Biography: Born Robin McLaurin Williams on July 21, 1951 in Chicago, IL. He changed his college course work from political science to study acting at Juilliard. His teacher, famed producer and actor John Houseman, encouraged him to pursue stand-up comedy. Robin Williams is married and has two sons and a daughter.
Big Break: During his comedy club years, when he perfected his rapid, often improvised monologue patter bulging with one liners and celebrity impersonations, Robin landed an acting job on TV's hit sitcom, "Happy Days," in 1978. As the unusual outer space creature from Ork, he parlayed that single scene-stealing appearance ("My Favorite Orkan") into his own series with Pam Dawber, "Mork & Mindy." He became an "overnight" star.
Hero: Jonathan Winters, the wild improvisational comedian, who was a major television and nightclub performer himself -- and a popular character actor in films. Winters' influence on the comedic style of Robin Williams is unmistakable. Their exploratory methods into witty premises, constructions subsequently mined, and, most striking, their speech inflections and rhythms are nearly identical, except Robin speaks faster, but not necessarily thinking any speedier or better than Jonathan.
But, Seriously: Long considered a major movie star for his humorous roles, Robin Williams has grown into a fine dramatic performer, too, seen in numerous successes, including "Moscow on the Hudson" (1984), "Dead Poets Society" (1989), "Awakenings" (1990), "The Fisher King" (1991), and "One Hour Photo" and "Insomnia" (2002). He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor of 1997 in "Good Will Hunting." He was nominated for Best Actor in "The Fisher King," "Good Morning, Vietnam," and "Dead Poets Society."
Trivia: After several seasons, Jonathan Winters joined the cast of "Mork & Mindy" as those proud parents' baby boy, Mearth, who only looked to be Robin's senior by 26 years. It seems alien infants are born full-size and "old," growing more youthful (and tinier) as the years pass. Williams and Winters enjoyed an improvisational goldmine with these characters.
Trivia: His classmates at Redwood High School in Larkspur, CA, named him "Least Likely to Succeed."
Trivia: As the take control genie in Disney's animated whirl, "Aladdin" (1992), it is said Robin adlibbed most of his dialogue.
Robin Williams Comic Milestones: 1977 - "Laugh-In" [TV]
1978-82 - "Mork & Mindy" [TV]
1980 - "Popeye" [Film]
1982 - "The World According to Garp" [Film]
1987 - "Good Morning, Vietnam" [Film, Oscar Nominee: Best Actor]
1987 - "Carol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin" [TV, Emmy Winner: Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program]
1991 - "The Fisher King" [Film, Oscar Nominee: Best Actor]
1992 - "Aladdin" [Film, Voice of Genie]
1993 - "Mrs. Doubtfire" [Film]
1996 - "The Birdcage" [Film]
1997 - "Flubber" [Film]
1998 - "Patch Adams" [Film]
2002 - "Robin Williams Live" [Grammy Award: Best Spoken Word Comedy Album]
2005 - "Robots" [Film, Voice of Fender]
2006 - "RV" [Film]
2006 - "Man of the Year" [Film]
Robin Williams Quotes and Jokes: "Reality is just a crutch for people who can't cope with drugs."
"When my friends and I played cowboys and Indians, I was always the Chinese railroad worker."
"I'm a very tolerant man, except when it comes to holding a grudge."
"Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"
"Ah, yes, divorce. From the Latin word meaning 'to rip out a man's genitals through his wallet.'"
"You'll notice that Nancy Reagan never drinks water when Ronnie speaks."
"Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves?"
"If it's the Psychic Network, why do they need a phone number?"
"We had gay burglars the other night. They broke in and rearranged the furniture."
"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."
