1
Robin Williams:
Ladies and gentlemen,
it's time to pump neurons.
We are about
to enter the domain
of the human mind.
James Lipton:
How do you explain
the mental reflexes
-that you deploy
with such awesome speed?
-(whistles)
Are you thinking faster
than the rest of us?
-What the hell is going on?
-(audience laughs)
(cheers, applause)
Jesus.
(laughing)
"What is it
about your mind?
"What is it that does
this thing to you?
Try to explain yourself!"
(squeaks)
Comes from a deep
part inside myself
that was actually looking
for my mother,
but yet I saw that moment
when she looked up there,
and I went, "Okay,
I'll be funny for her.
Okay, that's fine,
work that way."
Come back from that,
realize after a while
that I want to be accepted.
"You like me.
You really like me."
No, it's not that.
I can be trained.
I can show you
how intelligent I am.
I can use a word
like "delicatessen"
and know
what it means.
(laughter)
Or "invertebrate."
Or "inveterate."
(chuckles)
Or "degenerate."
(skeevy laugh)
-But all of that...
-(audience laughter)
...is all part of it,
because it's all
part of the mind
that actually
flows like that,
because I realize
that the human mind is
a three-and-a-half
pound gland
that pumps neurons constantly
and deals with itself
by responding to stimulus.
That's what we're
designed to do,
evolving slowly.
Even Darwin's going,
"I have hopes!
I had such high hopes!"
It's all part of it,
because I believe
the human mind is
adapting and evolving
slowly but surely
but I'm trying
not to speak that fast,
because eventually,
you have to catch up.
Lipton:
Wow.
Larry Grobel:
Do you have any fears?
Robin:
I guess it'd be that fear
that if I felt like
I was just becoming...
not just dull, but a rock.
That I still
couldn't spark.
Then I'd start
to worry.
Where are my glasses?
-They're on your face.
-Oh. Thank you.
Robin:
What you do is kind
of keep yourself fresh.
You don't burn out.
That's a never-ending struggle.
-We didn't have water when
I was growing up, Dave.
-Letterman: Is that right?
My mother and father would have
to take hydrogen and oxygen
and shove it together.
-Made your own water. Wow.
-Made our own water!
Isn't it interesting
in the '80s, you meet
someone you like,
you say, "Gosh, Helen, I--
I really care about you.
Can I have
some blood and urine?"
And you think eventually--
you think sex will
eventually be...
(blows)
"Uh, Helen,
I'm in the airlock now."
"Fine, Harry,
leave the sperm in the tray.
I'll get it tomorrow."
Inappropriate anecdotes
on a celebrity talk show.
So I said, "Get off me,
Grandma. I'm done."
Famous Hollywood roles
as played by Carol Channing.
(mimics Channing)
"Well, surely you must be
the Son of God."
(audience cheering)
Robin:
This is Elmer Fudd
sings Bruce Springsteen.
(mimics Elmer)
I'm dwiving in my caw
I tuwn on the wadio
I pull you
a wittle cwoser
You say no
You say
you don't wike it...
Robin:
Risking, for me,
it's always been
kind of part of the thing
of just trying different
things.
It's the process of the work
peeling away again,
you think you're great,
and then something
comes along
and goes,
"You're not that hot."
But it's always that thing that
keeps you moving forward.
Cameraman:
I'm sorry, you have two hairs--
There's... hairs are
sticking up.
-Oh shit, man.
-(laughter)
How fucked up is that?
Hair is sticking up?
(gasps)
Shit. We have
to do it all over now.
This is bullshit.
Two hairs?
Fuck you, man.
We were into a groove.
Two hairs.
Blow me, dude!
Two hairs. I can see you
looking at the monitor going,
"Can someone..."
Bob, normally, it's usually
like a mic shadow,
but two fucking hairs?
Jesus Christ.
Is it okay now, Bob?
Now, we'll start again.
It's better that
we go again.
Take two...
without
the two hairs.
You want to start again?
Shall we go from the top?
I was so fucking quiet.
My father was
kind of very intense.
He was always on the road,
because he was working
for Ford Motor Company.
He had to go back and forth
all over the Midwest
to take care of all
of these dealerships.
But every time
he came back,
he would bring me
some kind of--
like a small car
or a tank
or something,
and I'd be like,
"Dad's home!"
So that was
my connection
with my father.
My mother was
a comedy maven.
She was very entertaining.
Just seeing her being funny
with other people.
I think that was
the major thing.
We were moving a lot
because of my father.
We lived in this big place
for a while in Detroit.
This huge house.
I was lonely.
There were
no friends around.
I was an only child,
raised by,
basically, the maid
for a long time.
(in different voices)
-Some toys to play.
-Look at me!
-One for the campfire.
-I want the green planet.
-Mine!
-Give it to me!
Give it to me!
-Help me! Help me!
-Come along, dear.
Daddy, I can't carry bags.
Bags heavy.
(normal voice)
I went to an all-boys
private school.
I was as serious
a student as you could be,
you know, cum laude society
and the whole thing.
And an athlete.
I remember the motto
of my private school was
(speaks Latin)
"In sound mind,
in sound body."
It's a bit like the school
in Dead Poet's Society,
and I was one
of the students going, yes.
Jack Parr (on TV):
The wild, wild man,
my friend Jonathan Winters.
-
-(audience applauds)
Robin:
I saw my father watching
The Tonight Show,
with Jonathan Winters.
My dad was a sweet man
but not an easy laugh.
Jonathan Winters (on TV):
I did a thing that, uh,
a lot of us... probably
would like to do.
Maybe a few
of us don't.
I don't know.
I'll just have to ask you:
Did you ever undress
in front of a dog?
(audience laughs)
Robin:
My dad lost it, and I went,
"Who is this guy?
You made the great
white father laugh."
Do something with a stick.
Watch him do
a routine with the stick.
You can give him anything.
(whooshing)
Well, that was
a pretty good cast,
wasn't it, Bob?
I think we're onto something
this time. Mm-hmm.
I'm sorry, Margaret.
Try to swim in.
Doctor, I'm not kidding.
I seen them beetles,
and this is one
of their feelers.
(laughter)
Thoop.
The United Nations...
now recognizes the delegate
from NASA-Land.
(hums)
-Oh! Mr. Williams!
-Elmo.
What are you gonna
do with that stick?
Oh, there's lots of things
you can do
with a stick, Elmo.
Hey, you maybe
could be playing
hockey with it.
(whooshing)
Yeah, I been goalie now
for about three years,
and it hasn't affected me.
Maybe it could be
like a baton.
(imitating Lawrence Welk):
There you are,
conducting a full orchestra.
Thank you, Madonna,
for that lovely lingerie melody.
I better go back.
We'll never be able
to do that.
(laughter)
I realize.
Or it could be a cane.
(mimics Ronald Regan)
Well, Nancy and I
are just happy
to be here.
Or you can play Pinocchio:
The Home Game.
I have two
Academy Awards, Elmo.
Stuff like that, Elmo,
just simple things.
-Ah. Uh-huh. Oh.
-Yeah.
And I'll tell you
what I'm gonna do
with this stick.
-What?
-I'm gonna give it to you.
Oh. Thank you,
Mr. Robbins.
Mr. Robbins?
I'm taking
the stick back, Elmo.
(laughter)
(Robin laughing)
Elmo:
I only had three lines!
Robin:
When I was 16,
we moved to San Francisco.
To everything,
turn, turn, turn...
Robin:
Boom! Everything opened up.
The whole world just changed.
Turn, turn, turn...
Robin:
Everything was loose,
sexually loose,
everything, and I was
going, "Well, okay!"
From yin to yang
in 24 hours.
A time to be born,
a time to die
A time to plant...
We were going
from Detroit, Middle West,
all-boys school,
to an open-ended
San Francisco high school.
It's this incredibly
relaxed thing.
There was
no discipline at all.
It was like we had
gestalt history classes.
"Can you see Lincoln?
He's in the back
of the room."
To everything,
turn, turn, turn
There is
a season, turn...
Robin:
I was in
a senior class parody
of all of the stuff that was
going on at this school.
I did an impression
of a teacher who was
pretty out there.
His name was
Mr. Lavezzo.
-(on radio): Tino Lavezzo
and his lovely dystopic...
-(crowd cheering)
Enacting history,
actually having
the Battle of Hastings.
It's everywhere, behind
the chairs, chanting
"We knew we were there!"
Robin:
That was the first time
I really had a performance.
(on radio):
You're my friend,
come on over here.
Robin:
I never really
started to even
be funny openly
on that level.
We as human beings,
we are driven by the same
sexual desire.
Men, you know you have
a tiny creature living
between your legs
that has no memory
and no conscience.
You know that.
-(laughter)
-You have no control!
It should be
a separate creature.
You should be able
to take it off,
poom, put him
on the ground.
Take him for a walk.
He's got the rollers.
He'll be like...
(babbles)
Make it
a different beast!
Wouldn't it be nice
if you could go into a bar,
buy him a drink
once in awhile?
There'd be a big bar up here,
a little bar down here for him.
Go into the bar,
yeah, put him out.
He's looking up at you
with that one good eye,
like, "How ya been, baby?
"Sorry about last night.
I guess I got nervous,
"fired off a couple
of warning shots.
"What the hell?
"If you didn't try
and strangle me,
"I'd have had
a better chance!
"What the hell? I can't
go back in there, man!
"That's some scary stuff!
"I'm not going back
without a wetsuit
"and a mining helmet.
I'll tell you that.
"You better work on that!
I'm not going back!
"Hell no, I won't go! I--
"Hey, forget what I said.
Who's that?
I'm going down here.
You talk to her. Down scope."
(whirring)
My first year at college,
I went to Claremont
Men's College
to study Political Science.
It's an all men's school,
and the only girls
are at this other school
called Pitzer,
and the only classes where you
can be with girls are there.
They had an improvisational
theater class,
and I went, "That's
where the ladies are."
Was not going
to any of my Political
Science classes.
