Robin Williams

We heard about Robin Williams when we were in Tokyo. Celebrities die all the time. Usually it's cancer. Sometimes they simply live a very long time. Every once in a while, there is a celebrity death that takes everyone by surprise. The only thing more shocking than the fact that Robin Williams is dead is how he died. I'm rarely surprised when rock stars overdose, but I'm still surprised that someone who made so many people laugh could end his life the way he did.

More often than not, when a movie star gets their start in TV, everyone remembers the movies and forgets the TV. Especially if it was only one show. Everyone knows a hundred Tom Hanks movies. How many people talk about Bosom Buddies anymore? But even after Robin Williams played hundreds of memorable characters, and was a memorable character on his own, people still call him Mork.

His movies were not all classics, but look at the directors who wanted to work with him. Robert Altman, Mike Nichols, Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen, Barry Levinson x3, Paul Mazursky, Penny Marshall, George Roy Hill, Kenneth Branagh, Steven Spielberg, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Harold Ramis, Ivan Reitman, Danny DeVito, Harry Shearer, Christopher Nolan, Peter Weir, Gus Van Sant, Barry Sonnenfeld, George Miller, Lee Daniels, Michael Ritchie, Chris Columbus x3.

He played Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Oliver Sacks (more or less), Adrian Cronauer, Patch Adams, TS Garp, Alan Parrish, Euphegenia Doubtfire, John Keating, Jakob Heym, Rainbow Randolph, Parry Sagan, Osric, Popeye, Peter Pan and John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.


Popeye
directed by Robert Altman
written by Jules Feiffer
produced by Robert Evans
music by Harry Nilsson
starring Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Paul Smith, Paul Dooley, Richard Libertini, Linda Hunt, Ray Walston, Klaus Voormann, Dennis Franz, Bill Irwin, Sharon Kinney, Van Dyke Parks

The World According to Garp
directed & produced by George Roy Hill
starring Robin Williams, Mary Beth Hurt, Glenn Close, John Lithgow, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Swoosie Kurtz, Amanda Plummer, Jenny Wright, John Irving

The Survivors
directed by Michael Ritchie
starring Walter Matthau, Robin Williams, Jerry Reed, Kristen Vigard, Annie McEnroe, John Goodman

Moscow on the Hudson
directed & produced by Paul Mazursky
written by Paul Mazursky & Leon Capetanos
starring Robin Williams, María Conchita Alonso, Cleavant Derricks, Alejandro Rey, Savely Kramarov, Elya Baskin

The Best of Times
directed by Roger Spottiswoode
written by Ron Shelton
produced by Gordon Carroll
starring Robin Williams, Kurt Russell, Pamela Reed, Holly Palance, M Emmet Walsh, Dub Taylor, Kathleen Freeman, Kirk Cameron, Anne Haney, Tracey Gold

Club Paradise
directed by Harold Ramis
written by Chris Miller, Harold Ramis, Brian Doyle-Murray
starring Robin Williams, Peter O'Toole, Rick Moranis, Jimmy Cliff, Twiggy, Joanna Cassidy, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Brian Doyle-Murray, Joe Flaherty, Robin Duke, Mary Gross

Seize the Day
directed by Fielder Cook
starring Robin Williams, Jerry Stiller, Glenne Headly, Richard Shull, Jo Van Fleet

Good Morning, Vietnam
directed by Barry Levinson
starring Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Bruno Kirby, Robert Wuhl, JT Walsh

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
directed by Terry Gilliam
written by Terry Gilliam & Charles McKeown
starring John Neville, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman, Jonathan Pryce, Robin Williams, Valentina Cortese, Jack Purvis, Charles McKeown

Portrait of a White Marriage
directed by Harry Shearer
written by Martin Mull & Allen Rucker
starring Martin Mull, Mary Kay Place, Fred Willard, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Conchata Ferrell, Robing Williams

Dead Poets Society
directed by Peter Weir
starring Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, Norman Lloyd, Kurtwood Smith, Lara Flynn Boyle

Cadillac Man
directed by Roger Donaldson
starring Robin Williams, Tim Robbins, Pamela Reed, Annabella Sciorra, Fran Drescher, Lori Petty, Lauren Tom

Awakenings
directed by Penny Marshall
written by Steven Zaillian
starring Robin Williams, Robert De Niro, Julie Kavner, Penelope Ann Miller, John Heard, Max von Sydow, Anne Meara

