The Extraordinary Life of Robin Williams
“Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves?”
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 21, 1951, to Robert Fitzgerald Williams and Laurie McLaurin.
Voted “Least Likely to Succeed” in high school, Williams’ professors recognized his larger-than-life personality early on. He won six Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, five Grammys, two Emmys, and one Academy Award. In 1997, Entertainment Weekly voted him the Funniest Man Alive.
Williams left an extraordinary legacy as an actor and comedian. However, he appeared to struggle as a boy. He described himself as “a quiet child” and also “lonely, shy, short, and chubby.”
Even though Williams’ parents were wealthy, they worked a lot. His father was a senior executive at Ford, and his mother was a fashion model. As a result, Williams spent much of his time with the maids. He once said that he sometimes used humor to get his mother’s attention, and he was afraid of his father. Williams also found it challenging to make friends. In sixth grade, he got bullied for being overweight.
So, Williams seemed to have found solace in creating characters. He once said, “My only companions, my only friends as a child, were my imagination.”
Williams battled severe depression, anxiety, and other illnesses before his death on August 11, 2014, but here’s an extraordinary man who, despite it all, used humor to make a mark on the world. According to his wife, Susan Schneider, “William’s greatest legacy, besides his three children, is the joy and happiness he offered to others, particularly to those fighting personal battles.”
Robin Williams served his purpose extraordinarily.
Read on to learn more.
31 Surprising Facts
Williams’ favorite childhood book was “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” from “The Chronicles of Narnia.” He read the entire C.S. Lewis series to his children, and interestingly, his daughter thought he should read naturally and not make up any voices.
One of his favorite adult books was “The Foundation Trilogy,” a science fiction by Isaac Asimov.
The most harrowing movie he made was “What Dreams May Come.” Williams said, “Every day was literally hell because of the nature of the subject matter, dealing with death and being in hell literally.”
His movie, “Mrs. Doubtfire,” was based on a real character, a shopkeeper who ran a clothing thrift shop in Edinburgh. “Mrs. Doubtfire” was a family favorite, and we watched it multiple times.
Joining the drama club in high school made Williams popular. Even though he was voted the “Funniest,” he was not a class clown.
He loved video games such as The Legend of Zelda and named his daughter Zelda after the popular series. Williams also played Portal, Battlestation Pacific, and Call of Duty, among others.
Williams dropped out after attending Claremont McKenna College and Juilliard School three years into his studies.
He studied political science and theatre in college.
After leaving Julliard, he couldn’t find work as an actor, but he attended a comedy workshop at a Lutheran church and continued acting.
Williams formed a beautiful bond with Koko, a well-known gorilla. Born at the San Francisco Zoo, Koko enjoyed it when Williams tickled him and shared a laugh.
Christopher Reeves was his roommate in college.
He used comedy to comfort others. Steven Spielberg had much going on during the filming of Schindler’s List. However, Williams found a way to make him laugh, and he would do 15-minute standups over the phone.
Williams visited Reeves at the hospital and, with his Russian accent and blue scrubs, pretended to be his proctologist. According to Reeves, this was his first time laughing since the accident. He stated, “My old friend had helped me know that somehow I was going to be okay.”
His favorite superhero was Batman.
Williams was helpful and compassionate. He encouraged the actress in “Mrs. Doubtfire” to go to college, helped Ethan Hawke get an agent, offered support to military men and women, and founded the Windfall Foundation to raise money for charities.
Charities he supported were St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, the Live Strong Foundation, and Comic Relief. Comic Relief, which helped people experiencing homelessness, raised more than $80 million with Williams’ support.
His favorite snack was donuts.
As an adult, he was quiet at home. Now, this caught my attention, and I wondered why.
Was Williams tired from acting all day? Was home where he could be his genuine self? Did he not feel safe expressing himself? I hope Williams did not withhold his gift of humor from his family.
But who knows? Whatever the reasons, obviously, the man needed some quiet time.
Williams was overwhelmed and felt “he had to be turned on all the time” when fans approached him and asked him to be funny.
People who knew him described him as “friendly, warm, kind, humble, respectful, sharp, aware, funny, down-to-earth, high-energy, generous, intelligent, genius, genuine, a little sad, sweet, shy, brilliant, animated, engaged, nice, extremely bright, quick-witted, hardworking, polite, caring, downcast, detached, genius, talented, a unique mind, a man with a lot of presence, a great tipper, wonderful to work for.”
His humor came from his mother, who also had a witty sense of humor.
A favorite movie he starred in: “Awakenings.” Williams claimed his role as Dr. Oliver Sacks helped him “explore the human brain from the inside out,” which made human behavior fascinating to him.
His estate: According to Forbes, Williams left $100 million and a “potential fortune in image licensing.”
Places he lived: In addition to Chicago and Los Angeles, Williams lived in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Tiburon, CA, New York, and San Francisco. He moved to San Francisco after quitting college, and it was there that he got started in comedy.
He lived in a massive childhood home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan -- A 40-room farmhouse on 20 acres.
He was an excellent student at Detroit Country Day School. Williams was also summa cum laude in high school. “I was driven that way,” he once said. “I loved school, maybe too much, really.”
Williams’ most famous quotes:
“I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel alone.”
“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.”
Other inspiring quotes:
“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.”
“The only weapon we have is comedy.”
“What’s right is what’s left if you do everything else wrong.”
“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!”
He was a host of the 58th Academy Awards.
Williams enjoyed collecting figures.
Williams’ favorite thing to do was ride a bicycle.
How did he feel about his children? “My children gave me a great sense of wonder to see them develop into these extraordinary beings.”
Something to think about…
What do you think of Robin Williams? How do you feel about his childhood? How many other “Robin Williams” do we have in the world?
Thanks for reading,
Elvira
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