Thread: Robin Williams death..

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/ro...de-1201280386/

Veteran film and television comedic actor Robin Williams was found dead on Monday. He was 63. The cause of death is believed to be suicide via asphyxiation, according to the coroner's office in Tiburon, Calif. He was found in his home.

According to his publicist, who confirmed the news, the actor had been battling depression of late and recently entered 12-step rehab stint for drug abuse.

His wife Susan Schneider said in a statement, “I am utterly heartbroken. On behalf of Robin’s family, we are asking for privacy during our time of profound grief. As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin’s death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions.”

Williams is best known for both comedic and dramatic roles in movies including “Good Will Hunting,” for which he won a Best Supporting Actor in 1997. In addition, he won several Emmys, Golden Globes.

Williams’ film career was bookended by TV roles including his breakout role on the ABC sitcom “Mork & Mindy” in 1978. He returned to TV on CBS last season, “The Crazy Ones.”

Born in Chicago to a former model and an auto-industry executive, Williams graduated from Juilliard School in 1973. His career exploded in the late 1970s on the strength of both his stand-up comedy act and “Mork,” which channeled his antic stream-of-consciousness style into the role of an alien on Earth.

He took his career to the next level with a bevy of lead parts in critically acclaimed movies beginning in the late 1980s, including “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Dead Poets Society” and “The Fisher King.” All of them garnered Oscar nominations but it wasn’t until his supporting turn in “Hunting,” from a screenplay by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, that he earned his only win, in 1998.

For all his success as a comedy star, “Hunting” proved Williams had a flair for dramatic roles as well in his role as a nurturing psychotherapist. Williams also scored in another dramatic role as a man of medicine, playing neuroscientist Oliver Sacks in the 1990 movie “Awakenings.”

But Williams will be remembered best for the parts that exhibited his improvisational comedy chops, which he delivered with near manic intensity. His genius for over-the-top characters was displayed in the early 1990s everywhere from the cross-dressing nanny in “Mrs. Doubtfire” to even animated roles, like the genie in “Aladdin.”

He is survived by his wife and three children.

Robin Williams, the Academy Award winner and comic supernova whose explosions of pop culture riffs and impressions dazzled audiences for decades and made him a gleamy-eyed laureate for the Information Age, died Monday in an apparent suicide. He was 63

Williams was pronounced dead at his home in California on Monday, according to the sheriff's office in Marin County, north of San Francisco. The sheriff's office said a preliminary investigation shows the cause of death to be a suicide due to asphyxia.

From his breakthrough in the late 1970s as the alien in the hit TV show "Mork and Mindy," through his standup act and such films as "Good Morning, Vietnam," the short, barrel-chested Williams ranted and shouted as if just sprung from solitary confinement. Loud, fast, manic, he parodied everyone from John Wayne to Keith Richards, impersonating a Russian immigrant as easily as a pack of Nazi attack dogs.

He was a riot in drag in "Mrs. Doubtfire," or as a cartoon genie in "Aladdin." He won his Academy Award in a rare, but equally intense dramatic role, as a teacher in the 1997 film "Good Will Hunting."

He was no less on fire in interviews. During a 1989 chat with The Associated Press, he could barely stay seated in his hotel room, or even mention the film he was supposed to promote, as he free-associated about comedy and the cosmos.

"There's an Ice Age coming," he said. "But the good news is there'll be daiquiris for everyone and the Ice Capades will be everywhere. The lobster will keep for at least 100 years, that's the good news. The Swanson dinners will last a whole millennium. The bad news is the house will basically be in Arkansas."

Like so many funnymen, he had serious ambitions, winning his Oscar for his portrayal of an empathetic therapist in "Good Will Hunting." He also played for tears in "Awakenings," ''Dead Poets Society" and "What Dreams May Come," something that led New York Times critic Stephen Holden to once say he dreaded seeing the actor's "Humpty Dumpty grin and crinkly moist eyes."

Williams also won three Golden Globes, for "Good Morning, Vietnam," ''Mrs. Doubtfire" and "The Fisher King."