Shakes the Clown
directed & written by Bobcat Goldthwait
starring Bobcat Goldthwait, Julie Brown, Adam Sandler, Blake Clark, Kathy Griffin, Robin Williams

Dead Again
directed by Kenneth Branagh
starring Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Derek Jacobi, Robin Williams, Andy García, Hanna Schygulla

The Fisher King
directed by Terry Gilliam
written by Richard LaGravenese
produced by Debra Hill & Lynda Obst
starring Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer, Michael Jeter, David Hyde Pierce, Harry Shearer, Kathy Najimy, John de Lancie, Tom Waits

Hook
directed by Steven Spielberg
starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith, Gwyneth Paltrow, Phil Collins

FernGully: The Last Rainforest
directed by Bill Kroyer
starring Samantha Mathis, Tim Curry, Christian Slater, Robin Williams, Grace Zabriskie, Cheech Marin, Tommy Chong, Robert Pastorelli, Kathleen Freeman

Aladdin
directed, written & produced by Ron Clements & John Musker
starring Scott Weinger, Linda Larkin, Robin Williams, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried

Toys
directed & produced by Barry Levinson
written by Valerie Curtin & Barry Levinson
starring Robin Williams, Michael Gambon, Jack Warden, Joan Cusack, Robin Wright, LL Cool J, Donald O'Connor, Jamie Foxx, Yeardley Smith, Wendy Melvoin, Debi Mazar

Mrs Doubtfire
directed by Chris Columbus
produced by Marsha Garces Williams & Robin Williams
starring Robin Williams, Sally Field, Pierce Brosnan, Matthew Lawrence, Mara Wilson, Harvey Fierstein, Polly Holliday, Martin Mull

Being Human
directed & written by Bill Forsyth
starring Robin Williams, John Turturro, Bill Nighy, Vincent D'Onofrio, Theresa Russell, William H Macy, Lorraine Bracco, Hector Elizondo, Ewan McGregor, Lindsay Crouse

Nine Months
directed by Chris Columbus
written by Patrick Braoudé & Chris Columbus
starring Hugh Grant, Julianne Moore, Tom Arnold, Joan Cusack, Jeff Goldblum, Robin Williams, Ashley Johnson, Alexa Vega, Kristin Davis, Zelda Williams

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
directed by Beeban Kidron
starring Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, John Leguizamo, Stockard Channing, Blythe Danner, Chris Penn, Melinda Dillon, Alice Drummond, Robin Williams, Julie Newmar

Jumanji
directed by Joe Johnston
starring Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst, Bebe Neuwirth, David Alan Grier, Jonathan Hyde

The Birdcage
directed by Mike Nichols
written by Elaine May
produced by Mike Nichols & Neil Machlis
starring Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Dianne Wiest, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, Christine Baranski

Jack
directed by Francis Ford Coppola
starring Robin Williams, Diane Lane, Jennifer Lopez, Fran Drescher, Michael McKean and the evil Bill Cosby

Aladdin and the King of Thieves
directed by Tad Stones
starring Scott Weinger, Linda Larkin, Robin Williams, John Rhys-Davies, Gilbert Gottfried, Jerry Orbach, CCH Pounder, Frank Welker

The Secret Agent
directed & written by Christopher Hampton
starring Bob Hoskins, Patricia Arquette, Gérard Depardieu, Christian Bale, Jim Broadbent, Eddie Izzard, Peter Vaughan, Robin Williams

Hamlet
directed by Kenneth Branagh
written by William Shakespeare
starring Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, Richard Briers, Kate Winslet, Nicholas Farrell, Michael Maloney, Rufus Sewell, John Gielgud, Judi Dench, Robin Williams, Gérard Depardieu, Jack Lemmon, Brian Blessed, Billy Crystal, Charlton Heston, Rosemary Harris, Richard Attenborough

Fathers' Day
directed by Ivan Reitman
written by Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel
produced by Ivan Reitman & Joel Silver
starring Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Nastassja Kinski, Bruce Greenwood, Charles Rocket, Patti D'Arbanville, Mary McCormack

