow up". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014.
Goodman, Jessica (August 11, 2014). "Robin Williams and the 'O Captain' Scene That Inspired a Generation". HuffPost. Archived from the original on October 13, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
"Requiem for a Therapist: A Tribute to Robin Williams". HuffPost. August 12, 2014. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
Rolling Stone, February 21, 1991 p. 26.
^ Brennan, Sandra. "Robin Williams". Allmovie. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Williams, Karl. "Insomnia (2002)". Allmovie. Archived from the original on February 14, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Deming, Mark. "One Hour Photo (2002)". Allmovie. Archived from the original on March 14, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
"The 'Angriest' Robin Williams Sadly Becomes The Inspirational One". NPR.org. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
Medavoy, Mike (2002). You're Only as Good as Your Next One: 100 Great Films, 100 Good Films, and 100 for Which I Should Be Shot. Young, Josh (contributor). New York: Simon & Schuster (Altria). p. 228. ISBN 9780743400541.
Lax, Eric (2007). Conversations with Woody Allen: His Films, the Movies, and Moviemaking. Alfred A. Knopf Doubleday. p. 52. ISBN 978-0375415333.
Turning Robin Williams into 'Aladdin's' Genie. ABC News. August 15, 2014 – via YouTube.
McDonald, Soraya Nadia (August 15, 2014). "Robin Williams almost didn't make 'Aladdin,' and a generation of children is grateful that he did". Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
Labrecque, Jeff (August 12, 2014). "Robin Williams in 'Aladdin': Animator Eric Goldberg remembers drawing Genie". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
Meslow, Scott (October 28, 2011). "How Celebrities Took Over Cartoon Voice Acting". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on July 31, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
"2009 Disney Legends Award Recipients to Be Honored During D23 Expo in Anaheim | Reuters". Reuters. December 14, 2013. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
Veness, Susan (2009). The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World: Over 600 Secrets of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Adams Media. p. 74. ISBN 9781440504327. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
"He really wanted to be in the movie". News.com.au. Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
Elavsky, Cindy (August 24, 2014). "Celebrity Extra". Downriver Sunday Times. King Features. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
Kuchwara, Michael (November 26, 1988). "Still 'Waiting for Godot': Robin Williams, Steve Martin play it for laughs". The Free Lance-Star. AP. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
Rich, Frank (November 7, 1988). "Review/Theatre; 'Godot': The Timeless Relationship of 2 Interdependent Souls". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2011.(Subscription required.)
The Broadway League. "Robin Williams: Live on Broadway" Archived February 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, IBDB.com; accessed January 19, 2019.
Isherwood, Charles (March 31, 2011). "Ghostly Beast Burning Bright in Iraq". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
"Robin Williams and Audible Announce New Weekly Internet Program". Business Wire. The Free Library. January 6, 2000. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
Frauenfelder, Mark (December 1, 2002). "Living online". Playboy. 49 (12): 41.
Browne, David (September 11, 2014). "Robin Williams, 1951–2014". Rolling Stone: 38–47.
Darrach, Brad (February 22, 1988). "A Comic's Crisis of the Heart". People. Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
Massarelle, Linda; Berg, Emmett; Golding, Bruce (August 12, 2014). "Robin Williams' divorces left the star strapped for cash". New York Post. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
Clehane, Diane; Dagostino, Mark; Mikelbank, Peter; Orr, Andrea (April 14, 2008). "Robin Williams Surprise Split". People. 69 (14). Retrieved August 13, 2014
LaSalle, Mick (July 11, 2018). "Robin Williams gets his just due in documentary 'Come Inside My Mind'". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on October 26, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
^ Hochman, 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: 16–19. ISSN 0039-8543.
Garchik, Leah (March 27, 2008). "Robin Williams' wife files for divorce after nearly 19 years". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 29, 2008.
Chaney, Jen (October 24, 2011). "Robin Williams and Susan Schneider reportedly wed". Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
Ravitz, Justin (October 24, 2011). "Robin Williams Weds!". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on October 26, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
"Robin Williams. It's time for a convoluted stream of consciousness. Ask Me Anything!". Reddit.com. September 25, 2013. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Juneau, Jen (June 14, 2019). "Robin Williams' Daughter Zelda Raves About Being a Proud 'Auntie' to Newborn Nephew Mickey". People Magazine. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
"Robin Williams' Youngest Son Gets Married on His Late Father's Birthday". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
Williams, Robin (September 25, 2013). "Robin Williams. It's time for a convoluted stream of consciousness. Ask Me Anything!" (Interview). Interviewed by The Reddit Community. Archived from the original on November 9, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
"Robin Williams. It's time for a convoluted stream of consciousness. Ask Me Anything!". Reddit.com. September 25, 2013. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Szymanski, Mike (August 21, 2002). "Robin Williams Confesses to Another Addiction ... the Internet". Zap2it. Chicago, Illinois: Tribune Media Services. Archived from the original on October 10, 2002. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
DeMaria, Rusel; Wilson, Johnny L. (2003). High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-07-223172-4. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
Graser, Marc (August 13, 2014). "Robin Williams to Be Memorialized in 'World of Warcraft'". Variety. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
Boutin, Paul (January 6, 2006). "Live coverage of Google Keynote with Robin Williams". Engadget.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
Terdiman, Daniel (May 11, 2006). "Robin Williams yucks it up for 'Spore'". CNet. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
