Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedies alike, he is regarded as one of the greatest comedians of all time. He received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and five Grammy Awards. Williams began performing stand-up comedy in San Francisco and Los Angeles during the mid-1970s, and released several comedy albums including Reality ... What a Concept in 1980. He rose to fame playing the alien Mork in the ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy (1978–1982). He received his first leading film role in Popeye (1980). Williams went on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Good Will Hunting (1997). His other Oscar-nominated roles were for Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), and The Fisher King (1991). Williams starred in the critically acclaimed dramas The World According to Garp (1982), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Dead Poets Society (1989), Awakenings (1990), Patch Adams (1998), Insomnia (2002), One Hour Photo (2002), and World's Greatest Dad (2009). He also starred in family films such as Hook (1991), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Jumanji (1995), Jack (1996), Flubber (1997), RV (2006), and the Night at the Museum trilogy (2006–2014). He lent his voice to the animated films Aladdin (1992), Robots (2005), Happy Feet (2006), and its 2011 sequel. Williams was found dead at his home in Paradise Cay, California, in August 2014, at the age of 63. At the time of his suicide, he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. According to his widow, Williams had experienced depression, anxiety, and increasing paranoia. His autopsy found "diffuse Lewy body disease" and Lewy body dementia professionals said his symptoms were consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies.
Filmography (58)
Absolutely Anything
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn
The Butler
The Big Wedding
Happy Feet Two
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Old Dogs
World's Greatest Dad
August Rush
License to Wed
Night at the Museum
RV
Happy Feet
Man of the Year
Everyone's Hero
The Night Listener
Robots
The Big White
The Final Cut
House of D
Noel
Insomnia
One Hour Photo
Death to Smoochy
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Bicentennial Man
Jakob the Liar
What Dreams May Come
Patch Adams
Good Will Hunting
Flubber
Deconstructing Harry
Fathers' Day
Aladdin and the King of Thieves
Hamlet
Jack
The Birdcage
Jumanji
Nine Months
To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
Mrs. Doubtfire
Aladdin
FernGully: The Last Rainforest
Toys
Hook
The Fisher King
Shakes the Clown
Dead Again
Awakenings
Cadillac Man
Dead Poets Society
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Good Morning, Vietnam
The Best of Times
The Survivors
The World According to Garp