Deconstructing Harry
directed & written by Woody Allen
produced by Letty Aronson & Jean Doumanian
starring Woody Allen, Paul Giamatti, Mariel Hemingway, Hazelle Goodman, Kirstie Alley, Amy Irving, Judy Davis, Elisabeth Shue, Caroline Aaron, Eric Bogosian, Richard Benjamin, Tobey Maguire, Jennifer Garner, Stanley Tucci, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Robin Williams, Demi Moore, Billy Crystal, Bob Balaban

Flubber
directed by Les Mayfield
written & produced by John Hughes
starring Robin Williams, Marcia Gay Harden, Clancy Brown, Wil Wheaton, Edie McClurg

Good Will Hunting
directed by Gus Van Sant
written by Matt Damon & Ben Affleck
produced by Lawrence Bender
starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams, Minnie Driver, Stellan Skarsgård, Ben Affleck, Casey Affleck, George Plimpton

What Dreams May Come
directed by Vincent Ward
written by Ronald Bass
starring Robin Williams, Annabella Sciorra, Cuba Gooding Jr, Max von Sydow, Rosalind Chao, Werner Herzog

Patch Adams
directed by Tom Shadyac
written by Steve Oedekerk
starring Robin Williams, Monica Potter, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Harold Gould, Michael Jeter, Richard Kiley, Peter Coyote

Jakob the Liar
directed by Peter Kassovitz
written by Peter Kassovitz & Didier Decoin
starring Robin Williams, Alan Arkin, Bob Balaban, Liev Schreiber, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Hannah Taylor-Gordon, Michael Jeter

Bicentennial Man
directed by Chris Columbus
written by Nicholas Kazan
starring Robin Williams, Sam Neill, Embeth Davidtz, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Oliver Platt, Kiersten Warren, Stephen Root, Bradley Whitford

Get Bruce
directed & written by Andrew Kuehn
starring Bruce Vilanch, Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin, Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Carol Burnett, Robin Williams, Elizabeth Taylor, Shirley MacLaine, Lauren Bacall

AI Artificial Intelligence
directed & written by Steven Spielberg
starring Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, William Hurt, Brendan Gleeson, Robin Williams, Ben Kingsley, Meryl Streep, Chris Rock

One Hour Photo
directed & written by Mark Romanek
starring Robin Williams, Michael Vartan, Connie Nielsen, Gary Cole, Eriq La Salle, Nick Searcy

Death to Smoochy
directed by Danny DeVito
written by Adam Resnick
starring Edward Norton, Robin Williams, Danny DeVito, Catherine Keener, Jon Stewart, Harvey Fierstein, Vincent Schiavelli, Robert Prosky

Insomnia
directed by Christopher Nolan
written by Hillary Seitz
starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Hilary Swank, Maura Tierney, Paul Dooley

The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch
directed & written by Eric Idle
starring Eric Idle, Neil Innes, Ricky Fataar, John Halsey, Bill Murray, Catherine O'Hara, Robin Williams, Carrie Fisher, Steve Martin, Mike Nichols, Kevin Nealon

The Final Cut
directed & written by Omar Naim
starring Robin Williams, Mira Sorvino, Jim Caviezel, Joely Collins

House of D
directed & written by David Duchovny
starring David Duchovny, Anton Yelchin, Robin Williams, Téa Leoni, Erykah Badu, Frank Langella, Orlando Jones, Zelda Williams

Noel
directed by Chazz Palminteri
written by David Hubbard
starring Susan Sarandon, Penélope Cruz, Paul Walker, Alan Arkin, Robin Williams, Chazz Palminteri

Robots
directed by Chris Wedge
written by David Lindsay-Abaire, Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel
starring Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Robin Williams, Mel Brooks, Greg Kinnear, Jim Broadbent, Amanda Bynes, Stanley Tucci, Dianne Wiest, Paul Giamatti, Chris Wedge, Lowell Ganz, James Earl Jones

The Big White
directed by Mark Mylod
starring Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Giovanni Ribisi, Tim Blake Nelson, Woody Harrelson, Alison Lohman

The Aristocrats
directed by Penn Jillette & Paul Provenza
starring Lewis Black, David Brenner, George Carlin, Tim Conway, Phyllis Diller, Carrie Fisher, Whoopi Goldberg, Gilbert Gottfried, Richard Lewis, Bill Maher, Martin Mull, Kevin Nealon, Don Rickles, Chris Rock, Rita Rudner, Bob Saget, Harry Shearer, Sarah Silverman, David Steinberg, Jon Stewart, Rip Taylor, Dave Thomas, Bruce Vilanch, Fred Willard, Robin Williams, Steven Wright