His other film credits included Robert Altman's "Popeye" (a box office bomb), Paul Mazursky's "Moscow on the Hudson," Steven Spielberg's "Hook" and Woody Allen's "Deconstructing Harry." On stage, Williams joined fellow comedian Steve Martin in a 1988 Broadway revival of "Waiting for Godot."

http://news.msn.com/pop-culture/sher...ocid=ansnews11

Robin Williams Crazy First Appearance on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show

Robin Williams' first appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is so wacky that Robin has to calm himself down and drink from Johnny's mug. Airdate 10/14/1981.



Robin Williams on David Letterman shows troops in "Retreat"

At Camp Arifjan, Kuwait Robin Williams was in the middle of his act when every Soldier suddenly stopped laughing, stood up and turned their backs to him. This is an edited version of how the video was played on the David Letterman show. See the original video sent to the show also posted here.



Craig Ferguson Best Interview Ever Robin Williams


Robin Williams with Johnny Carson
Robin Williams discusses his movie "Awakenings" in this interview with Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" in 1991.




Jonathan Winters & Robin Williams






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Conan O'Brien found out about Robin Williams' death during the taping of tonight's show—watch his emotional tribute along with Andy Richter and Will Arnett.

http://popwatch.ew.com/2014/08/11/ro...f970c4be87262f


I can not find a clip ... but there was an episode on Jay Leno with Robin Williams & Tracy Ullman where Tracy and Robin start playing off each other and Jay looses all control of the show. It was HILARIOUS. Jay had to cut to commercial, when they return it is clear that those two had been riffing the entire break and Jay almost has his head on the desk, tears flowing down his face from laughing so hard....

Sesame Street: Robin Williams:
Conflict


Robin Williams on what is alive



( love that shirt ... must be from the 'Fresh Prince' Collection )


Classic Sesame Street - Two Robins

5 less-heralded Robin Williams films

Robin Williams’ long filmography has more than its share of high-profile roles—but IMDb lists 102 total acting credits stretching all the way back to 1977. (That first one? A pair of parts in something called Can I Do It ‘Till I Need Glasses?, which the site describes as “a comedy are comprised [sic] of short sexually suggestive skits.”) Williams’ triumphs (Good Will Hunting) and failures (Popeye) are well-known, but it’s worth digging through some of his less-heralded work to find the occasional gem.

1. Insomnia (2002)
Williams had been an animated Disney character, a silly cross-dressing nanny, Peter Pan, and an Oscar-winner before he accepted his first truly vile role. In Christopher Nolan’s psychological thriller, he plays a creepy killer who’s itching to take credit for his gruesome deeds, and his mano-a-mano with Al Pacino’s sleep-deprived L.A. cop becomes part of his sadistic game. Williams would follow up Insomnia with One Hour Photo, another unnerving performance that challenged audiences, but it was Insomnia that demonstrated how Williams could play the face of evil in the clear light of day.



2. What Dreams May Come (1998)
Critics weren’t kind to Vincent Ward’s highly stylized meditation on life, loss, and the afterlife. (“Heaven looks like nothing so much as a baroque series of progressive-rock album covers, and Robin Williams, sliding around in all that color, grows moist in the extreme,” wrote EW’s Owen Gleiberman.) What Dreams May Come wasn’t an easy sell: An entire family is wiped out, starting with the death of Williams and Annabella Sciorra’s children, then Williams, then capped off by Sciorra’s suicide. The film is more hopeful than that summary suggests—though the circumstances around Williams’ death make it more difficult to watch now—and Williams shows a dramatic depth that he was seldom able to explore. Gleiberman aptly described it as “achingly sincere.”




3. The Best of Times (1986)
Williams was still winnowing down his gonzo on-screen persona when he took the role of Jack Dundee, a sad-sack banker haunted by the sure-thing touchdown pass he dropped that would’ve won his high-school team the big game. 13 years later, with his marriage in shambles, he goes to insane lengths to get the star quarterback (Kurt Russell), his other out-of-shape teammates, and the rival school back on the field for a rematch he believes will reverse his town’s fortunes. It’s hardly a great Williams performance, nor would it make the short list of really good football movies, but there’s something very sweet and innocent about it—especially Williams’ hopeless dreamer.




4. Dead Again (1991)
Fresh off winning performances in Dead Poets Society and Awakenings, Williams popped up practically unannounced in Kenneth Branagh’s romantic thriller, playing against type as a squirrelly disgraced shrink who preaches cosmic forces and past lives to Branagh’s skeptical private eye. (He insisted his cameo go uncredited. “When we sent the script to him, he loved the part,” Branagh said at the time, “but he was determined to be unbilled so the audience would not perceive this as a Robin Williams film.”) Williams gives the character real verve, while sprinkling in a few subtle tics and a quick temper that made you want to follow him around at his grocery store for more than just two scenes.

5. Club Paradise (1986)
Williams said he did this film—about a Chicago fireman who moves to the Caribbean to open a hotel—more or less for a paycheck, but it was sneakily great: It was directed by Harold Ramis (coming off two stone-cold classics, Caddyshack and National Lampoon’s Vacation) and co-starred Rick Moranis, Eugene Levy, reggae legend Jimmy Cliff, early supermodel Twiggy, and Peter O’Toole (who was also cashing a check). Beyond that, the script’s four credited writers include not just Ramis and Brian Doyle-Murray (also of Caddyshack and appeared in small role) but also Harry Shearer. As Jack, Williams brought a funny weariness to the role of a resort owner in over his head, and found the jokes without the manic riffing that would become his signature style. Nearly 30 years later, Club Paradise is a footnote for everyone involved, but charming regardless.



http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/08/1...f864ac23e4e26f



17 Times That Robin Williams Made Us Laugh Very, Very Hard (VIDEO)
The Huffington Post Canada Posted: 08/11/2014 9:07 pm EDT Updated: 4 hours ago

Goodbye, Robin Williams.

And thanks so much for endless laughs you gave us at the movies and on television. In no particular order, here are 17 of his most brilliant performances.

"Aladdin" - Friend Like Me



"Aladdin" - Make Me A Prince



"American Idol" - The Russian idol



"The Birdcage" - Try more gum!



"The Ellen DeGeneres Show" - French Siri



"Good Morning, Vietnam" - First broadcast



"Hook" - Peter vs. Rufio



"Jumanji" - Stuck in the floor



"Mork and Mindy" - Mork is a Broncos cheerleader



"Mrs. Doubtfire" - Back off!



"Mrs. Doubtfire" - Help is on the way, dear!



"Mrs. Doubtfire" - Hot flashes



"Nine Months" - It's my first delivery!



"Patch Adams" - The children's ward



"Popeye" - I'm Popeye the sailor man!



Stand-Up Comedy - Elmer Fudd sings Bruce Springsteen




"The 2000 Academy Awards" - Blame Canada



http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/08...n_5670233.html

Robin Williams leaves behind four upcoming films
By Nicole Sperling on Aug 11, 2014 at 9:03PM

Robin Williams died suddenly Monday, leaving behind a still-active film career. This holiday season, moviegoers will be able to see him reprise his role as Teddy Roosevelt in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. The sequel wrapped production in May, according to Twentieth Century Fox, and will bow on Dec. 19th.

Williams’ other holiday flick is the indie family comedy Merry Friggin’ Christmas, co-starring Wendi McLendon-Covey, Lauren Graham and Oliver Platt. Phase 4 will release the movie, produced by Captain America directors Joe and Anthony Russo on November 7.

He also recently starred opposite Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad) in the Dito Montiel drama Boulevard, which debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year. The movie has yet to land theatrical distribution.

Williams, who was one of the first big stars to lend his voice to an animated movie with his work in 1992’s Aladdin, has also voiced the animated character of Dennis the Dog in Absolutely Anything, an upcoming live-action British comedy starring Simon Pegg and Kate Beckinsale that is due out next year.

Along with Williams and director Christopher Columbus, Fox was currently developing a sequel to 1993’s Mrs. Doubtfire. Though the project was still in the early stages, Williams had met with screenwriter David Berenbaum (Elf) and the scribe was working on a second draft. Had the rewrite come together as all parties had hoped, Williams and Columbus, who had been friends for the past two decades, were likely to come aboard.

Said Columbus in a statement, “We have lost one of our most inspired and gifted comic minds, as well as one of this generation’s greatest actors. To watch Robin 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. He truly was one of the few people who deserved the title of ‘genius.’ We were friends for 21 years. Our children grew up together, he inspired us to spend our lives in San Francisco and I loved him like a brother. The world was a better place with Robin in it. And his beautiful legacy will live on forever.”