My father said,
"I'm not paying
for this shit anymore."
Come back home to Marin,
and we'll go to the local
junior college."
That was the beginning
of studying acting
and taking that path.
Mark Rasmussen:
Robin Goodfellow,
a fellow of infinite jest.
He had to be
told to shut up
once in awhile
because we never
could get through
rehearsals.
We had been invited to do
Taming of the Shrew,
a western version of it,
at the Edinburgh Festival.
He went to Edinburgh with us
as a late replacement.
It was fantastic,
and we had a great time.
And I really got
to know him in Edinburgh.
We had a lot
of great press.
We got the gold.
We were the best production
at the festival.
We did a royal
command performance,
and Robin's eyes
were this big, you know?
For all of us,
I think, at that time,
there was nothing
on the blackboard.
We were young.
There was nothing written,
and... that kind
of experience in life,
you only go through...
you know,
once if you're lucky.
Stanley Wilson: I met Robin
the day he came to New York
to come to Juilliard.
My dear friend
Mark Rasmussen,
who was a good friend
of his, introduced us.
He just stood out
in a way that nobody
else quite did.
(rock music playing)
John Houseman:
An actor is an actor!
At the Juilliard School,
people ask,
"Why don't you
have a course
in movie acting
or television
acting?"
And that's nonsense.
An actor is an actor.
Wilson:
John Houseman was running
the school then.
Robin and Chris Reeve
came in
as advanced students
in our third year.
Christopher was,
you know, a preppy
from New England,
and Robin was
kind of a crazy hippie
from Marin County.
Robin:
First day you know,
I'm wearing, like,
sandals and shorts--
pretty obvious
where I'm from.
I'm like, "So this
is really interesting.
There's a certain intensity."
I knew that it was supposed
to be this incredible
kind of English training
in America.
Attention on
a different level--
movement, vocal, acting.
Getting this great set
of tools that you
can work with.
Are you reelin'
in the years...
Rasmussen: We didn't
have a lot of things,
and we didn't care.
We had our art form.
We had the work.
That's where our focus was,
and that was demanded.
You know,
Houseman really worked
the hell out of all of us
all the time, thank God.
Are you
gatherin' up
the tears
Have you had
enough of mine?
Robin:
Moments of "Great.
Oh God, this is amazing,"
and moments of
"What the hell am I doing?"
I had this schtick
that I worked out
with a little stocking cap.
It was very tight,
but if I moved
my eyebrows,
the thing went, "Boop!"
I remember
it was the first piece
of physical business
that I saw
Houseman laugh,
and I went,
(gasps)
"Buddha laughed."
Being trained
as an actor--
that helped me
a lot just to play.
Hello. Who's got
a scene idea for us?
Right over here.
Man:
Somebody having
a close encounter.
Okay, just
a close encounter
of any kind?
-Any kind.
-Right. Good. Okay.
Robin:
When I came home
from Juilliard,
I started doing
improvisational comedy
as kind of a response
to not finding acting work.
-(high-pitched):
Yo, mama.
-(laughter)
Robin: I started
to be able to do comedy
based on suggestions,
which is this idea
of, "Wait a minute,
you're creating it."
-And that was addicting.
-Do you want
to play a game?
Sure, let's play
Scrabble, okay?
Okay. You want to be
the board or the pieces?
-I'll be the board.
-Robin: Freeze!
-Esmeralda, why do you
only visit me on Sunday?
-(laughter)
The feeling, the rapport
was incredible.
The instant meshing
with the audience.
It's like sex
without the guilt.
And God created man.
(piano plays note)
-I feel better now.
-(laughter)
And then you went
from the workshop
to actually clubs.
(performing)
I can't sit down!
I'm too excited!
I drove all the way
from Squealer, Idaho,
to be here.
Well, I drove
my truck, Mary Beth.
-(audience laughs)
-It's a big ol' sucker.
It's huge.
Valerie Velardi:
He was at the Holy
City Zoo, bartending.
He filled in as a bartender
so that he could get up
on stage and play.
He had
a French accent,
offered me a drink,
chatted me up,
and was absolutely
delightful.
He asked me
for a ride home.
He was speaking French,
I was teasing him,
and we had a kiss,
mmm, and I just knew
I was going to see him again.
I was just finishing up
my masters degree
at Mills College in Dance.
So I was free,
and I was supporting
myself as a waitress.
He was always looking
for a connection,
And if he needed to pull
out another character
or an accent,
he was shameless,
he would just do it.
Robin (foreign accent):
America, beach and balls
country. Thank you.
-Fuck a duck!
-(audience laughs)
Thank you,
cheap shot, no way.
(normal voice):
Some of the characters
people really love.
A character
can be a comic actor
more than a comedian.
I don't tell jokes.
I just use characters
as a vehicle for me,
but I seldom
just talk as myself.
I was his personal audience,
and I would help him
hone material.
Robin:
A soviet poem
of pain and suffering.
"Little Robin,
upon my windowsill
"with tiny breast of red,
"I brought the window
slowly down
and crushed
the sucker's head."
(laughter)
Velardi: After being
in San Francisco
for six months,
it was so clear that
he was developing
his talent
and growing
in a particular
direction.
("Heat Wave" playing)
Whenever I'm with him
Something inside
Starts to burning
And I'm filled with desire,
could it be...
Letterman:
I had moved from Indiana
and went immediately
to The Comedy Store.
Here's what
I loved about
California then:
Governor Jerry
Brown was dating
Linda Ronstadt.
That's the California you want.
That's what California
is supposed to be,
and it was exactly that.
Soft, low,
sweet and plain,
I feel...
Letterman:
It was dynamic, it was
creative, it was exciting.
We were kids,
it was silly
and it was fun,
and it was
the best time of my life.
My name is Dave Letterman,
and originally, I am
from the State of Indiana.
And you know,
when I was growing up,
the one thing
that I'll never forget,
what I'll always remember
as long as I live,
is when Dad used to tease
me with the power tools.
-Did that happen
to you folks a lot?
-(laughter)
Letterman:
When we first saw
Robin on stage,
we were skeptical,
and we made
it kind of a project
to keep our eye on him.
(foreign accent)
This is a quick suppression,
a Spanish fly.
(laughter)
Are there
any Spanish people
here tonight?
Okay, we can do it!
Here we go,
the Spanish fly.
-(babbling quickly)
-(laughter)
In my head,
my first sight of him
was that he could fly
because of the--
the energy.
It was like observing
an experiment.
Something special.
First a little toot for me.
-(toots) Okay.
-(laughter)
We are ready.
(plays harmonica)
Everybody, shake from side
to side, come on, now.
What's the matter?
You would do it
if I was blind.
Here we go.
(mic feedback whines)
(normal voice)
One of the first
paying gigs I had
was this place called
The Laugh Stop.
It's their opening night.
The mics go down, they die,
and they're going
"What the fuck do we do?"
I think,
"I don't need a mic."
I just started
fucking around.
I'm going
in the audience,
and I was loud enough
because I'd been trained
to be loud that
I could survive.
I see a sister.
Do you feel the need
to be healed?
-Woman: Yes.
-I know you can walk
without that chair.
(laughter)
Dear sister,
give me your hand.
I hope to God
you're not a real cripple.
All I could really do was
hang on to the microphone
for dear life,
and here was a guy
who could levitate.
Are you ready now
to walk for Jesus?
Can you do it?
Oh my God!
Over here boys!
It's incredible!
Letterman:
We knew that whatever
it was Robin was doing,
we weren't gonna
get close to that.
And we were frightened
that, "Oh my,
"maybe we've come out here
at just exactly the wrong time
"when everything was changing,
and all we had was
our stupid little jokes."
Come inside my mind
and see what it's like
when a comedian
eats the big one.
Don't be afraid.
(squeaks)
-(laughter)
-Come on in.
Phase in Amrac,
opening sequence B.
Amrac phase-in now.
Hey, nice to be here.
(laughter)
Easy audience!
Move on to dynamite
second routine 1B!
Phase in now.
Amrac phase-in routine
"Open Response" 1B.
Amrac C and sequence A.
How 'bout that Oaxacan, eh?
(laughter)
Mayday!
Mayday! Mayday!
(mimics alarm blaring)
All systems overload!
Anything goes!
Phase in sequence 2,
Vegas pity response 1B.
Send in the clowns
Not buying the bullshit!
Career really over now!
All systems overload!
Ego check!
Everything failing! Lips?
(babbles)
Amrac, phase in now!
Relieve subconscious.
Mayday! Mayday!
(whooshes,
breathes heavily)
Well, fuck you!
What do you want
from me anyway?
(laughter, applause)
Man:
Yes!
Good evening.
People ask me,
"Is comedy as much fun
as I say it is?"
-(laughter)
-You know,
I'm wondering...
Bennett Tramer:
Are on you on wide shot?
-Woman: No.
-Tramer:
You should zoom back.
(indistinct chatter)
You know, people wonder,
comedy and television...
(mumbles)
Woman:
Ooh! Oh, I'm sorry.
Tramer:
Being a writer
for Robin's standup
is like being
a pinch hitter
for Barry Bonds.
You're not
necessarily
needed,
except for special
circumstances.
But it's interesting to see
how he would build a bit.
He had a lightning-fast mind,
but it wasn't like
everything he did
came to him that night.
There was real work
and preparation.
There was a real thoughtful,
analytical process behind it.
It probably took him longer
to explain it to me
than coming together
in his mind.
Excuse me, sir,
we'd like to buy
your right front tire.
(indistinct chatter)
Tramer:
Stop, we'll take it
right off here.
Excuse me,
we're conducting
an experiment
in accidents on highways
caused by distractions.
(laughter)
Tramer:
He used to introduce me
as his best friend,
and I hadn't known
him that long.
I think he needed
a best friend.
Robin:
Madam please, please.
I'm making a plea for love.
Please, madam.
(indistinct chatter)
(Tramer laughs)
Larry Grobel:
Early in life, did you have
a fear of abandonment?
Robin: Oh yeah.
It's a primal fear
for any child...
and then it dictates a lot
of how you deal with life.
McLaurin Smith-Williams:
My students know that
he was my brother,
and they
always have.
I've never
tried to
hide it,
but I also
don't try
to advertise
it either.
Robin and I shared a mom.
I was my mother's son
by her first marriage.
Shortly after I was born,
I was sent to live
with her parents
in the South.
My grandparents,
who had been raising me
as their child,
suddenly informed me that I had
this other family and a brother
that I didn't know I had.
And when we met,
we met as strangers.
He was eight.
He was probably
not quite sure
what to make of me.
He was showing me all
of his little toy soldiers
and everything like that.
I believe Robin
already knew about Todd.
Marina Zenovich:
Tell me how you are
related to Robin Williams.
I was married
to Robin's
brother, Todd...
for nearly
30 years.
Todd's mother was
married to Robin's dad
for only a couple of years.
Todd was a very little boy
when they divorced.
Mac, he and Robin had
the same mom, different dads.
Todd and Robin had
the same dad, different moms.
All three of them had
some things in common
and just loved the fact
that they were related.
McLaurin:
Even though there
were three brothers,
we were all raised
as only children.
To be honest, I think
that none of us would have
turned out the way we did,
had it been--
had we grown up together.
Growing up
by yourself a lot,
you can either
kind of go nuts
or you have
a very comedic
attitude toward it.
When you're in school
and you don't have
too many friends,
or this, that, and the other,
that's a way of kind
of circumventing.
There's a flip side to that
because there's
a depressive side to that--
that kind of personality too.
There's a strong element
of that in our family.
Robin:
My mother,
she would do weird things,
like cut a rubber band,
stuff it in her nose,
and be at a dinner party,
and go.. . (sneezes)
"Oh dear."
And my dad would go,
(flatly) "Great, Laurie.
That's really funny."
Oh my,
you're gonna do this!
-Oh no! Oh God!
-(laughter)
You know,
we embarrassed your dad.
I did for years.
Yeah, that and me making
this noise at dinner.
-Yeah. No.
-He didn't like that either.
He doesn't
take lightly to our--
-And the whoopie cushions.
-(laughs)
-Fun too.
-You remember
whoopie cushions?
We had a couple of those
that we'd bring in.
They've been going strong
for 50 years,
-and they're still funny.
-They are.
Nothing like a good
whoopie cushion
before a press
conference, right,
Mr. Reagan?
That's right.
Put a little water in it, too.
It's really effective.
-Oh, God, Ma!
-(laughter)
Put a little water in it
and then watch!
Not only does
it make a noise,
it stains!
Oh, there's a fun one.
Laurie:
I think Robin had
a happy childhood.
I hope.
You never really know.
He was very isolated,
so he had to entertain
himself a lot.
Elayne Boosler:
I don't know when
I met Robin,
but the next thing
I knew was
he lived
in my apartment
with me.
He had an apartment,
I never went there.
I didn't even
know his address.
He lived
in my apartment.
Robin started
pursuing me.
I had never been
so pursued in my life,
and he would not
leave me alone.
and I thought, "Okay,
well, I'm in for fun."
He was very quiet
in real life.
You wouldn't know,
if you had just met him
in the daytime
and spoke to him,
what he became at night.
Robin: This is
the hormone blues-in.
Here we go.
(mimics harmonica)
(deep voice)
Yeah.
Went to bed last night,
with hair upon my chest
(mimics harmonica)
(high-pitched)
I woke up this morning
With a couple
of beautiful breasts
You know I'm, I'm
(deep voice)
Changing
Boosler:
I knew that Robin
was running around
when I wasn't around,
but I didn't care!
It didn't bother me.
But all the comics were
so caring for me,
and they said,
"You know, we think he has
a girlfriend
in San Francisco."
And I said,
"Well, I'll ask him."
And I said,
"Do you have a girlfriend
in San Francisco?"
"Oh no." I said,
"Listen, don't lie to me.
I hate lies,
tell the truth.
I don't mind."
"Oh no, oh no."
So we're in
The Improv one night,
and Jay said,
"Robin, you should
be honest with Elayne,
tell her if you
have a girlfriend
somewhere else."
And he said,
"Look, man. Look, man."
"I'm just looking
for a little bit of balance.
I'm just trying to find
a little bit of balance."
And Jay Leno said,
"Yeah, but you're using
your dick as a fulcrum."
After we broke up,
he married his girlfriend.
Velardi:
We jumped on
each other's bandwagon.
We were a good team.
We were having an adventure.
And then, everything changed.
Sunday, Monday,
Happy Days
Tuesday, Wednesday,
Happy Days
Thursday, Friday,
Happy Days
The weekend comes,
my cycle hums...
Scott Marshall:
Growing up, I loved
Happy Days,
loved Fonzi.
In 1977,
I was eight years
old, and Star Wars
came out...
and I stopped
watching Happy Days.
My dad said,
"Why don't you wanna watch
Happy Days anymore?"
And I said, "There's
no spaceman on it."
He went
to the writer's room
on Happy Days
and said, "Scotty
wants a spaceman!"
And all the writers
rolled their eyes, "Oh,
what a great idea.
A spaceman, okay,
how can we do this?"
My Aunt Ronnie,
who was in charge
of casting,
told my dad
about a comedian
doing stand-up
on the street corner,
with a hat
that people
put money in.
My dad said,
"You want me
to hire a kid,
"who stands
on the street corner
with a hat
"on a primetime network
television show--
"a hit show,
number one
in the ratings--
"I'm gonna put
a kid who stands
"on the sidewalk
with a hat,
that's who
I'm gonna put on?"
And Ronnie said...
"It's a pretty full hat."
-(babbles)
-(door shuts)
What do you do,
you just use that
to scare people with?
No, keeps the rain
off my head.
(audience laughs)
Are you
Richie Cunningham?
Oh yeah.
Yeah, that--
that's me.
-Is this your house?
-Uh-huh.
Ee-ee, Ee-ee.
Wait a minute.
Who are you?
I am Mork from Ork.
Que pasa?
(babbles)
Marshall:
The episode,
in front of the live audience,
it got a standing ovation.
All 300 people stood up
and applauded Robin
when he finished
that episode.
Robin:
ABC has a commitment
to Paramount,
and they have
to honor it.
If they have a series
that falls out,
they have to put something
on the air from Paramount.
No pilot, just--
you gotta put it on.
And they went, "Oh fuck,"
so they scrambled.
They'd say, "Okay,
we have this character,
Mork, which tested very well,"
and they had Pam,
a series where
she played a nun...
Pam Dawber:
Called Sister Terri,
who had been
a gang leader,
and kind
of talked like this.
And she was
a little tough,
but she was a nun.
(laughs)
And it was
terrible.
Marshall:
My dad took footage
of Pam Dawber from the pilot,
in the nun outfit,
cut it together
with Robin
on Happy Days- -
just literally
spliced it together--
and that was the pilot.
It was a $63 dollar pilot.
Robin:
And they went, "Fine, whatever,
just throw it on the air."
They didn't think
it had a fighting chance
of ever living.
They're announcing
the fall line up,
and it says,
"ABC announces
"Mork & Mindy,
starring Robin Williams
and Pam Dawber.
Spaceman lives
with girlfriend
in apartment."
And I went, "Oh my God!
This sounds terrible.
Who is this
Robin Williams anyway?"
Howard Storm:
Robin's manager
called Robin.
He said, "Robin,
we got 22 shows,
guaranteed,
and you're
gonna get
$1500 a week."
And Robin
went, "Wow!"
And then Buddy
said, "Schmuck,
$15,000."
(laughs)
Robin was happy
with the $1,500.
He never made
that kind of money.
(theme music playing)
Nanu, nanu.
-(helmet thuds)
-Shazbot!
Tramer:
Robin was
a little nervous.
"All of that energy
is sure to translate.
"My comedy
is so big, and...
you're sure it'll translate
onto a small screen?"
(whistling)
Necrotons! Warning!
Mayday! Mayday!
Red alert! Dive!
In the bunker,
in the bunker!
Hit 'em up.
We're going
to Missouri. Whoo!
Marshall: He would run
around the stage,
you know.
He would run around
and do crazy things
all the time,
and there was
union cameramen.
He would
do something great,
my dad would go,
"Did you get that?
Did you get that?"
The cameraman would say,
"He didn't come by here."
"You gotta capture this.
He's a genius."
And the cameraman said,
"If he's such a genius,
he could hit his mark."
And so my dad said,
"Wow, this is-- gotta
figure this out."
The sitcom, up until then,
always three camera.
So he brought in
a fourth camera,
kind of a handheld camera,
just to follow Robin.
And that became
the standard.
Now, every sitcom
has four cameras now
because of that.
Well, this week, sir,
I learned that on Earth
things aren't always
what they appear to be.
Orson:
What does this...
You've got the script
in your hand,
motherfucker,
and you're blowin' it?
(audience laughs)
Tramer:
The taping of Mork & Mindy
became like the show to go to.
It was like a three-hour
Robin Williams marathon.
Care for some
iguana jerky?
No, asshole.
(audience laughs)
Hey, it's a
self-improvement course!
"Evelyn Wood
Speed Orgasm."
Says if you've
read this by now,
you've already come.
-Why'd you laugh at me?
-(laughs)
You were gonna say,
"What an asshole."
Now, I didn't.
I let you say it!
(laughter)
Storm:
Robin was just flying,
I mean, he was
the hottest ticket in town.
Storm:
Whatever makes
you happy, monsieur.
Well, we can't
do that now.
(audience laughs)
So many lines going
through my mind.
I don't know who I am!
Look! And...
(audience laughs, cheers)
Storm:
All of a sudden, he was
getting all this attention,
making money, and doing
whatever he wanted to do.
-Action, baby.
-Oh, I got--
-Oh, I'm sorry.
-It's happening.
Boy, have I got
a subtext going,
you don't know!
