A consistent audience favorite since he burst onto the small screen as a red-suited alien from planet Ork in 1978, the irrepressible and irreverent Robin Williams fittingly enjoyed one of Hollywoods most unique careers and long-lasting careers. His classical Juilliard dramatic training coupled with his unequalled talents for improvisation led to award-winning roles as outrageous comic characters in Mrs. Doubtfire, as well as subtle and well-observed dramatic figures in The World According to Garp (1982), The Fisher King (1991) and Good Will Hunting (1997). Williams also maintained a reputation as one of the top stand-up comics in the history of the medium for his hyperkinetic act, which seemingly followed his every stray thought into energetic riffs and tangents as well as employing a spot-on mimicry of people of all stripes.
Robin Williams was born on July 21, 1951, the only child of a Ford auto executive and a former model from Mississippi. The well-to-do family lived outside of Detroit, MI, where Williams attended private school but was a shy kid who largely entertained himself with his own imagination. When Williams was 16 years old, the family relocated to a town North of San Francisco, CA. In interviews, Williams recalled that when his parents took him to see Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey (1969) on the big screen in San Francisco, the teenager was not only amazed by the film but inspired to try acting. In his senior year, he joined the theater group at Redwood High School in Larkspur and made an impression on the student body, who voted him Most Funny but Least Likely to Succeed. He went on to study political science at Claremont Mens College in Southern California, though he spent increasingly more time with the theater department.
Williams decided to major in theater and transferred back North to Marin College before landing a full scholarship to the best dramatic training ground in the country the Juilliard School in New York City. He was one of only 20 incoming freshmen accepted that year, and shared that honor with his roommate Christopher Reeve who would ironically find fame the same year as Williams by landing the lead in Superman: The Movie (1978). At Juilliard, Williams received classical dramatic training, honing his technique on Shakespeare and studying under famed actor John Houseman. He also earned money as a street performer, miming in white grease paint outside the Museum of Modern Art for change and applause. After three years, he returned to San Francisco, which was enjoying its heyday as a hotbed of stand-up and improv comedy. He became a regular on the scene and eventually made a trip to Los Angeles to try to book some stand-up shows. He debuted at the Improv in 1976, went on to play the Comedy Store, and immediately made an impression with his manic energy and his trademark baggy pants and loud shirts. Williams made his television debut as a member of the ensemble of a revival of "Laugh-In" (NBC, 1977-78) and followed up with the short-lived Richard Pryor Show (NBC, 1977).
In 1977, Williams showed up at an audition for a guest role as an alien on the top sitcom Happy Days (ABC, 1974-1984), and promptly got the part when he sat on his head in the office of producer Gary Marshall. His wildly popular debut on the show led to a recurring role, and by the start of 1978, the comic actor had a four-year contract to star in his own spin-off series, "Mork and Mindy" (ABC, 1978-1982). The show featured Williams as an
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