You'd be hard-pressed to find any celebrity more beloved than Robin Williams.
When he passed away, the entire world mourned.
There's even a tunnel in San Francisco named in his honor.
However, despite being one of the most prominent public figures of the 20th century, Robin
Williams was a man of many hidden layers.
Shy and quiet
When one remembers Robin Williams, the first thing that comes to mind is his whimsical
intensity.
But in his early years, Williams was a self-conscious, quiet, driven kid who struggled with self-doubt.
Williams reportedly described his childhood self as short, shy, chubby, and lonely.
His parents were usually busy, so he spent a lot of time playing by himself.
Williams often claimed that he developed a sense of humor as a way to get his mother's
attention.
According to Williams himself, he also used comedy to connect to other students, and to
defend himself from bullies.
"In your face, camel cake!"
"In your ear, cow derriere!"
"Lying, crying, spying, prying ultra pig!"
"You lewd, crude, rude bag of pre-chewed food, dude."
In high school, Williams was a hardworking, straight-A student, and was on track to get
a degree in political science, until his decision to take improv classes took him in a radically
different direction.
Mime in the city
In 1974, photographer Daniel Sorine was walking through Central Park when he came across a
pair of unusually intense mimes.
Nearly four decades later, Sorine dug up the old photos he'd taken that day and was startled
to realize that one of the mimes was actually a young Robin Williams.
Early in his acting career, Williams was living in New York City and studying at Juilliard.
Though his unbeatable energy earned the acclaim of his classmates, the school itself wasn't
sure what to make of him, according to classmate Christopher Reeve.
After a brief career as a mime, Williams decided to fly home to San Francisco.
Bartender to comedian to star
Robin Williams was tending bar at Holy City Zoo, a comedy club in San Francisco, when
he began doing stand-up himself.
He took his act to Los Angeles, where he gained acclaim and began booking minor TV appearances.
Williams' big break came when he played an alien named Mork on an episode of Happy Days.
"Alright, now, uh, you're tellin' me that men don't kiss women on your planet?"
"'Kiss.'
I don't know what that means.
Nice word, has a pleasant ring to it.
Kiss kiss kiss…."
Mork was supposed to be a one-off character, but Williams' performance earned such great
reviews that the character got his own show.
Mork and Mindy was a sensation, and made Robin Williams a household name.
Despite this success, it took time for Williams to find a film role that fit his heartfelt
and energetic style.
His first films, Popeye and The World According to Garp, didn't make much of an impression.
Williams finally found the role he was looking for in 1987 as a military DJ in:
"Goooood morning, Vietnam!"
On top of improvising to his heart's content, Williams was also able to show off his dramatic
chops.
From there, he starred in classics like Mrs. Doubtfire, The Fisher King and Dead Poet's
Society.
"Say the first thing that pops into your head, even if it's total gibberish, go on!"
"A sweaty-toothed mad man!"
"Good God, boy, there's a poet in you after all!"
After earning a string of nominations, Williams finally won an Academy Award for best supporting
actor for Good Will Hunting.
"This might be the one time I'm speechless."
The genie that almost wasn't
If the role of the big blue genie in Disney's Aladdin seems like it was tailor-made for
Williams, that's because it was.
According to the LA Times, Disney had Williams in mind from the start, and even synchronized
an early test reel with one of Williams' stand-up routines.
"But, first, before I do the play, I'd like to talk about the very serious subject of
schizophrenia!"
"NO HE DOESN'T!"
"Shut up and let him talk!"
Williams wasn't a fan of Disney's commercialism, so he agreed to take the part only if Disney
promised never to use his voice and image for cross-promotional marketing.
Unfortunately, Disney broke their word.
Williams' performance was so amazing that they couldn't justify NOT marketing him.
Williams was furious, and his feud with Disney lasted for years.
Eventually, the feud was resolved when Joe Roth, the head of Disney studios, apologized
for how badly they had treated Williams.
Jilted by the bat
Perhaps no one wanted to see Robin Williams snag a role in a Batman movie than Williams
himself.
He was actually up for roles in two Batman movies, but lost out to Jack Nicholson in
1989, and then to Jim Carrey in 1995's Batman Forever.
Despite the double snub, Williams would have done anything to be in Christopher Nolan's
Dark Knight trilogy, according to his 2010 interview with Empire.
Sadly, the closest Williams came was a disproven rumor that he was going to play Dr. Hugo Strange
in The Dark Knight Rises.
Struggles with addiction
Sadly, it is no secret that Robin Williams fought a lifelong battle with addiction.
People reported that his binge drinking and cocaine abuse began during his time on Mork
and Mindy.
"Peruvian marching powder, the devil's dandruffff.
It's a nice thing though, power.
Hmm, what a wonderful substance.
Anything that makes you paranoid and impotent, give me more of that!"
In 1982, Williams dropped both substances as two major life events had taken place:
his wife was pregnant with their son, and his friend John Belushi had just lost his
life to an overdose.
The Guardian reporter that while Williams stayed sober for decades, he started drinking
again in 2003.
In 2006, he checked himself into rehab, after which he managed to stay sober for the remainder
of his life.
He went to rehab again in 2014, but that it was not because of a relapse, but to maintain
his sobriety.
"I went to rehab in wine country just to keep my options open."
Misdiagnosis
It's often been suspected that Robin Williams' heartbreaking end was caused by his battle
with depression.
In the last few months of his life, Williams began exhibiting symptoms that doctors diagnosed
as Parkinson's disease.
However, Williams had been misdiagnosed; he actually suffered from Lewy body dementia,
which was confirmed by his autopsy.
"Most people think your husband took his life because he was depressed."
"No!
Lewy body dementia took Robin.
It's what took his life."
Williams' wife, Susan, said that the last year of her husband's life was a painful flurry
of medical treatments in an attempt to help him regain brain function.
"Was he losing his mind?"
"Yes, absolutely.
And he was aware of it."
There's no known cure for Lewy body dementia.
While the rapid onset of the disease led Williams to take his own life, he'll always be remembered
fondly as one of the most celebrated and talented performers of his time.
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