Okay, wait, wait. Wow!
4.5 on the Richter scale!
(both babbling)
I remember you
Hi, Mr. Houseman.
Juilliard really paid off.
Until next week,
Orson, knock knock.
-Orson:
Who's there?
-Cohen.
Orson:
Cohen who?
"Cohen" fuck yourself.
Good night.
Eric Idle:
I first clapped eyes
on him in 1980.
He came on stage,
and it was just like
he took
the place apart.
He just absolutely--
I've never seen
anything like it.
He just completely
commanded it.
He just made
them all laugh
and laugh and laugh,
and he had
one persistent heckler.
And he made the entire
audience pray
for little Timmy
at the back,
that he might die.
And it was
just so hilarious.
He just-- the entire audience
praying for the death
of this heckler
at the back of the room.
Storm:
And keep your hands away
from your wiener.
-Yes, sir.
-(laughter)
You're an adult, Howard.
You can say "penis."
Robin:
I'd go from doing the show
and then coming
to The Comedy Store
and then go
to The Improv.
He would do five,
six sets a night,
and just keep going.
Robin:
And now a native
New York impression,
a New York echo.
(shouts) "Hello!"
-"Shut the fuck up!"
-(laughter)
Velardi:
We were just playing,
you know?
We were out and about.
You can climb a mountain...
Velardi:
It was wonderful
being in Hollywood.
You know he's the star
of the very successful
Mork & Mindy show,
would you welcome,
Robin Williams.
(cheers, applause)
Momma, I'm on TV!
For my friends
in San Francisco,
(slowly)
how are you?
Storm:
He started hanging out
with a lot of major stars.
He was hanging out
with De Niro,
he was hanging out
with Belushi,
and they were impressed
that they were
hanging out with him.
Robin:
There was one crazy night
where he took me
to a series of clubs
to see different bands.
He'd just put you
in a headlock and say,
"Come on, we're going
to this place."
(snorts)
Storm:
In the second year
of the show,
Robin was doing drugs.
Robin:
It was part of the whole
scene at that time.
There was just
so much of it.
There were even
some clubs that used
to pay in white or green.
You'd go hang out at clubs,
and then, um, end up
in the hills,
in some coke
dealer's house.
Everyone used
to just give it to you,
because if you're famous,
you know, it was
just a-- like a thing.
"Hey, come here. Take this."
You know, you'd get
phone calls that say,
"Yeah, Robin left his car."
It's found
some place on Sunset.
Dawber:
I climbed out
of a bathroom window
at Imperial Gardens,
because Robin
was there with people
that he didn't want anybody
to know he was there with.
No! Everyone
I've ever known!
There are people here
I've slept with twice.
Boosler:
He would just sometimes
at the end of an hour
just pick a gorgeous woman
out of the audience
and walk out,
and never saw
her again,
and her boyfriend would
go, "I guess she's gone."
Velardi:
He loved women.
Loved women.
And I got it.
And I understood it.
And I wanted him
to have that,
but I also wanted him
to come home.
You know,
after a night
of partying,
we'd couldn't find him
many times.
Dawber:
He'd come in looking
pretty burned out,
because, you know,
he was out till 3:00,
4:00 in the morning.
You've had
all week to do this.
(laughs)
Look at him.
He's so pitiful.
'Cause I feel
like shit, that's why.
I'm looking at you.
I'm not really
looking at you.
I'm looking at the back
of my mind going,
"There's gotta be
another line.
Someone back there,
send another line forward!"
Storm:
He was drinking and coke.
It was like him jumping
into a giant cake.
You know, your
most delicious cake ever,
and he could eat all--
anything he wanted,
'cause that was what
he was doing.
I believe that cocaine is God's
way of saying, "You're making
too much money."
(laughter)
Idle:
He got really
into it, a lot.
And I would follow
him around to these
various places,
and he'd be funny
and then we'd move on
and then he'd be funny
and move on.
It's not a funny drug.
It just makes you
want more and more
and more of it,
and it doesn't
make you funny.
It would just be
interesting to me
that he would cease
to be funny
the later the evening
went with that drug.
Do you have
any fears, anxieties,
or questions about going
into a film... now?
Some of them,
yeah, it's scary,
because you
realize one wrong--
you can be doing great,
everyone would go,
"Hey, fantastic!
Brilliant.
We'll have breakfast,
lunch, dinner."
Then all of a sudden,
one bad film,
"Oh, excuse me
will you hold?"
Okay. Stand by.
Action!
What am I?
I ain't
no "physi-kist,"
but I knows
what matters.
What am I?
I'm Popeye
the Sailor.
And I am,
what I am, what I am
And I am, what I am,
and that's all that I am
'Cause I am what I am...
Robin: We had
the dailies, they showed
them to my manager.
He called back and said,
"Robin, I saw the dailies.
Could you open
your other eye?"
"Charlie, he doesn't
have another eye.
He's Popeye."
To me bottom,
from the bottom
to me top...
Robin:
As I'm walking outside
after the movie,
the paparazzis saw
that everyone
was kind of walking out
a little nonplussed,
and I think one guy
turned to me and went,
"Welcome to show business."
(laughs)
And the illusion
that I was gonna be
a movie star really
quickly diminished.
Dawber:
It was really near the end
of Mork & Mindy.
And he came
to work he said, "Wow.
"I went over
to the Chateau
last night.
I was supposed
to meet with De Niro."
He said,
"De Niro had a couple
of girls in his room.
He wouldn't let me in."
(laughs)
And so-- "I'm there," There is
a season, turn...
and he says,
"So I decided to go
to Belushi's bungalow."
And he said,
"He was so stoned,
he could
hardly stand up."
And then just before
our dinner break,
the producers came to me
and they said, "Pam...
"John Belushi--
they-- he-- he OD'ed
last night."
And I went, "What?"
John Belushi died today
at 33 years old.
He was a comic actor
best known
for Animal House,
the film,
and his years on
the television program
Saturday Night Live.
Belushi died
in a bungalow
at the Chateau Marmont Hotel
in Hollywood.
Later, Los Angeles police--
Dawber:
I said, "I have something
really terrible to tell you."
He said, "What?"
And I said...
"John Belushi's dead.
He died. He OD'ed."
He said, "I was
with him last night!"
And I said, "I-- I know."
He goes, "I was
with him last night!"
And I said,
"I know, Robin.
I know you were."
And so, we just
walked together
towards our trailers
and...
just before he went
into his trailer
and I said--
this is gonna
make me cry.
I said, "If that
ever happens to you,
I will find you
and kill you first."
He said,
"Dawbs, that's never
gonna happen to me."
Newswoman:
A Los Angeles County
grand jury has begun
its investigation of the death
of comedian John Belushi.
-(indistinct chatter)
-(cameras clicking)
Newsman:
Comedian Robin Williams was
the grand jury's star witness.
Williams was
one of three people
with Belushi
the night before
he died of an overdose
of cocaine and heroin.
His attorneys said
Williams was cooperating
in the investigation
and did not have
to be subpoenaed
in order to testify.
Robin: Here's this
guy who was a beast,
who could do anything...
and he's gone,
and that sobered
the shit out of me.
Dawber:
And that's
when Robin stopped.
Storm:
He backed off for a while
and cleaned up.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la,
la, la, la, la, la, la, la
-Pardon me.
-(gasps)
Could you not
make so much noise?
You're scaring away
all the flies.
I directed him once,
in The Frog Prince.
He's dressed as a frog.
He just learned
in the papers
that they'd canceled
Mork & Mindy.
He gathered
a crowd around him.
He just went
into a rant about ABC
and all
of the people
who ran it
and all of the people
who had the shows
and how awful
they were.
Robin:
Just going,
"Fuck these people."
Oh you mean
from inside the Frog--
"Fuck these people,"
inside this giant frog head.
-It was crazy shit. Painful.
-Man: Oh yeah.
At that point,
everything is like,
"Fuck, it's over."
Robin:
"What's gonna happen next?
What are you gonna do?"
There was fear.
Velardi:
Hollywood was
eating us up.
Robin and I
decided to leave
and come back
to Northern California.
Velardi:
We just wanted
to be together
where we didn't have
all that noise coming in.
Robin:
It's the idea
of "This is it.
I don't need to live--
I can't-- I mean,
I don't do well in LA.
Velardi:
And we wanted
to have children
and have
a life together.
You go-- you're a good boy.
Hey, Zachary.
Today, we're going
to have the baptism.
Christopher Reeve
as the godfather,
and Valerie
and Robin Williams
as the proud parents.
Should we button
that top button?
-You want this on too?
-Yeah.
Now we can do Superbaby.
Velardi:
No. Oh yeah, he can
fly into his baptism.
(laughing) No,
I don't want to fly
him any place.
We gather
to say thank you to
God for the gift of you.
With your wishes
come on from
your heart.
What would you share?
(indistinct chatter)
That-- that comes
with the package.
Pastor: To follow
his inner self. Beautiful.
(indistinct chatter)
Robin:
You just have to be prepared
when you have a child.
Must prepare yourself.
Get ready.
You get this feeling
of like, "Okay.
(laughs nervously)
"Okay.
Series has been
over for a while, okay."
That's so hard.
I gave up the series.
I didn't want
to make that much money
for no reason anymore.
(laughter, applause)
Really does
sober your ass up
when you realize
you'll have to,
six years from now,
be going,
"Daddy doesn't
really knows what
he does for a living.
What do you want
for your birthday?"
(child voice)
"Power of attorney."
(normal voice) "Okay!"
Stand up is
a great survival
mechanism.
For me that's a joy,
that's jazz.
That's what
I have to do.
That one-on-one thing.
Maybe-- maybe
millions of years ago,
there were people--
instead of clubs, there was
somebody at a cave door,
going, "Two rock minimum."
(laughter)
(grunts)
Some guy stood up in front of
the fire going... (grunts)
"How many Neanderthals
does it take to light a fire?
Come on. None!
They don't know!"