"Dungeons and Dragons Game Day at London Dungeon". Viewlondon.co.uk. Archived from the original on July 22, 2007. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
Peters, Megan (May 17, 2018). "Robin Williams' Daughter Asks Fans To Help Identify His Massive Anime Collection". Comic Book. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
"Robin Williams loved Anime, I did not know that ... (from user babysaidmaybe)". Imgur. March 5, 2017. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
Macdonald, Christopher (May 5, 2005). "More Robin Williams on Anime". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
Murphy, Brian. "Tour de Lance: 100 percent pure". ESPN. Archived from the original on February 9, 2007. Retrieved June 29, 2007.
Koeppel, Dan (2003). "Robin Williams Profile—Robin Williams: "I'm Lucky to Have Bikes in My Life"". Bicycling Magazine. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
"Cycle of Life | Paddle8". Paddle8. Archived from the original on November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
Glover, Bob (2014). "Robin Williams, My Teammate". Runner's World. Archived from the original on July 11, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
Ryan, Jacob (August 12, 2014). "Jews mourn the loss of honorary member of the tribe, Robin Williams". The Jerusalem Post. Jerusalem: The Jerusalem Post Group. Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
^ "Robin Williams' Religion and Political Views". hollowverse.com. Archived from the original on April 4, 2019. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
Johnson, Caitlin A. (July 3, 2007). "A "License" to Laugh". CBS News. Archived from the original on February 2, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
Borschel, Amanda (August 12, 2014). "'Honorary Jew' Robin Williams, 63, found dead". The Times of Israel. AP. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
"Celebrity Salute to Israel @ Times Square". YouTube. May 13, 2008. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Brown, Carolyn M. (August 12, 2014). "Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal Raised $80 Million For Homeless". blackenterprise.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
Finn, Natalie (August 12, 2014). "Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg React in Kind to Robin Williams' Death: "No Words"". E!. Archived from the original on October 23, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
Thompson, Mark (August 12, 2014). "The Military Absolutely Loved Robin Williams". Time. Archived from the original on August 9, 2019.
On Patrol, USO, Fall 2014, p. 8
"Stones cover enters festive race". BBC News Online. December 10, 1999. Archived from the original on November 16, 2005. Retrieved July 14, 2007.
Greenhill, Marc (November 16, 2010). "Robin Williams' quake donation". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
Bronstein, Phil (February 9, 2005). "Good Morning, Iraq". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2009.
"Celebrity Involvement at St. Jude". St. Jude. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
^ Aitkenhead, Decca (September 20, 2010). "Robin Williams: 'I was shameful, did stuff that caused disgust—that's hard to recover from'". The Guardian. London, England: Guardian Media Group. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Reinstein, Mara (January 21, 2018). "Sundance 2018: Five Revelations From New Robin Williams Documentary". US Weekly. New York City: American Media Inc. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
"(video) Robin Williams Told Friend 'Cycling Saved My Life' Post-Cocaine Days". ABC News. New York City: ABC. August 13, 2014. Archived from the original on August 15, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
Duke, Alan (August 14, 2014). "Robin Williams was in early stages of Parkinson's disease, wife reveals". CNN. Atlanta, Georgia: Turner Broadcasting Systems. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
Gay, Jason (August 14, 2014). "Robin Williams and Dario Pegoretti: The Comedian and the Bike Builder". Wall Street Journal. New York City: Dow Jones & Company. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.(Subscription required.)
"Robin Williams Comes Clean on 'GMA'". ABC News. New York City: ABC. October 2, 2006. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
Duke, Alan (March 4, 2009). "Robin Williams, short of breath, takes a break". CNN. Atlanta, Georgia: Turner Broadcasting Systems. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
Errico, Marcus (August 11, 2014). "Robin Williams Dead of Apparent Suicide at 63". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
"Robin Williams to undergo heart surgery". Today. Associated Press. March 5, 2009. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
Doheny, Kathleen. "Robin Williams' Heart Surgery: Road to Recovery". WebMD. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
"Robin Williams' heart surgery goes 'extremely well'". CNN. Atlanta, Georgia: Turner Broadcasting Systems. March 23, 2009. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
Duke, Alan (August 12, 2014). "Robin Williams dead; family, friends and fans are 'totally devastated'". CNN. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
^ "Robin Williams 'had Parkinson's'". BBC News. August 14, 2014. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
Ryder, Taryn (August 15, 2014). "Wife: Robin Williams Had Parkinson's Disease, His Sobriety Intact Before Death". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
^ "Robin Williams coroner's report finds no illegal drugs or alcohol in system". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
Cooper, Marta (October 2, 2016). "Robin Williams suffered from a common form of dementia that many people don't know about". Qz.com. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
Ford, Dana (August 21, 2014). "Robin Williams' ashes scattered in San Francisco Bay". CNN. Archived from the original on May 14, 2016. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
"Death Certificate Indicates Robin Williams Cremated, Ashes Scattered In San Francisco Bay". sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com. August 21, 2014. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
"No Alcohol Or Drugs Involved in Death of Robin Williams". NBC News. November 7, 2014. Archived from the original on January 2, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
Itzkoff, Dave; Fitzsimmons, Emma G.; Weber, Bruce (August 11, 2014). "Robin Williams, Oscar-Winning Comedian, Dies at 63". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 7, 2020. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