The Night Listener
directed by Patrick Stettner
written by Armistead Maupin, Terry Anderson, Patrick Stettner
starring Robin Williams, Toni Collette, Bobby Cannavale, Sandra Oh, Joe Morton

RV
directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
starring Robin Williams, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Kristin Chenoweth, Joanna Levesque, Josh Hutcherson

Everyone's Hero
directed by Christopher Reeve, Daniel St Pierre & Colin Brady
starring Rob Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, William H Macy, Brian Dennehy, Mandy Patinkin, Forest Whitaker, Robert Wagner

Man of the Year
directed & written by Barry Levinson
starring Robin Williams, Christopher Walken, Laura Linney, Lewis Black, Jeff Goldblum, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler

Happy Feet
directed by George Miller
starring Elijah Wood, Brittany Murphy, Robin Williams, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, Anthony LaPaglia, Miriam Margolyes

Night at the Museum
directed by Shawn Levy
written by Thomas Lennon & Robert Ben Garant
produced by Shawn Levy, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
starring Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Kim Raver, Ricky Gervais, Paul Rudd, Anne Meara

License to Wed
directed by Ken Kwapis
starring Robin Williams, Mandy Moore, John Krasinski, Christine Taylor, Peter Strauss, Grace Zabriskie, Mindy Kaling, Wanda Sykes

August Rush
directed by Kirsten Sheridan
written by Nick Castle & James V Hart
starring Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Robin Williams, Terrence Howard, William Sadler, Marian Seldes, Mykelti Williamson

World's Greatest Dad
directed & written by Bobcat Goldthwait
starring Robin Williams, Alexie Gilmore, Henry Simmons, Morgan Murphy, Toby Huss, Bobcat Goldthwait

Shrink
directed by Jonas Pate
starring Kevin Spacey, Saffron Burrows, Robert Loggia, Gore Vidal, Robin Williams

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
directed by Shawn Levy
written by Thomas Lennon & Robert Ben Garant
produced by Shawn Levy, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
starring Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Hank Azaria, Christopher Guest, Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant

Old Dogs
directed by Walt Becker
starring John Travolta, Robin Williams, Kelly Preston, Lori Loughlin, Seth Green, Rita Wilson, Bernie Mac, Matt Dillon, Luis Guzmán, Ann-Margret, Amy Sedaris

Happy Feet Two
directed by George Miller
starring Elijah Wood, Alecia Moore, Ava Acres, Robin Williams, Hank Azaria, Sofia Vergara, Anthony LaPaglia, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon

The Big Wedding
directed & written by Justin Zackham
starring Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Katherine Heigl, Topher Grace, Susan Sarandon, Amanda Seyfried, Robin Williams, Christine Ebersole

The Butler
directed by Lee Daniels
written by Danny Strong
starring Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Terrence Howard, Vanessa Redgrave, Cuba Gooding Jr, Lenny Kravitz, Robin Williams, James Marsden, Liev Schreiber, Nelsan Ellis, Jesse Williams, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda

The Face of Love
directed by Arie Posin
written by Arie Posin & Matthew McDuffie
starring Annette Bening, Ed Harris, Robin Williams, Amy Brenneman, Jess Weixler, Linda Park

Boulevard
directed by Dito Montiel
starring Robin Williams, Kathy Baker, Roberto Aguire, Bob Odenkirk

The Angriest Man in Brooklyn
directed by Phil Alden Robinson
starring Robin Williams, Mila Kunis, Peter Dinklage, Melissa Leo, James Earl Jones, Sutton Foster, Richard Kind, Jerry Adler, Louis CK

A Merry Friggin' Christmas
directed by Tristram Shapeero
starring Joel McHale, Robin Williams, Lauren Graham, Candice Bergen, Oliver Platt, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Jeffrey Tambor

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
directed by Shawn Levy
produced by Shawn Levy, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe
starring Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Ben Kingsley, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Bill Cobbs, Andrea Martin

Absolutely Anything
directed by Terry Jones
written by Terry Jones & Gavin Scott
starring Simon Pegg, Kate Beckinsale, Eddie Izzard, Joanna Lumley, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Robin Williams