(grunts)
Two guys in the back
with a big rock going...
"I'm really
fucked-up. Here."
Talk about your life,
talk about drugs,
talk about
the things in the country,
talk about anything
and not have
some network
executive going,
"God, we're excited
about some of the things,
but can you
just tone it back?"
You ever think that God
might get stoned?
Look-- look at it--
oh, a strange thing.
If you look at a platypus,
I think that you think
God might be stoned.
Think that God's up there
in heaven going...
(inhales)
"Okay.
"Let's take a beaver...
"let's put on
a duck's bill, okay?
(maniacal laugh)
"Hey, what are you
gonna do? I'm God!
"Okay. Uh... it's a mammal,
"but it lays eggs.
What the hell!
"Hey, Darwin!
(kisses) Okay.
I don't know."
Velardi:
Robin loved working.
He was working
on a national tour,
and he made films.
and we oftentimes
would come
on movie sets
with Robin.
But for the most part,
he would come back
to the ranch
and be with us.
He was quiet.
He was very quiet.
When he was home,
he would shut off
and recharge.
I was supposed to be
making a home
and taking care
of my son,
but I had
no sense of order.
I didn't know how
to manage a household.
So, I interviewed
Marsha as a nanny.
She was
very organized,
and she took very
good care of Zachary.
She was organized
the way we weren't.
And so it was
good to have that
kind of "tuck-tuck."
It worked.
Robin's managers were
now taking care of him.
I was no longer involved
with his day-to-day
material making.
He would spend more
and more time away, working.
(cheers, applause)
Arthur Grace:
I got a call from the director
of photography at Newsweek
to do a cover story on Robin.
They just sent me
out on the road
to be with
Robin Williams
for a month.
He was on the road
working on his material.
We traveled together in lousy
little cigar-tube planes.
He was not getting quote
"first-class treatment"
in travel
or anything else.
He was
in the airport terminal
like everybody else,
and he was
always polite
and always talked
to the people.
I couldn't believe
they were paying me
to hang out with him.
I'm a fool to do
your dirty work
Oh yeah...
Grace:
Before the show,
he would go
into his private room
and get ready.
I'm a fool to do
your dirty work
Robin would stand there,
looking down,
his arms hanging loose,
completely quiet,
completely silent.
The first time I saw it,
I thought he fell asleep,
and I almost
went over and said,
you know, "Robin."
He was just quiet
and still, Zen-like.
(heart beating)
(breathing slowly)
(muffled cheers, applause)
Announcer (on P.A.):
Ladies and gentlemen,
-Robin Williams!
-(cheering continues)
Let's go!
Let's move it!
Let's move it!
And then, like he was--
(snaps fingers)
...somebody launched
him out of a rocket.
Dirty work no more
I'm a fool to do
your dirty work, oh yeah
He put so much energy
into the show,
so much of himself
into the show.
When he came off stage,
he was just dripping...
exhausted,
mentally and physically,
emotionally exhausted.
He left it all on the stage.
After we'd check
into a hotel,
he was full
of energy again.
He didn't wanna
go to sleep, so, okay,
so it's midnight,
and there's
this after-hours place,
and out into the night
we'd go.
And then the next day,
get up, go again.
I'm a fool to do your dirty
work, oh yeah...
Robin:
There's a real
incredible rush, I think,
when you find
something new
and spontaneous.
I think your brain
rewards that with a little
bit of endorphins going,
"If you think again,
I'll get you high
one more time."
Dirty work, oh yeah
Grace:
The cover came out,
did well.
And then I got a call
from him saying,
now he was
at the Metropolitan
Opera House.
He's actually gonna
step out on that stage,
in this environment,
in front
of 3,800 people,
and make them laugh
for 90 minutes?
This is like
being a gladiator.
I don't wanna do
your dirty work no more
I'm a fool to do
your dirty work, oh yeah
Whoa-ho-ho!
What the fuck
am I doing here?
This is incredible.
I'm scared shitless.
I can't lie.
How do you get to the Met?
Money. Lots and lots of money.
God damn.
I wonder if Pavarotti's
at The Improv going,
"Two Jews walk into a bar.
(laughter)
Yes."
We'd done-- I don't know--
20 or 30 shows on the road
for six months,
maybe eight months.
We had really
worked on this.
The show that
we taped at the
Night at the Met...
there was 25%
that I'd never
heard before.
-(applause)
-The whole country's intense.
You wanna know why
the police are intense?
Because we're intense.
We're armed
and they're armed. Yay!
God, in California,
everybody's got handguns,
even ladies who are
just carrying .22's,
just makes a small hole.
(mimics gunfire, splatter) Ah!
I got tired of carrying my mace
'cause I used to mix it up
with my breath freshener
and go, pssh,
-"Oh, there goes the day."
-(laughter)
It's to the point
in California where we're
gonna come home and go,
"Honey, I'm home!"
"Easy, dear."
"Hold it, honey."
"Dad, I gotcha."
"Hold it, boy."
"Watch out, dear."
It's Family Feud:
The Home Game.
There are guys
who won't go on the stage
at The Comedy Store...
unless they have
their eight minutes
written out.
Robin did
a two-hour show.
A nuclear bomb--
it's basically
a man's way of saying,
"I'm gonna fuck up
the Earth, yeah."
A woman would never
make a nuclear weapon.
They would never make
a bomb that kills you.
They'd make
a bomb that makes
you feel bad for a while.
See? It'd be
a whole other thing.
That's why
there should be
a woman president.
Don't you see?
That'd be a wonderful thing.
(cheers, applause)
Be an incredible time
for that.
There would
never be any wars,
just, every 28 days,
some intense negotiations.
(laughter)
That'd be
a good thing, yeah.
(Spanish accent)
This is Carlos,
who for years
was my stand-in
when we made--
(Spanish accent)
We-- he and I are like this.
We are.
Which one is me?
(both chatter)
I love you so much.
I love what you stand for,
-even when you're sitting.
-Thank you very much.
Robin and I both
did sets at Catch.
He had rented
a townhouse.
and I didn't
know him very well,
but I wanted to.
And he said,
"I'm gonna go home.
Do you wanna come by?"
I say, "Sure."
So I walk him back
to his townhouse,
and Zak,
he's crying like crazy.
Robin's-- you know,
he's trying--
so I was like,
"May I? Can I?"
Simple little effleurage
with the index finger
on the base
of the skull of the baby,
and Zak starts
to quiet down,
and he quiets down
and he falls asleep
in my arms.
And then I handed him
back to Robin
and he just looked
at me like I was--
you know,
like this genius.
And that was
the first time
we connected
in a different way that
wasn't about comedy.
It was about...
being a father
and being a friend.
It was really-- yeah,
I remember that so well.
Everybody wanted
something from him.
I had no agenda.
I just liked him.
Velardi:
Oh, here's Robin!
He's used to this.
(laughs)
-A piece of cake.
-You know...
You know...
It's a strange sorta thing.
Won't you follow me?
Grobel:
The end of your
first Playboy interview
you spoke
of your future,
and it said,
"I'll settle for Valerie and me
living on our ranch in Napa."
And it's like--
so much for your seer-like
qualities, you know?
Robin:
Yeah. Yeah and that--
you know, obviously that
fell apart, again,
'cause it wasn't
strong enough to hold.
I had this wanderlust,
you know, and so did she.
Velardi:
Robin and I
had drifted apart.
I wanted out.
I no longer
wanted this life.
It's not what
I had signed up for.
I wanted Robin
and the fun that we had,
and then it turned
into an industry,
and I was less
and less a part of it.
Robin wanted
to further his career,
and I wanted that
for him too.
I didn't want
to hold him back.
So... we...
gave each other up.
The saddest thing
in the world is life, man.
-You telling me?
-Mm-hmm.
It gets so bad sometimes,
I don't think I'll make it.
(laughs lightly)
I ever tell you
I had a kid?
I got involved
with this girl, man,
and she got pregnant,
went on back home
to Alabama.
Thomas Ava Witherspoon,
five years old.
-I think of that kid,
I want to cry.
-Oh, that's wonderful.
Well, why don't
you cry, man?
It's good for you.
Oh, I don't have to cry.
I don't need to cry.
Lionel. Lionel.
You know...
I have whole family
I will never
ever see again.
Velardi:
Contrary to what
national papers said,
Robin and I had ended
our marriage...
and then Robin
and Marsha started up
a relationship.
That story of him
running off with the nanny,
everybody got carried
away with it,
and because
I didn't counter that,
because I don't talk
to the press...
they got skewered,
and I was sorry for that.
And I'm sorry
for Marsha,
that she had to start
her adventure
with Robin in such
an unpleasant way.
Robin:
It was a year after
I had been separated.
And she only took care
of Zachary for a short time
and then became
my assistant.
When I was on the road,
she would help me
write material.
I started to get
my life together,
I fell in love
with Marsha.
I started
to just go, "Wait,
I don't have
to live this kind
of madhouse existence."
And that's when
my life was saved by her,
not ruined by her.
She's real
honest about things,
about everything...
in terms of work,
in terms of life.
If I start to get
a little kind of like this,
she'll say, "Wise up."
If I start to get
too insecure,
she'll say,
"Stop it. You're great."
She's really grounded
in that sense.
Someone who
was very childlike
in a lot of ways
was awesome
to have as a dad
as a young kid.
He would set up
a whole yard
filled with,
you know, toys.
My dad wasn't afraid
to get his hands dirty,
and jump in
and play with kids
but on their terms.
Man:
B28 take 2,
"A" and "B" cameras.
Barry Levinson:
Action!
(flute plays tune)
Good morning,
Vietnam!
Hey, this is not a test.
This is rock 'n' roll!
Time to rock it
from the Delta
to the DMZ!
Is that me, or does that sound
like an Elvis Presley movie?
"Viva Da Nang."
Ohhhh, viva Da Nang
Da Nang me,
Da Nang me
Why don't they get
a rope and hang me?
Hey, is it a little too early
for being that loud?
Hey, too late.