Derschowitz, Jessica (August 12, 2014). "Robin Williams tributes pour in from Hollywood". CBS News. Archived from the original on October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
"Beloved Comic, Actor Robin Williams Dead at 63". NBC. August 12, 2014. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
"Robin Williams' Family: 'The World is Forever a Little Darker'". Variety. August 12, 2014. Archived from the original on December 22, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
"President Obama on the Passing of Robin Williams: "He Was One of a Kind"". whitehouse.gov. August 11, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
^ "Monty Python reunion: Eric Idle on his late friend Robin Williams". EW. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
"International Youth Day Event: Mental Health Matters". United Nations Photo. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
"Robin Williams death: Jimmy Fallon fights tears, pays tribute with 'Oh Captain, My Captain'". Archived from the original on September 1, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
Disney Networks to Air 'Aladdin' in Honor of Robin Williams Archived March 29, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, The Hollywood Reporter, August 14, 2014
"Robin Williams honored on Broadway with dimmed lights, 'Aladdin' tribute". NBC News. Archived from the original on January 28, 2018. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
Simakis, Andrea (August 14, 2014). "Broadway's 'Aladdin' cast honors Robin Williams with song". Cleveland.com. The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
"Fans mourn Robin Williams at Hollywood Walk of Fame star, autopsy pending". Los Angeles Daily News. City News Service. August 12, 2014. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
MacQuarrie, Brian; Crimaldi, Laura (August 12, 2014). "Boston fans remember Robin Williams". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
Rocha, Veronica (August 13, 2014). "Robin Williams memorial grows outside 'Mrs. Doubtfire' house". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
"Keene theater to host free 'Jumanji' screening after star's death". August 15, 2014. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
Bacle, Ariana (August 12, 2014). "Fans remember Robin Williams at 'Mork and Mindy' house". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 15, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.
"Billy Crystal Emmys Tribute to Robin Williams Expected to Honor Humor" Archived August 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Guardianlv, August 22, 2014
Sacks, Ethan (August 25, 2014). "Emmys 2014: Robin Williams given emotional tribute by good friend Billy Crystal". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
"Robin Williams late-night tributes: Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and Conan O'Brien share memories". The Washington Post. August 13, 2014. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
"Robin Williams Tribute Special to Air on PBS" Archived May 9, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, Variety, September 2, 2014.
"Robin Williams' Life Celebrated at San Francisco Tribute Attended by Family, Industry Friends" Archived June 14, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, The Hollywood Reporter, September 27, 2014
Morgan Britton, Luke (August 24, 2015). "Iron Maiden dedicate new song 'Tears Of A Clown' to Robin Williams". NME. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
"Robin Williams tunnel officially gets new signs". sfgate.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
"Golden Gate Park meadow renamed for Robin Williams". SFGate. Archived from the original on March 14, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
Gleiberman, Owen (January 20, 2018). "Sundance Film Review: 'Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind'". Variety.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
"San Francisco mural honors Robin Williams". Los Angeles Times. August 30, 2018. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
Rodriguez, Joe Fitzgerald (August 29, 2018). "Artist paints Robin Williams mural for free on SF's Market Street". San Francisco Examiner. Archived from the original on August 30, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
"Robin Williams Bio in the Works" Archived March 5, 2020, at the Wayback Machine, The Hollywood Reporter, August 27, 2014
Itzkoff, Dave (May 15, 2018). Robin. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9781627794244. OCLC 1035944986. Preview Archived June 26, 2020, at the Wayback Machine at Google Books.
Huff, Lauren (August 6, 2020). "Robin Williams' final days detailed in touching trailer for new documentary Robin's Wish". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
"Jonathan Winters Dead: 'Mork and Mindy' Star Dies At Age 87". Huffington Post. April 12, 2013. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
video: Williams, Robin. "Robin Williams, Parkinson interview 2002" (Interview). Interviewed by Michael Parkinson. Archived from the original on September 17, 2014. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
^ Browne, David (September 11, 2014). "Robin Williams, 1951–2014". Rolling Stone: 38–47. Archived from the original on August 29, 2016. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
"Glenn Close on Friend and Colleague: 'Robin Williams Was a World Treasure'" Archived May 25, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, Showbiz411, August 13, 2014
^ "Robin Williams: His unscripted riffs were not merely funny, but observant" Archived August 16, 2014, at the Wayback Machine,(+video), Christian Science Monitor, August 12, 2014
"Jim Carrey Impersonates Robin Williams" on YouTube
Rappoport, Leon. Punchlines: The Case for Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Humor, Greenwood Publishing (2005) p. 136
"Valley native Chris Columbus speaks about life with Robin Williams". vindy.com. August 13, 2014. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
"Robin Williams". Television Academy. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
"Robin Williams". www.goldenglobes.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
"Robin Williams – Artist – www.grammy.com". www.grammy.com. Recording Academy. Archived from the original on September 22, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020. ARTIST ROBIN WILLIAMS WINS 5 NOMINATIONS 9
"Robin Williams | Biography, Movies, Awards, Death, & Facts". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived from the original on June 27, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2020.

Sources

David, Jay (1999). The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography. New York: Quill. ISBN 978-0-688-15245-1.
Dougan, Andy (1999). Robin Williams: A Biography. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 978-1-56025-213-9.
Spignesi, Stephen J. (1997). The Robin Williams Scrapbook. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Pub. ISBN 978-0-8065-1891-6.

External links

Robin Williams at Find a Grave
Robin Williams at the Internet Broadway Database
Robin Williams at IMDb
Robin Williams at the TCM Movie Database

Awards for Robin Williams

v t e Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
1936–1950	Walter Brennan (1936) Joseph Schildkraut (1937) Walter Brennan (1938) Thomas Mitchell (1939) Walter Brennan (1940) Donald Crisp (1941) Van Heflin (1942) Charles Coburn (1943) Barry Fitzgerald (1944) James Dunn (1945) Harold Russell (1946) Edmund Gwenn (1947) Walter Huston (1948) Dean Jagger (1949) George Sanders (1950)
1951–1975	Karl Malden (1951) Anthony Quinn (1952) Frank Sinatra (1953) Edmond O'Brien (1954) Jack Lemmon (1955) Anthony Quinn (1956) Red Buttons (1957) Burl Ives (1958) Hugh Griffith (1959) Peter Ustinov (1960) George Chakiris (1961) Ed Begley (1962) Melvyn Douglas (1963) Peter Ustinov (1964) Martin Balsam (1965) Walter Matthau (1966) George Kennedy (1967) Jack Albertson (1968) Gig Young (1969) John Mills (1970) Ben Johnson (1971) Joel Grey (1972) John Houseman (1973) Robert De Niro (1974) George Burns (1975)
1976–2000	Jason Robards (1976) Jason Robards (1977) Christopher Walken (1978) Melvyn Douglas (1979) Timothy Hutton (1980) John Gielgud (1981) Louis Gossett Jr. (1982) Jack Nicholson (1983) Haing S. Ngor (1984) Don Ameche (1985) Michael Caine (1986) Sean Connery (1987) Kevin Kline (1988) Denzel Washington (1989) Joe Pesci (1990) Jack Palance (1991) Gene Hackman (1992) Tommy Lee Jones (1993) Martin Landau (1994) Kevin Spacey (1995) Cuba Gooding Jr. (1996) Robin Williams (1997) James Coburn (1998) Michael Caine (1999) Benicio del Toro (2000)
2001–present	Jim Broadbent (2001) Chris Cooper (2002) Tim Robbins (2003) Morgan Freeman (2004) George Clooney (2005) Alan Arkin (2006) Javier Bardem (2007) Heath Ledger (2008) Christoph Waltz (2009) Christian Bale (2010) Christopher Plummer (2011) Christoph Waltz (2012) Jared Leto (2013) J. K. Simmons (2014) Mark Rylance (2015) Mahershala Ali (2016) Sam Rockwell (2017) Mahershala Ali (2018) Brad Pitt (2019) Daniel Kaluuya (2020) Troy Kotsur (2021) Ke Huy Quan (2022) Robert Downey Jr. (2023)

