<\/p>\n
Born in Chicago, 1951, Robin Williams was an introverted child who used humor to overcome his shyness.<\/p>\n
After his family moved to San Francisco in 1967 Williams went to Redwood High School and joined the drama club. Then, during his studies at Juilliard School in New York, he met Christopher Reeve before returning to California to build a career in stand-up comedy.<\/p>\n
By the mid \u201970s, Williams was a guest on several TV shows, including The Richard Pryor Show and Laugh-In. After his appearances on Happy Days, Williams got his own show, Mork & Mindy, where he had an opportunity to get his stand-up performances into the small screen.<\/p>\n
During the \u201980s,<\/a> Williams was number thirteen on Comedy Central\u2019s list of the 100 greatest stand-ups. As his career progressed, Williams continued to take both comedic and serious roles, like Patch Adams, where he was a doctor who tried to heal his patients with laughter, or his role in Hour Photo, where he played a psychotic lab technician. We also heard Williams\u2019 voice in many animated films like the Genie in Aladdin and Ram\u00f3n and Lovelace in Happy Feet. He also voiced Dr. Know in A.I. Artificial Intelligence.<\/p>\n Beyond the screen<\/a>, Williams was dedicated to helping others. With his friends Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal, he co-founded and co-hosted the Comic Relief USA<\/a>, where he raised over $80 million to help the homeless.<\/p>\n In 2001, a video, most of us probably remember, of Williams and a gorilla named Koko was filmed<\/a> at the Gorilla Foundation in California. Koko, who understood sign language, lost her best gorilla friend, Michael and she wasn\u2019t interacting with anyone for nearly six months. But during Williams\u2019 visit, Koko started interacting with him, took his glasses and tried them on, and even tickled him, it was one of the moments where William showed both his talent and his caring, warm energy.<\/p>\n Williams passed away at his home in 2014. Soon after<\/a>, his publicist said, \u201cRobin Williams passed away this morning. He has been battling severe depression of late. This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2022, Robin Williams was inducted into the National Comedy Center\u2018s new hall of fame. Disney celebrated his work by naming him\u00a0a Disney Legend in 2009, and he received his star on the \u2060Hollywood Walk of Fame<\/a> in 1990.<\/p>\n Happy heavenly birthday,Robin Williams!<\/p>\n Ask us! What questions do you have about content, strategy, pop culture, lifestyle, wellness, history or more? We may use your question in an upcoming article!\u00a0<\/p>\n Ask us a question<\/a><\/p>\n Like MediaFeed\u2019s content?\u00a0Be sure to follow us<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n