In those days,
television and film were
two different worlds.
It was rare that you had
crossover TV people
doing film
and film people
doing TV.
Good Morning, Vietnam!
was the first real
commercial hit,
and it established Robin
as a real actor.
And he suddenly was
becoming a movie star.
Steve Martin:
I don't remember
when I met him.
You know,
we would brush up
against each other,
but we got
to know each other
a little bit better
when we did
Waiting for Godot.
He was debating
whether to do it,
and I said, "We do
Waiting for Godot,
I mean, who--
who could touch us?"
(laughs)
You know, who's-- who's--
What comedians are doing
Waiting for Godot?
-Moron!
-Vermin!
-Abortion!
-Morpion!
-Sewer rat!
-Curate!
-Cretin!
-Critic!
(audience laughs)
Robin:
I was learning from him
physical comedy
and just the nuts
and bolts of timing.
Because obviously
when I do my act,
I don't have timing.
Oh!
(audience laughs)
Robin:
And he is just literally
about the comedy of pause,
you know,
holding back.
-Ack!
-Didi! Didi!
(vocalizes
The Twilight Zone
theme music)
(audience laughs)
Didi! Didi.
(reporter speaks)
No, it's-- it's--
it's definitely theater.
(reporter 2 speaks)
Martin:
I-I-- I don't know how
to answer that.
The differences are
obvious to me.
And to do this play,
it's one of the most
powerful pieces
of literature
in the 20th century.
I think it kind of helps.
Martin:
Except for Cruel Shoes.
Cruel Shoes I think was
one of the second most
powerful pieces of literature.
You know, it really helps
to do something
that's so amazing,
that every night
you can do it differently,
but yet it's the same.
You can get deeper
and deeper within this play
and find things,
every night you can change
because it's so amazing.
Funny. For me,
I figured it out
on day one,
and it never changed.
(laughter)
Your turn.
You think
God sees me?
You must close
your eyes.
God, have pity
on me.
And me.
On me. On me.
Pity on me!
His character
was interestingly...
hurt, and he played it
very vulnerable,
as I think
he was in life too.
Onstage he was
the master and in charge
and funny and quick.
And in life, you know,
he wasn't onstage anymore.
I just felt a little bit of...
I think he was really
comfortable onstage
and less comfortable offstage.
Always felt him holding--
holding himself together.
It was at a time
I think he was...
clean... and--
and it was
a very difficult... clean.
You know, it's hard,
it was hard.
I don't mean
that he slipped
or anything like that.
He didn't. I just
think he really had
to concentrate... on that.
There you are.
You've become
a reformed alcoholic.
You've got
a steaming glass
of Perrier, going,
"I feel so much better
about myself! God damn it."
"I feel really healthy now!
(laughs)
"No, go ahead,
have your cocktail.
"I'll be over
in the corner
hurting the cat.
(maniacal laugh)
Oh God damn!"
(cheers, applause)
Man: Do you know
of any other people whose
minds work faster than yours?
Robin: Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I'm starting
to meet them.
Oliver Sacks,
playing him
in Awakenings.
Man:
Right.
Robin:
He's such
a compassionate man,
and the idea
of treating the brain
as a subjective subject.
This is the idea
of the brain
can be one thing
and then the other
simultaneously.
What about this?
(laughs)
What do you
mean, this?
It's a strobe.
You're wrong.
All of this before
is the strobe.
This is me saying
his name to him.
Excuse me.
Robin:
Oliver is someone
who thinks
on-- on levels that
I've never dreamed of.
Man: He introduced you
to a guy with Tourette's
syndrome named Shane.
It had a profound
influence on you.
Robin:
Definitely.
I-I began-began
touching-touching,
you know,
touching-touching things.
You know, touching,
you know. (shouts)
Robin: Here's a disease
that basically makes you
do, physically, things
you have no control over.
Along with it
comes this incredible
mental acceleration,
lets you think faster
than most people.
Pardon me?
Oh yeah, sure.
Robin:
And the price
you pay is
that you can't control
a lot of those movements.
The complexity and
the total unpredictability
of the human brain,
that's what I learned
from meeting Shane.
The brain is
one thing that controls
bodily functions,
and then there's this
other thing which is divine,
called the mind.
There is deity within you,
there is that-- that spark,
that divine thing,
that thing that is soul.
And that's what's exciting,
the idea you could explore
creativity at any price
is like-- this is
what we're kind
of dealing with
as artists, comedians,
writers, actors.
You're going
to come to the edge,
you're going to look over,
and sometimes
you're going to step
over the edge,
and then you're going
to come back, hopefully.
(shouting)
Parry!
What are
you looking at?
(Parry whimpers)
Parry.
Help! (shouts)
McLaurin:
Robin could never
let go of a role.
He would become
the role he was playing,
and then it'd become
another part
of his-- his
personality.
Come along!
-(car honks)
-(tires screech)
Driver:
Holy shit!
Jack:
Parry!
Robin:
Now when I see
someone on the street
ranting at the world,
it isn't just lumped
into "There's
a generalized
crazy person."
You know that
they're suffering
from something specific...
and that they have
a life, a past...
and-- you know,
and a present,
and it gives you
a different point of view.
Won't you join us
for a once-in-a-lifetime
comedy event?
-As some of today's...
-And yesterday's...
-And tomorrow's...
-Funniest stars
come together
for an unforgettable
night of laughter.
-Comic Relief.
-Live!
Crystal:
It was our Farm Aid.
The three of us hosted
these comedy telethons
to raise money
for medical aid
for the homeless
on the streets
of America.
-(applause)
-I'll take these.
You take those.
-(speaks gibberish)
-(laughter)
We would like
to say how happy
we are to be here.
-(man shouts)
-Oh, sorry.
-All right.
-(laughter)
It was a great way
for all the funny people
to join in to...
not only be funny
but be compassionate.
The only reason that I am
not running for president
is-- I swear to God--
I have this fear
no woman
would come forward
-to say she had
sex with me.
-(laughter)
I would be
doing one of those
interviews on CNN,
looking into a camera, going,
"Come on, Susan!
You know you fucked me."
(laughter)
Robin:
We had just amazing
people come on
and raised
that much money
and used comedy
as this vehicle
to change a world.
Yes, God made babies cute,
so you don't eat them.
(laughter)
How many people do you
know that you would
let shit on you,
piss on you,
keep you up
all fucking night?
-(laughter)
-Woman:
Whoo!
They wake up
at five o'clock the morning,
and I don't know
what drug they are--
is there some sort
of Fisher Price cocaine
that they're
in there going...
(snorts) "Ah!"
Goldberg:
Great people
make you better.
You got over the
fact that it was
Robin, and then
you went to work,
you did what you
needed to do,
because you wanted
to be up to speed.
It's just like, "Oh
no, you're not leaving
me in the dust.
I'm going to be right here,
right next to you, running."
You wanted to be able
to play and keep up.
-But seriously,
there'll be more.
-Okay, so taking care
of Bill and the big chubby
jokes have begun.
This is a penis thing.
-I didn't--
-It's all a-- Did you
never notice that?
Wait a minute!
Let him talk
for a moment!
-Oh!
-(laughter)
-Put that thing away!
-Ow! Ow!
-Put it away!
-No, no, no.
-You know, Whoopi.
-Yes?
-I...
-Robin:
Nice to see you, Whoopi.
You didn't see my lips
move once, did you?
-No, but I never do.
-Whoopi, I have
a confession to make.
-Yes?
-Robin:
Me too.
(chuckles)
I am not what
I appear to be.
I am a Jew.
And I'll tell you
something else.
Is it me or is it
cold in here?
Yeah, it's-- it's
very convenient,
you know?
This is--
It's already--
you know, it's not like
I could come out and I do,
"So, guys, what's up?"
-It doesn't--
-Hey. What the hell?
(laughter)
-Robin:
So, guys, what's up?
-Are you kidding me?
What's happening?
Priest:
We commend
into your hands
the spirit
of your servant,
Ronald Wilson Reagan.
Crystal:
I'm watching
Ronald Reagan's funeral
and the phone rings.
And I go, "Hello?"
(mimics Reagan)
"Bill? Hi, its Ron Reagan."
(normal voice)
"So... what a coincidence.
I'm watching your funeral."
(mimics Reagan)
"Well, I just want to tell you
that I'm in heaven now
and I'm at a party.
I'm having a wonderful time."
(normal voice)
I said "Oh Really?
What's heaven like?"
(mimics Reagan)
"Well, it's a lot hotter than
I thought it was gonna be."
(normal voice)
"Oh, really? You know,
"you may not be
in heaven, sir.
You may be
in the other place."
(mimics Reagan)
"Oh! That would explain
why I'm in a hot tub with Nixon
and his balls are resting
on the bridge of my nose."
Wherever I was,
when the phone would ring,
I'd look at it,
and I'd see the
415 area code,
I knew it was him.
I knew it was gonna be
something really good.
(answering machine beeps)
Answering machine:
Sunday, 1:21 p.m.
(beeps)
(Robin speaks
in British accent)
(answering machine beeps)
(Robin speaking with lisp)
Crystal:
As the friendship
really grew and grew,
we kind of needed
each other more.
(answering machine beeps)
(Robin mimics computer)
Should be very simple.
I think I shouldn't
expand too much
with that one,
should just, "Hell!"
Do you want
to talk about when
she goes off, and she's--
We did that one
where we thought,
"Oh, I'm not doing this.
"I can't do this.
How can you do this?
You fickle creature."
Man: And then you
catch onto the fact
that she's performing.
"She's acting!"
I have decided
to make my final wish.
I wish
for Princess Jasmine
to fall desperately
in love with me.
(mimics buzzer, chuckles)
Uh, Master,
uh, there are
a few addendas,
some quid pro quos.
Don't talk back to me,
you big blue lout!
You will do
what I order you to do!
(choking)
I am unable to do what
you ordered me to do
at this present point,
because that is not part
of my programming.
Warning, warning!