Cecil B. DeMille Award

Cecil B. DeMille (1951)
Walt Disney (1952)
Darryl F. Zanuck (1953)
Jean Hersholt (1954)
Jack L. Warner (1955)
Mervyn LeRoy (1956)
Buddy Adler (1957)
Maurice Chevalier (1958)
Bing Crosby (1959)
Fred Astaire (1960)
Judy Garland (1961)
Bob Hope (1962)
Joseph E. Levine (1963)
James Stewart (1964)
John Wayne (1965)
Charlton Heston (1966)
Kirk Douglas (1967)
Gregory Peck (1968)
Joan Crawford (1969)
Frank Sinatra (1970)
Alfred Hitchcock (1971)
Samuel Goldwyn (1972)
Bette Davis (1973)
Hal B. Wallis (1974)
No Award (1975)
Walter Mirisch (1976)
Red Skelton (1977)
Lucille Ball (1978)
Henry Fonda (1979)
Gene Kelly (1980)
Sidney Poitier (1981)
Laurence Olivier (1982)
Paul Newman (1983)
Elizabeth Taylor (1984)
Barbara Stanwyck (1985)
Anthony Quinn (1986)
Clint Eastwood (1987)
Doris Day (1988)
Audrey Hepburn (1989)
Jack Lemmon (1990)
Robert Mitchum (1991)
Lauren Bacall (1992)
Robert Redford (1993)
Sophia Loren (1994)
Sean Connery (1995)
Dustin Hoffman (1996)
Shirley MacLaine (1997)
Jack Nicholson (1998)
Barbra Streisand (1999)
Al Pacino (2000)
Harrison Ford (2001)
Gene Hackman (2002)
Michael Douglas (2003)
Robin Williams (2004)
Anthony Hopkins (2005)
Warren Beatty (2006)
No Award (2007)
Steven Spielberg (2008)
Martin Scorsese (2009)
Robert De Niro (2010)
Morgan Freeman (2011)
Jodie Foster (2012)
Woody Allen (2013)
George Clooney (2014)
Denzel Washington (2015)
Meryl Streep (2016)
Oprah Winfrey (2017)
Jeff Bridges (2018)
Tom Hanks (2019)
Jane Fonda (2020)
No Award (2021)
Eddie Murphy (2022)
No Award (2023)
Viola Davis (2024)

v t e Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
1959–1975	Perry Como / Dinah Shore (1959) Harry Belafonte (1960) Fred Astaire (1961) Carol Burnett (1962) Carol Burnett (1963) Danny Kaye (1964) No Award (1965) No Award (1966) Art Carney (1967) Art Carney / Pat Paulsen (1968) Arte Johnson / Harvey Korman (1969) No Award (1970) Harvey Korman (1971) Harvey Korman (1972) Tim Conway (1973) Harvey Korman / Brenda Vaccaro (1974) Jack Albertson / Cloris Leachman (1975)
1976–1990	Chevy Chase / Vicki Lawrence (1976) Tim Conway / Rita Moreno (1977) Tim Conway / Gilda Radner (1978) No Award (1979) No Award (1980) Sarah Vaughan (1981) Nell Carter / André De Shields (1982) Leontyne Price (1983) Cloris Leachman (1984) George Hearn (1985) Whitney Houston (1986) Robin Williams (1987) Robin Williams (1988) Linda Ronstadt (1989) Tracey Ullman (1990)
1991–2008	Billy Crystal (1991) Bette Midler (1992) Dana Carvey (1993) Tracey Ullman (1994) Barbra Streisand (1995) Tony Bennett (1996) Bette Midler (1997) Billy Crystal (1998) John Leguizamo (1999) Eddie Izzard (2000) Barbra Streisand (2001) Sting (2002) Wayne Brady (2003) Elaine Stritch (2004) Hugh Jackman (2005) Barry Manilow (2006) Tony Bennett (2007) Don Rickles (2008)

v t e Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
1950–1976	Fred Astaire (1949) Danny Kaye (1951) Donald O'Connor (1952) David Niven (1953) James Mason (1954) Tom Ewell (1955) Mario Moreno (1956) Frank Sinatra (1957) Danny Kaye (1958) Jack Lemmon (1959) Jack Lemmon (1960) Glenn Ford (1961) Marcello Mastroianni (1962) Alberto Sordi (1963) Rex Harrison (1964) Lee Marvin (1965) Alan Arkin (1966) Richard Harris (1967) Ron Moody (1968) Peter O'Toole (1969) Albert Finney (1970) Chaim Topol (1971) Jack Lemmon (1972) George Segal (1973) Art Carney (1974) George Burns / Walter Matthau (1975)
1976–2000	Kris Kristofferson (1976) Richard Dreyfuss (1977) Warren Beatty (1978) Peter Sellers (1979) Ray Sharkey (1980) Dudley Moore (1981) Dustin Hoffman (1982) Michael Caine (1983) Dudley Moore (1984) Jack Nicholson (1985) Paul Hogan (1986) Robin Williams (1987) Tom Hanks (1988) Morgan Freeman (1989) Gérard Depardieu (1990) Robin Williams (1991) Tim Robbins (1992) Robin Williams (1993) Hugh Grant (1994) John Travolta (1995) Tom Cruise (1996) Jack Nicholson (1997) Michael Caine (1998) Jim Carrey (1999) George Clooney (2000)
2001–present	Gene Hackman (2001) Richard Gere (2002) Bill Murray (2003) Jamie Foxx (2004) Joaquin Phoenix (2005) Sacha Baron Cohen (2006) Johnny Depp (2007) Colin Farrell (2008) Robert Downey Jr. (2009) Paul Giamatti (2010) Jean Dujardin (2011) Hugh Jackman (2012) Leonardo DiCaprio (2013) Michael Keaton (2014) Matt Damon (2015) Ryan Gosling (2016) James Franco (2017) Christian Bale (2018) Taron Egerton (2019) Sacha Baron Cohen (2020) Andrew Garfield (2021) Colin Farrell (2022) Paul Giamatti (2023)

Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy

Bob Newhart (1961)
Mickey Rooney (1963)
Dean Martin (1966)
Dan Dailey (1969)
Flip Wilson (1970)
Carroll O'Connor (1971)
Redd Foxx (1972)
Jack Klugman (1973)
Alan Alda (1974)
Alan Alda (1975)
Henry Winkler (1976)
Ron Howard / Henry Winkler (1977)
Robin Williams (1978)
Alan Alda (1979)
Alan Alda (1980)
Alan Alda (1981)
Alan Alda (1982)
John Ritter (1983)
Bill Cosby (1984)
Bill Cosby (1985)
Bruce Willis (1986)
Dabney Coleman (1987)
Michael J. Fox / Judd Hirsch / Richard Mulligan (1988)
Ted Danson (1989)
Ted Danson (1990)
Burt Reynolds (1991)
John Goodman (1992)
Jerry Seinfeld (1993)
Tim Allen (1994)
Kelsey Grammer (1995)
John Lithgow (1996)
Michael J. Fox (1997)
Michael J. Fox (1998)
Michael J. Fox (1999)
Kelsey Grammer (2000)
Charlie Sheen (2001)
Tony Shalhoub (2002)
Ricky Gervais (2003)
Jason Bateman (2004)
Steve Carell (2005)
Alec Baldwin (2006)
David Duchovny (2007)
Alec Baldwin (2008)
Alec Baldwin (2009)
Jim Parsons (2010)
Matt LeBlanc (2011)
Don Cheadle (2012)
Andy Samberg (2013)
Jeffrey Tambor (2014)
Gael García Bernal (2015)
Donald Glover (2016)
Aziz Ansari (2017)
Michael Douglas (2018)
Ramy Youssef (2019)
Jason Sudeikis (2020)
Jason Sudeikis (2021)
Jeremy Allen White (2022)
Jeremy Allen White (2023)

v t e Grammy Award for Best Children's Music Album
1958−1974	"The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" – Ross Bagdasarian Sr. (1958) Peter and the Wolf – Peter Ustinov (1959) Let's All Sing with The Chipmunks – Ross Bagdasarian Sr. (1960) Prokofiev: Peter and The Wolf – Leonard Bernstein (1961) Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals/Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra – Leonard Bernstein (1962) Bernstein Conducts for Young People – Leonard Bernstein (1963) Mary Poppins: Original Cast Soundtrack – Dick Van Dyke & Julie Andrews (1964) Dr. Seuss Presents: "Fox in Sox" and "Green Eggs and Ham" – Marvin Miller (1965) Dr. Seuss Presents - "If I Ran the Zoo" and "Sleep Book" – Marvin Miller (1966) Dr. Seuss: How The Grinch Stole Christmas – Boris Karloff (1967) No Award (1968) Peter, Paul and Mommy – Peter, Paul and Mary (1969) Sesame Street – Joan Cooney & Thomas Z. Shepard (producers) (1970) Bill Cosby Talks to Kids About Drugs – Bill Cosby (1971) The Electric Company – Bill Cosby & Rita Moreno (1972) Sesame Street Live! – Joe Raposo (producer) (1973) Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too – Paul Winchell, Sebastian Cabot & Sterling Holloway (1974)
1975−1992	The Little Prince – Richard Burton (1975) Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf / Saint-Saëns: "Carnival of the Animals" – Hermione Gingold & Karl Böhm (1976) Aren't You Glad You're You – Christopher Cerf & Jim Timmens (producers) (1977) The Muppet Show – Jim Henson (producer) (1978) The Muppet Movie – Jim Henson & Paul Williams (producers) (1979) In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record – David Levine & Lucy Simon (producers) (1980) Sesame Country – Jim Henson & Dennis Scott (producers) (1981) In Harmony 2 – David Levine & Lucy Simon (producers) (1982) E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial – Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones (producer) (1983) Where the Sidewalk Ends – Shel Silverstein and Ron Haffkine (producer) (1984) Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird – Jim Henson & Steve Buckingham (producers) (1985) The Alphabet – Jim Henson, Geri Van Rees & Kathryn King (producers) (1986) The Elephant's Child – Bobby McFerrin & Jack Nicholson (1987) Pecos Bill – Robin Williams and Ry Cooder (1988) The Rock-A-Bye Collection, Volume 1 – Tanya Goodman (1989) The Little Mermaid: An Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack – Alan Menken & Howard Ashman (songwriters) (1990) A Cappella Kids – Clifford "Barney" Robertson (producer) (1991) Beauty and the Beast: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Alan Menken & Howard Ashman (songwriters) (1992)
2011−present	All About Bullies... Big and Small – Gloria Domina, James Cravero, Kevin Mackie, Patrick Robinson & Steve Pullara (producers) (2011) Can You Canoe? – The Okee Dokee Brothers (2012) Throw a Penny in the Wishing Well – Jennifer Gasoi (2013) I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World – Neela Vaswani (2014) Home – Tim Kubart (2015) Infinity Plus One – Secret Agent 23 Skidoo (2016) Feel What U Feel – Lisa Loeb (2017) All the Sounds – Lucy Kalantari & The Jazz Cats (2018) Ageless Songs for the Child Archetype – Jon Samson (2019) All the Ladies – Joanie Leeds (2020) A Colorful World − Falu (2021) The Movement – Alphabet Rockers (2022) We Grow Together Preschool Songs – 123 Andrés (2023)
From 1993–2010, the category was split into Best Musical Album for Children and Best Spoken Word Album for Children.

