This funny man is indeed a Hollywood legend. Born in Chicago Illinois, Robin Williams is a versatile actor, comedian, and philanthropist, well known for his roles in film and television along with stand-up comedy.
Williams is no stranger to Hollywood. After attending Claremont McKenna College and going on to study drama at Julliard, Williams jumpstarted his career in 1977 by working on The Richard Pryor Show. On the sitcom, he improvised most of his lines, which caused him to grow a huge fan base, eventually landing a spin-off sitcom, Mork and Mindy. Williams found his talent in comedy, and began performing stand-up, including three HBO comedy specials.
Williams’s debut film was the 1977 comedy Can I Doo It ‘Till I Need Glasses? This led him to score more roles, including Good Morning Vietnam (1987), in which he was nominated for an Academy Award, Good Will Hunting (1997), for which he won Best Supporting Actor, and two more nominations for his roles in Dead Poets Society (1989) and The Fisher King (1991). Williams also voice acted in the Disney animated film, Aladdin.
Along with his on-camera roles, Williams also does plenty of stage performing. He has done a number of stand up comedy tours since the 1970s, his most recent tour in 2009, which was also the subject of an HBO special. Williams made the shift to Broadway also, appearing in his own one-man show, Robin Williams: Live on Broadway, in 2002, and also Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo in 2011.
Williams is currently married to his third wife, graphic designer Susan Schneider. He has three children from his two previous marriages. Williams also devotes much of his time to charity work, including Comic Relief which he hosts with Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg. He also has performed with the USO for U.S. troops that are stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Williams will be staring in a new CBS sitcom, The Crazy Ones, about a father who works with his daughter (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in an advertising office. The series premiere will be September 26 at 9/8c.
Check out our Top Ten Robin Williams movies here!
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