-
-(hissing)
(mimics Robinson)
Come on kid, see?
Gotta get the snake, see?
(mimics King) I promoted
the fight. I'm hoping it's
gonna be as best it can.
(mimics Brando)
The horror.
The young boy
up against a giant snake.
Idle: He would
just take a thought
and improvise on it.
It might just dinner
or it might be 2,000 people,
it's the same
improvisational
thing that goes on.
(clacks)
-Man: Set.
-Man 2: Action.
Miranda:
When did he pass on?
Eight years ago, dear...
this November.
Miranda:
What happened?
Oh, he was quite fond
of the drink really.
'Twas the drink
that killed him.
Miranda:
How awful.
He was an alcoholic.
Oh no, dear.
He was on his way
to the pub
to have a drink,
walked in the door,
and someone
had spilled a beer
and he slipped
and broke his neck.
He was on his way
to the pub,
and a Guinness truck
was passing by
hit a bump,
and six kegs fell off.
He finished
the first three,
but the last three got him.
He was hit
by a Budweiser truck.
First time in America too.
(crying)
"This Bud's for you."
Oh God,
so it was quite literally
the drink that killed him.
(crew laughing)
(gruffly)
Get it together, asshole!
(normal voice)
Sorry, man.
-Man:
And...
-(laughter)
Even Sammy's
behind us going,
(mimics Sammy Davis Jr.)
"Come on! I'm here,
waiting,
decomposing man."
Clear!
What happened?
(laughter)
I'm waiting!
Idle:
It was vital for him
to have an audience.
And he was hilarious,
but it was a need,
very needy for him
to-- to communicate
and be funny.
Yoshi:
Hey, Mrs. Yorkin.
Nina:
Hey, Yoshi.
How are you?
Yoshi:
How have you been?
Long time, no see.
Mark Romanek:
He gave such
a detailed,
focused performance,
but the second
you said, "Cut,"
he would be back
to the crazy,
insane, psycho
Robin Williams.
(gruff voice)
Hi, I'm Sy Parrish,
the photo guy.
-(laughing)
-It plays
with the hard drive.
(normal voice)
I can't help you, it's not
really my section, but--
-You're Will Yorkin!
-Oh Jesus.
Oh, ho ho!
Romanek:
The urge to be funny
and to make people laugh
was so innate in him
and so, like-- almost
like breathing for him
that if he didn't get
that out of his system...
it would've infected
his performance
in a bad way.
Fu! Boy.
You're here
in the flesh.
Woo hoo!
Not often I see
you in here.
Yeah, you--
-(man chuckles)
-Hi.
Romanek:
So I would just let him go,
as long as it was reasonable
for time in the day
to just get
it out of his system.
And then,
actually, I realized
that when he makes
people laugh that hard,
he used to kind
of get high from it--
you know,
like an endorphin
rush or something.
And so if he was being
really funny one second
before the take,
I would-- he would,
you know, quiet down,
and I'd say, "Action,"
he almost had
this like glow of joy.
Even though he was playing
this very serious scene,
that also kind of gave
this patina of weirdness
to the performance.
Will:
Oh excuse me,
I need some help here.
I'm trying to figure out if this
will work with my Mac.
I'm sorry,
this isn't my section.
You're Will Yorkin.
Cheri Minns:
Robin would just be--
whatever the person
he was with,
he'd be what
they wanted
him to be.
He just didn't operate
like normal people.
He was very vulnerable
that's for sure,
He held
onto a lot of things
and internalized
a lot of things.
He felt everything.
Crystal: He needed that
little extra hug that you can
only get from strangers.
It's a very powerful thing
for a lot of comedians.
That laugh is a--
is a drug.
That... acceptance...
that thrill is
really hard to replace...
with anything else.
Miranda:
Why do you always make
me out to be the heavy?
Oh, lighten up,
will ya?
Just realize you're
spending too much time
with those corporate clones
you used to despise!
I spend
too much time
with you, Daniel!
It's over!
It's over!
(sighs)
Come on, Miranda.
Listen, we've got problems,
but who doesn't?
We could work 'em out.
What are you talking about,
"It's over"?
We've been trying
to work them out for 14 years.
Come on, please. Listen.
Maybe we need
some help, okay?
Maybe we can go
to a family therapist.
They'll help us
through this together.
We have nothing
in common.
Oh, sure we do.
We love each other.
Come on, Miranda.
We love each other.
Robin:
I don't know the great
secrets of acting.
It's like some sort
of Zen concept where
you finally say,
"Okay, what you
think is acting,
don't do that anymore
and-- and stop."
If you just relax,
listen, be in the scene,
you won't have
to worry about finding
that one funny line
or... acting.
If you just
don't interfere
with yourself,
you're quite interesting.
People will register
your thoughts
and they will pick up
on what you're going through
because your face
is accessible.
And you'll be
in character,
the audience
will be following along,
And the most
important thing is
for an audience
to follow
the character through.
Don't do anything
and you'll be amazed
how much you're doing.
Don't do anything.
Just talk.
My wife used to fart
when she was nervous.
She had
all sorts
of wonderful
-little
idiosyncrasies.
-(both laugh)
You know what?
She used to fart
in her sleep.
Sorry I shared
that with you.
Ah, but, Will,
she's been dead two years,
and that's the shit
I remember.
Wonderful stuff,
you know,
little things like that.
Ah, but,
those are the things
I miss the most,
those little idiosyncrasies
that only I knew about.
That's what
made her my wife.
Oh, and she had
the goods on me, too.
She knew
all my little peccadillos.
People call
these things
"imperfections,"
but they're not.
Oh, that's the good stuff.
And then we get
to choose who we let
into our weird little worlds.
You're not perfect, sport.
And let me save you
the suspense:
This girl you met?
She isn't perfect either.
But the question is
whether or not you're
perfect for each other.
That's the whole deal.
That's what intimacy
is all about.
Robin: Every person
is driven by some deep,
deep, deep, deep,
deep, deep, deep,
deep secret,
and finding that
for a character
gives you that
which drives it through.
You look for it
and then you try
and find that essence,
what drives them.
If you can find it,
if you find the right one,
you'll know it.
(panting)
Idle:
He had a restless mind.
His thing was
physical exertion.
He'd go for 60 miles,
70 miles on his bike.
I think that stopped
the thoughts...
'cause the thoughts
can be... disturbing.
I think
he didn't feel worthy.
There's no "I'm wonderful."
No. It was--
it's lack of self-worth
somewhere in there, too.
Announcer:
Welcome to the 2003
Critics' Choice Awards.
The nominees are...
Daniel Day-Lewis
for Gangs of New York...
(applause)
Jack Nicholson
for About Schmidt...
(applause, cheers)
Edward Norton for--
no, I'm just kidding.
-(laughter)
-Um, Robin Williams...
for One Hour Photo.
(cheers, applause)
(gasps)
Drama.
There's been a tie.
I swear to God.
Daniel Day-Lewis
for Gangs of New York...
(cheers, applause)
and Jack Nicholson
for About Schmidt.
Nicholson:
Well, I don't usually
get this baked
-when it's on television.
-(laughter)
Robin, would you
come up and give...
(cheers, applause)
Would you--
would you give the funniest
acceptance speech ever?
What Jack is
trying to say here...
(laughter)
is he's so happy
to be here,
he could drop a log, really.
Nicholson: Until he
got here, I couldn't
think about anything
but spanking Jillian Hall.
I don't what happened to me.
-I could do that all night.
-Robin: Ho, ho, ho, ho!
-Let's do that
for the deaf now.
-Yeah, yeah.
Whoo!
Whoo. Whoo.
I really wanted to say
how grateful I am
to the film critics
for honoring Robin, and...
-(laughter)
-(sighs)
Yeah, thanks for nothing!
(laughter, applause)
-It's a tie
with three people!
-Yeah.
You pretty much said,
"(bleeps) you, Robin."
Thank you,
I hope that's televised!
(Nicholson clears throat)
(laughter)
For those
of you at home...
Jack is getting ready
to bring out a five iron.
Robin, since they didn't
give you an award,
-you can have...
-Oh, thank you.
...both of their names
in the tie.
Thank you.
I want to thank
Jack Nicholson
and Daniel Day-Lewis
for giving me this
piece of paper.
Has their names
on it, not mine.
And I'm glad
to be left out
of this incredible group.
I want to thank Jack
for-- he is, to me,
the greatest actor,
and Daniel Day-Lewis,
the greatest actor.
And... I'm just
a hairy actor.
And it's been
a wonderful evening
for me to--
to walk away
with nothing.
Coming here
with no expectations,
leaving here
with no expectations...
it's pretty much been
a Buddhist evening for me.
-Thank you.
-(applause)
Zak:
His pathos was seeking
to entertain and please.
And... he felt...
when he wasn't doing that,
he was not succeeding...
as a person.
And that was
always hard to see...
because in so many
senses, he is the most
successful person I know...
and yet he didn't
always feel that.
-Good morning
in Kandahar!
-(cheering)
-("Retreat" plays)
-Uh-oh!
-(man shouts)
-(crowd cheering)
-I'm not gonna forget that.
-(laughter)
I've never had
an entire audience just go,
"Forget you!"
(laughter, cheering)
"You have no idea!"
I was also wondering,
"What's coming from that way?"
-(laughter)
-When an entire--
Lewis Black:
He actually called me
and said,
"Do you wanna go
on a USO tour?
"A Christmas tour,
just like--
just like Bob Hope?"
(laughs)
Robin's energy was like
nothing I'd ever seen.
You'd touch down
in the Middle East,
then you're going bam,
bam, bam, bam, bam, bam.
It becomes
a complete blur.
-Get in over here.
-Woman:
All right.
Black:
He hits the ground running
and whosever's there,
getting ready to greet us,
he's already doing a show
and giving them a sense
of how important
they are to him.
Announcer:
Give it up
for Robin Williams!
(cheering)
I hope this shirt says
"I love New York"
and not
"I Lick Camel Balls."