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/08/1...0b8a46959d981d

UPDATE: Oakland TV station KTVU reported Williams hung himself...so sad!

5 Facts You Might Not Know About Robin Williams
The Huffington Post | By Todd Van Luling
08/11/2014

"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."

Robin Williams lived an amazing life before his death at the age of 63. In the beginning of his career, Williams struggled as a street mime in front of New York’s Museum of Modern Art; by the end, he was the type of performer who could lift the spirits of a long-time friend in the hospital to our nation's troops in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait and everyone in between. Moreover, once Williams reached the top, he remembered to look back on where he came from: The actor famously helped Jessica Chastain become the first person in her family to go to college, funding her full-ride scholarship to Juilliard when she was just starting out herself. There's certainly no doubt Williams will be missed by both fans and colleagues. Below are some of the little known moments of Williams' inspiring career.


1. Robin Williams improvised most of Genie for "Aladdin."



Apparently, the Academy Awards rejected the bid for "Aladdin" in the Best Adapted Screenplay category because so much of Williams role ended up being improvised. According to producer and director John Musker, Williams ended up improvising about 70 impressions to be used in the film as well. In a Reddit AMA, Williams explained:

Initially they came in and I was just doing the scripted lines and I asked 'Do you mind if I try something?' and then 18 hours of recording later, they had the genie. I just started playing, and they said "just go with it, go with it, go with it." So I improvised the character. I think that in the end, there were something like 40 different voices that I did for that role.

Williams was known for improvising most of his iconic roles in some way or another.


2. Robin Williams dressed in scrubs and surprised his friend Christopher Reeve in the hospital following his career-ending accident.


Reeve and Williams became good friends when they both attended The Juilliard School together. Williams claimed at the time that Reeve was "literally feeding me because I don't think I literally had money for food or my student loan hadn't come in yet, and he would share his food with me." In his book, "Still Me," Reeve wrote about Williams visiting him in the hospital:

Then, at an especially bleak moment, the door flew open and in hurried a squat fellow with a blue scrub hat and a yellow surgical gown and glasses, speaking in a Russian accent. He announced that he was my proctologist, and that he had to examine me immediately...it was Robin Williams...for the first time since the accident, I laughed. My old friend had helped me know that somehow I was going to be okay.

Williams later surprised Sharon Osbourne in a similar way after she was diagnosed with cancer. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3882058.html

3. During the filming of "Schindler's List," Robin Williams called Steven Spielberg to tell him jokes and lift his spirits.



Spielberg called these "comic care packages over the telephone."

In his Reddit AMA, Williams explained:

I think I only called him once, maybe twice. I called him when I was representing People for the Valdheimers Association. A society devoted to helping raise money to help older Germans who had forgotten everything before 1945. I remember him laughing and going 'thank you.'

4. In high school, Robin Williams was voted by his classmates as the "Least Likely To Succeed."



Williams attended Redwood High School in California where, during his senior year, he was voted both "the funniest and least likely to succeed."

Later in life, Williams would win five Grammys, two Emmys and an Academy Award.


5. Robin Williams' favorite childhood book was "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," which he'd read to his kids.


Here is Williams' description of reading his favorite book from childhood to his kids: http://www.reddit.com/comments/1n41x1

Growing up, it was The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - I would read the whole C.S. Lewis series out loud to my kids. I was once reading to Zelda, and she said "don't do any voices. Just read it as yourself." So I did, I just read it straight, and she said 'that's better.'

And one of his thoughts on death.



The Guardian, 2010. http://www.theguardian.com/film/2010...-alcohol-drugs


To Robin Williams (1951 - 2014)



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...ushpmg00000024





Robin Williams: Interesting Facts About The Actor's Career
http://tvline.com/2014/08/12/robin-w...-facts-photos/


29 Great Performances By Robin Williams

From Mork and Mindy to Dead Poets Society, Aladdin to Good Will Hunting, and The Birdcage to The Crazy Ones, we will never see the likes of him again. Williams died at age 63 on Aug. 11.
posted on Aug. 11, 2014, at 8:54 p.m.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/ro...mances#3mmu4bv