v t e Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album
1950s	"The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" – Ross Bagdasarian Sr. (1958) The Battle of Kookamonga – Homer and Jethro / Inside Shelley Berman – Shelley Berman (1959)
1960s	Jonathan and Darlene Edwards in Paris – Jo Stafford & Paul Weston / The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back! – Bob Newhart (1960) An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May – Elaine May & Mike Nichols (1961) The First Family – Vaughn Meader (1962) "Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)" – Allan Sherman (1963) I Started Out as a Child – Bill Cosby (1964) Why Is There Air? – Bill Cosby (1965) Wonderfulness – Bill Cosby (1966) Revenge – Bill Cosby (1967) To Russell, My Brother, Whom I Slept With – Bill Cosby (1968) Sports – Bill Cosby (1969)
1970s	The Devil Made Me Buy This Dress – Flip Wilson (1970) This Is A Recording – Lily Tomlin (1971) FM & AM – George Carlin (1972) Los Cochinos – Cheech & Chong (1973) That Nigger's Crazy – Richard Pryor (1974) ...Is It Something I Said? – Richard Pryor (1975) Bicentennial Nigger – Richard Pryor (1976) Let's Get Small – Steve Martin (1977) A Wild and Crazy Guy – Steve Martin (1978) Reality...What a Concept – Robin Williams (1979)
1980s	No Respect – Rodney Dangerfield (1980) Rev. Du Rite – Richard Pryor (1981) Live on the Sunset Strip – Richard Pryor (1982) Eddie Murphy: Comedian – Eddie Murphy (1983) "Eat It" – "Weird Al" Yankovic (1984) Whoopi Goldberg (Original Broadway Show Recording) – Whoopi Goldberg (1985) Those of You with or Without Children, You'll Understand – Bill Cosby (1986) A Night at the Met – Robin Williams (1987) Good Morning, Vietnam – Robin Williams (1988) P.D.Q. Bach: 1712 Overture and Other Musical Assaults – Peter Schickele (1989)
1990s	P.D.Q. Bach: Oedipus Tex and Other Choral Calamities – Peter Schickele (1990) P.D.Q. Bach: WTWP Classical Talkity-Talk Radio – Peter Schickele (1991) P.D.Q. Bach: Music for an Awful Lot of Winds and Percussion – Peter Schickele (1992) Jammin' in New York – George Carlin (1993) Live from Hell – Sam Kinison (1994) Crank(y) Calls – Jonathan Winters (1995) Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot and Other Observations – Al Franken (1996) Roll with the New – Chris Rock (1997) The 2000 Year Old Man in the Year 2000 – Mel Brooks & Carl Reiner (1998) Bigger & Blacker – Chris Rock (1999)
2000s	Brain Droppings – George Carlin (2000) Napalm & Silly Putty – George Carlin (2001) Robin Williams: Live on Broadway – Robin Williams (2002) Poodle Hat – "Weird Al" Yankovic (2003) The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents ... America: A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction – Jon Stewart and the cast of The Daily Show (2004) Never Scared – Chris Rock (2005) The Carnegie Hall Performance – Lewis Black (2006) The Distant Future – Flight of the Conchords (2007) It's Bad for Ya – George Carlin (2008) A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All! – Stephen Colbert (2009)
2010s	Stark Raving Black – Lewis Black (2010) Hilarious – Louis C.K. (2011) Blow Your Pants Off – Jimmy Fallon (2012) Calm Down Gurrl – Kathy Griffin (2013) Mandatory Fun – "Weird Al" Yankovic (2014) Live at Madison Square Garden – Louis C.K. (2015) Talking for Clapping – Patton Oswalt (2016) The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas – Dave Chappelle (2017) Equanimity & The Bird Revelation – Dave Chappelle (2018) Sticks and Stones – Dave Chappelle (2019)
2020s	Black Mitzvah – Tiffany Haddish (2020) Sincerely Louis CK – Louis C.K. (2021) The Closer – Dave Chappelle (2022) What's In a Name? – Dave Chappelle (2023)

