1. In high school he was actually voted the least likely to succeed.
Just goes to show how much a bunch of high school kids know...
2. He completely improvised the opening scene of Aladdin.
The filmmakers merely blindfolded Robin, sat him down at a table that had a bunch of random items on it and got him to explain them in the character of a street merchant.
3. He was the first person to make Christopher Reeves laugh after his tragic accident.
Williams had heard about the Supermanactors horse-riding accident and decided to visit the newly paralyzed Reeves. But he didn't make it an ordinary visit. He dressed up like a Russian doctor and started performing a check up. When he pulled off his mask Reeves laughed hysterically.
4. He started his career as a performer as a mime.
Can you imagine muting this guy?!
5. Steven Spielberg used to call him during the filming of Schindler's List.
He says he would put Robin on speakerphone and let the entire cast and crew listen to him. It was the only way they could be cheered up!
6. His heroes were Jonathan Winters and Richard Pryor.
He even got to perform with his idols many times.
7. He used to prank call Billy Crystal.
At Robin's funeral, Crystal told a story about the time he had received a call from who he thought was the late Ronald Reagan. Crystal asked how Reagan could be calling from the afterlife and Williams simply replied, "I'm in this strange place, and it seems to be quite hot here."
He will never be forgotten.
8. He loved when people impersonated him.
His favorite? Dana Carvey's.
9. He got a young Norm MacDonald over his stage fright.
Norm told a story after hearing about Robin's death about the very first time he appeared on Letterman.
Norm was a young comedian that nobody knew and he had to open for Williams. He was in his dressing room talking to a friend when Robin walked by. As Norm told his friend, Williams had heard his name and came bursting into the room pretending to be a Jewish tailor. He joked around and stayed in character for 30 minutes before exiting, leaving Norm in stitches.
Nobody else was in the room.
Norm was a young comedian that nobody knew and he had to open for Williams. He was in his dressing room talking to a friend when Robin walked by. As Norm told his friend, Williams had heard his name and came bursting into the room pretending to be a Jewish tailor. He joked around and stayed in character for 30 minutes before exiting, leaving Norm in stitches.
Nobody else was in the room.
10. He once made an audience member laugh so hard that they got a hernia.
For real. It happened while he was appearing on Inside The Actors Studio.
The man is amazing.
11. He got the role of Mork after he sat on his head.
During the audition the producers asked him to sit and he stood on his head instead. He was immediately offered the role.
12. He had to be censored in four different languages while working on Mork And Mindy.
Williams was essentially given complete freedom for the role. He used to go off on completely random tangents in different languages and admitted that he even liked to sneak swear words into his bits in different languages. At any given moment he could be making a penis joke in Russian or cursing out the government in Spanish!
13. He used to walk around dressed like the protagonist of Mrs. Doubtfire before the film even came out.
Apparently he wanted to test out his character and see if people believed him. So, in full his full costume, Robin visited a sex shop and tried making several purchases.
I would absolutely lose it if I worked at that sex shop.
14. He devoted most of his free time to charity.
He supported St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and often volunteered and entertained the kids there. He was a real-life Patch Adams!
15. He paid for Jessica Chastain to go to college.
He never forgot where he came from and even paid for now well-known actress Jessica Chastain's entire Juilliard bill. She was the first person in her family to finish college.
16. He was considered for the lead role in The Shining.
But after director Stanley Kubrick watched Mork And Mindy, he concluded that Williams was too psychotic.
No Robin, thank YOU.
SHAREto help us celebrate the life of Robin Williams.
0 comments: