A lot has been said about Robin Williams since his tragic death on August 11 2014. But when the world loses such an endearing talent, it’s really hard to find the words. This post is an attempt to remember him with a smile on our face. How he died is less important, but what he left behind is priceless. Here are 12 reasons to say good-bye to Robin Williams.
We should all take some time so pay our respects to this great artist because:
1. Because while filming for Schindler’s List, Robin Williams asked Steven Spielberg to tell him jokes. “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’”, Williams explained in his Reddit AMA.
2. Because his classmates voted Robin Williams as the Funniest and Least Likely To Succeed in high school.
3. Because his favorite childhood book was “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” which he’d also read to his kids. “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’,” Robin Williams explained.
4. Because John Houseman was the one who initially discovered the talent of Williams while being at Julliard. This was the reason why he told him to focus more on his stand up comedy routines rather than wasting time through acting classes.
5. Because his inspiration for comedy came from watching Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Williams experimented with comedy himself in San Francisco and Los Angeles, developing a successful stand-up act as a result of Housemen’s advice.
6. Because he got the part for Monk from Ork because when he was asked to sit at the audition, he sat on his head. Gary Marshall was impressed and picked him for the role saying that he “was the only alien who auditioned.”
7. Because his full name was Robin McLaurin Williams.
8. Because Williams was a keen cyclist and sometimes trained side-by-side with his friend Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner.
9. Because back in 2001, at Inside the Actors’ Studio, Williams was asked what he would like to hear God say when he arrives at the Pearly Gates. He replied: “There’s seating near the front. The concert begins at five. There will be Mozart, Elvis and anyone of your choosing,” said Williams. He added that if heaven exists, it would be nice to know that there is laughter. “That would be a great thing,” he added. “Just to hear God go: ‘Two Jews walk into a bar…”
10. Because Christopher Reeve and Robbie Williams became good friends when they both attended The Juilliard School. Williams recalled the fact that at that time 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.”
11. Because Genie from Aladdin was mostly improvised. That’s the reason why the Academy Awards rejected the bid for Aladdin in the Best Adapted Screenplay category because so much of Williams’s 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. “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 explained in a Reddit AMA.
12. Because speaking of Genie from Aladdin, Williams got angry with Disney for using his voice to sell merchandise for the movie, as “I don’t want to sell stuff It’s the one thing I won’t do,” he told New York Magazine. Disney wanted to make up for the mistake by sending him a Picasso painting that was believed to be worth $1 million, in which the artist imagined himself as Vincent Van Gogh.
Well there’s so much more to add to this one. I actually think that every one of you has a personal and secret reason for saying good-bye to this wonderful man.