Hasty Pudding Men of the Year

Bob Hope (1967)
Paul Newman (1968)
Bill Cosby (1969)
Robert Redford (1970)
James Stewart (1971)
Dustin Hoffman (1972)
Jack Lemmon (1973)
Peter Falk (1974)
Warren Beatty (1975)
Robert Blake (1976)
Johnny Carson (1977)
Richard Dreyfuss (1978)
Robert De Niro (1979)
Alan Alda (1980)
John Travolta (1981)
James Cagney (1982)
Steven Spielberg (1983)
Sean Connery (1984)
Bill Murray (1985)
Sylvester Stallone (1986)
Mikhail Baryshnikov (1987)
Steve Martin (1988)
Robin Williams (1989)
Kevin Costner (1990)
Clint Eastwood (1991)
Michael Douglas (1992)
Chevy Chase (1993)
Tom Cruise (1994)
Tom Hanks (1995)
Harrison Ford (1996)
Mel Gibson (1997)
Kevin Kline (1998)
Samuel L. Jackson (1999)
Billy Crystal (2000)
Anthony Hopkins (2001)
Bruce Willis (2002)
Martin Scorsese (2003)
Robert Downey Jr. (2004)
Tim Robbins (2005)
Richard Gere (2006)
Ben Stiller (2007)
Christopher Walken (2008)
James Franco (2009)
Justin Timberlake (2010)
Jay Leno (2011)
Jason Segel (2012)
Kiefer Sutherland (2013)
Neil Patrick Harris (2014)
Chris Pratt (2015)
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (2016)
Ryan Reynolds (2017)
Paul Rudd (2018)
Milo Ventimiglia (2019)
Ben Platt (2020)
Jason Bateman (2022)
Bob Odenkirk (2023)
Barry Keoghan (2024)

MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Comedic Performance

Billy Crystal (1992)
Robin Williams (1993)
Robin Williams (1994)
Jim Carrey (1995)
Jim Carrey (1996)
Jim Carrey (1997)
Jim Carrey (1998)
Adam Sandler (1999)
Adam Sandler (2000)
Ben Stiller (2001)
Reese Witherspoon (2002)
Mike Myers (2003)
Jack Black (2004)
Dustin Hoffman (2005)
Steve Carell (2006)
Sacha Baron Cohen (2007)
Johnny Depp (2008)
Jim Carrey (2009)
Zach Galifianakis (2010)
Emma Stone (2011)
Melissa McCarthy (2012)
Jonah Hill (2014)
Channing Tatum (2015)
Ryan Reynolds (2016)
Lil Rel Howery (2017)
Tiffany Haddish (2018)
Dan Levy (2019)
No Award (2020)
Leslie Jones (2021)
Ryan Reynolds (2022)
Adam Sandler (2023)

v t e National Board of Review Award for Best Actor
1945–1975	Ray Milland (1945) Laurence Olivier (1946) Michael Redgrave (1947) Walter Huston (1948) Ralph Richardson (1949) Alec Guinness (1950) Richard Basehart (1951) Ralph Richardson (1952) James Mason (1953) Bing Crosby (1954) Ernest Borgnine (1955) Yul Brynner (1956) Alec Guinness (1957) Spencer Tracy (1958) Victor Sjöström (1959) Robert Mitchum (1960) Albert Finney (1961) Jason Robards (1962) Rex Harrison (1963) Anthony Quinn (1964) Lee Marvin (1965) Paul Scofield (1966) Peter Finch (1967) Cliff Robertson (1968) Peter O'Toole (1969) George C. Scott (1970) Gene Hackman (1971) Peter O'Toole (1972) Al Pacino / Robert Ryan (1973) Gene Hackman (1974) Jack Nicholson (1975)
1976–2000	David Carradine (1976) John Travolta (1977) Jon Voight / Laurence Olivier (1978) Peter Sellers (1979) Robert De Niro (1980) Henry Fonda (1981) Ben Kingsley (1982) Tom Conti (1983) Victor Banerjee (1984) William Hurt / Raul Julia (1985) Paul Newman (1986) Michael Douglas (1987) Gene Hackman (1988) Morgan Freeman (1989) Robert De Niro / Robin Williams (1990) Warren Beatty (1991) Jack Lemmon (1992) Anthony Hopkins (1993) Tom Hanks (1994) Nicolas Cage (1995) Tom Cruise (1996) Jack Nicholson (1997) Ian McKellen (1998) Russell Crowe (1999) Javier Bardem (2000)
2001–present	Billy Bob Thornton (2001) Campbell Scott (2002) Sean Penn (2003) Jamie Foxx (2004) Philip Seymour Hoffman (2005) Forest Whitaker (2006) George Clooney (2007) Clint Eastwood (2008) George Clooney / Morgan Freeman (2009) Jesse Eisenberg (2010) George Clooney (2011) Bradley Cooper (2012) Bruce Dern (2013) Michael Keaton / Oscar Isaac (2014) Matt Damon (2015) Casey Affleck (2016) Tom Hanks (2017) Viggo Mortensen (2018) Adam Sandler (2019) Riz Ahmed (2020) Will Smith (2021) Colin Farrell (2022) Paul Giamatti (2023) Daniel Craig (2024)