(laughter)
I'm really hoping so.
Black:
And it's every day.
Wherever we are,
doesn't seem to be
any down time for him.
I wish you
from my heart
a Merry Christmas,
Happy Hanukkah,
Happy Kwanzaa
for my brothers.
You know who you are.
Black:
He finishes this,
and he flies immediately
to Vancouver
to start a movie.
And I thought, "Wow.
"Wow. That--
that's-- that's hard-core."
He gave you
a photo? Good.
Merry Christmas, fellas.
Thank you.
Black:
I mean, he was
like the light
that never knew how
to turn itself off.
Zak:
When you have
a parent
who's so giving,
so generous,
and wanting
to give his time
and effort in terms
of entertaining,
but also to causes
and to people...
that was challenging.
That was
really challenging...
sharing and watching
my father give
his time to others.
The selfish part of me
wanted me to keep
our relationship to myself
and, you know, have us
just spend time together.
Half of the year
we'd see him.
Some years
might not be half.
Some years
we'd see him more.
It-it-- it's just the nature
of the business
he was in.
So... yeah.
That's something that
we got used to over time.
Robin:
Sometimes, indirectly,
you're talking to people,
you'll just talk
about shit that--
you would be amazed.
But when in therapy,
when you're talking
to a shrink,
he said,
"Sometimes be careful
"about what
you talk about...
"because you may be
in front of a stage,
"in front
of so many people
"and start talking
about something
you're not ready
to deal with."
There's all these drugs--
Zoloft, Prozac.
I want to have one drug
encompassing it all.
Call it "Fukitol."
(laughter)
I don't feel anything.
I don't want
to do anything.
-Fukitol.
-(laughter)
The closest thing
to a coma you'll ever be.
Fukitol.
I'm sitting here
in my own dung.
Fukitol.
(wind blowing)
Man:
What were you
doing up there?
Robin:
This movie called
The Big White.
Just thinking,
"What am I
doing here?"
This is crazy
and feeling
kind of isolated.
And all of a sudden went,
"Well, there's one cure.
I could drink!"
Ready for a refill?
Does Mrs. Kennedy
have a black dress?
(laughs)
All righty.
Coming up.
Robin:
It went quick.
I started drinking
the tiny little bottles
of Jack Daniels
-the little ones
you get from the--
-Interviewer: Oh, yeah, yeah.
-And I thought,
"This is fine."
-Yeah, it's a small bottle.
And a week later
I was hiding them,
a big bottle
of Jack Daniels,
and just, "Fuck."
It was, you know,
either fear...
sometimes just
the sheer wanting
to run away from it all,
sometimes to run into it all,
and just go, "Fuck it."
Hey, I just went
through the cue cards,
and I'm
telling you,
you're gonna kill.
It's gonna work
like a charm.
Don't worry
about a thing.
Black:
When we were doing
Man of the Year,
he was drinking
around me.
At the bar each night,
usually just before close,
I'd have a couple
glasses of wine,
and then Robin
would come down...
and have a tequila and--
and an espresso.
And he said to me,
"I think I have a problem."
Robin:
I did three years
of just insane shit...
just getting worse
and worse and worse.
We have these things called
"blackouts" as alcoholics.
It's not really blackouts.
It's more like "sleepwalking
with activities."
-Kind of strange.
-(laughter)
I believe it's
your conscience
going into a witness
protection program.
It's your conscience going,
"You're about to fuck a hobbit.
"I gotta go. Good luck.
"I'm gonna leave the dick on,
then after an hour
"I'm opening up the asshole,
"but that didn't
stop you Tuesday.
Good luck. Take care."
Zak:
The struggles that
my father dealt with
I think is really
a symptom of...
just other things
that underlie... the why.
But he would talk
about his--
his addiction... issues.
He'd be pretty
open about it.
Robin:
As an alcoholic, you will
violate your standards
quicker than you
could lower them.
You will do shit that even
the devil would go, "Dude."
(laughter)
And alcoholics,
we're like assholes,
we can't wait to shit
on everybody--
family, friends.
We'll be like,
"Fuck you! Fuck you!
"Fuck you!
Fuck you!
"Go fuck yourself!
Fuck you!
"Fuck! F...
I'm fucked."
They tried to send
my ass to rehab
and I went,
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
And I went to rehab
in wine country,
just to keep
my options open.
Zak:
Being sober and embracing
his sobriety was great...
and he did lean on us
when he needed...
to talk through stuff...
but it was hard.
There's no crutch
in his circumstance.
You can't rely
upon, you know,
a bottle
to comfort you.
Interviewer:
Divorce done?
Robin:
Done and,
you know, dealt with,
I mean, I think
as much love
as we can do
with that situation.
Being around my kids is
really much more like,
"I love you guys.
I live separately,
but I'm okay."
It's difficult for them,
but they're all like--
they've dealt with it.
And I'm, you know,
pretty much like,
"Okay, it's a different game."
Is there
a deaf signer here?
Oh, how cool is that?
Blow me.
(laughter)
Thank you.
It takes--
It takes big balls
to do that in my act.
Thank you.
What a great fucking night.
Wow.
This is gonna be
like Deliverance
with Helen Keller,
this is...
Thank you.
What a wonderful idea.
I'll give you
a break right now,
'cause there's
more shit coming.
-Good luck.
-(laughter)
Nice to be here
in Washington--
I was on the road,
I was performing,
and all of a sudden
I noticed things--
I was just starting
to run down.
I'd finished a show
going, "Oh God."
I was in Miami,
I was about to do
this show, and I said,
"Maybe we should have
a doctor look at this."
I went to do
a stress test,
and I was
on the treadmill
for one minute,
and the doctor went, "Okay,
we got what we need."
My heart was beating
like Tito Puente, like...
(vocalizes fast drumbeat)
Even the cardiologists said,
"It's off the charts!
It's either an earthquake
or he's fucking dying!"
When he was in the hospital
and they were shaving him
and everything like that,
he was making jokes
and everything,
but it was obvious
that he was very,
very frightened.
Crystal:
It was more of a repair
than they originally thought,
it was more complicated,
and it was
really dangerous.
When the operation started,
I started leaving
messages on his phone
as this guy,
Vinnie the valve guy,
who was like
a mechanic character,
who apparently
supplied the valve
and the-- and the mechanics
who were gonna do
the work on him,
like he was an old car.
So when he woke up,
he'd have
15 messages
to laugh to.
Day and half later,
you know, he was in pain,
he'd just gone through
this massive surgery.
He called me.
"Oh God.
"Oh. Oh hilarious.
Can I talk to Vinnie?"
I want to thank everyone
for all your kind letters,
prayers and thoughts.
I just want to let you know
I'm doing better.
See? (laughs)
Thank you.
How long ago
was the surgery?
-Eight weeks ago.
-Eight weeks!
Man, remarkable.
Good for you.
(cheers, applause)
Yes, sir. You and I...
You and I are now
Brotherhood of the Zipper Chest.
That's right. We got it.
Now... there must--
My relationship
with Robin only grew bigger
and stronger
as we grew older.
We were no longer...
kids hanging
around the back
of The Comedy Store.
Did they give you
that button
-where you can
medicate yourself?
-Yes.
Oh, that's a good one
to have, isn't it?
Yes. I still have it.
(laughs)
In the middle of the show--
Letterman: As you grow
older, different things
become more important
and the humanity
of life...
is the great guiding light,
and it was--
it was nice to be able
to share that with Robin,
who was a different guy
by then, you know.
(cheers, applause)
Robin:
I ended up getting
a bovine valve,
which is a cow valve,
which is kind of cool,
'cause you can shit
standing up. That's great.
(mimics thud)
Great to be here.
Nice to be here.
Crystal:
Suddenly he was mortal.
Suddenly life was different.
Suddenly things
got more precious.
Do you feel
it affected you
in terms of your comedy
any differently?
Robin:
You know,
I graze once a week.
I don't think
it affected the comedy.
I think it--
a little bit of terms of--
slightly, I just enjoy
life a little bit--
-you take things
a little bit slower.
-Right.
You don't rush--
stampede as it were.
After the surgery,
you get very emotional.
It's like-- it's like weird.
People go, "How are you?"
(crying)
God! Thanks for asking.
And I got so emotional,
I thought instead of a valve,
they gave me a tiny vagina,
which is like, "What?"
-(laughter)
-"How are you?"
"Much better now,
thank you!
(moans)
"Oh God!
Don't use the paddles.
Just rub me here.
There we go."
Hey, listen, I'm going
on a date tonight,
and...
if you're hungry,
I could fix you
some food
before I go.
You're going
on a date?
With who?
Ms. Reed. Hmm?
(chuckles)
Really?
You're going out
with the TILF?
-That's great!
-The what?
TILF.
"Teacher I'd Like to Fuck."
Nice mouth.
Robin read
the screenplay...
As a favor, initially,
'cause I thought,
"Well, maybe I'll play
a small part."
Yeah, I didn't know this,
like he thought,
"Well, he wrote it,
he's making another movie.
Maybe I'll-I'll--
I'll help him out."
And then he asked
if he could be the guy,
which was
really awesome.
Okay
Chippin' around...
Robin:
I've been through it
with-- over the years,
and you kinda
come through it
out the other side.
It was like,
"Wow, you're alive."
(singer vocalizing)
Robin:
"You're still here, homey.
Let's see what happens."
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about,
watching some good friends...
Robin:
Initially, it was
just supposed to be
diving off the board
fully clothed.
I went,
"I'm shedding
everything.
"It's all gone. This is--
I'm-- I'm freeing
myself totally."
People on streets
Turned away...
And all day long,
I was like,
"Hey, how you doing?
Holy crap."
Hello,
Mr. Diggler.
I do not understand
why you could be...
-Insecure?
-...insecure.
I don't even know
how you--
I just thought you
were bow-legged
all these years.
Interviewer: We're just
waiting for Popeye 2,
the nude version.
-That would be scary.
-Interviewer:
The Nude Naps.
"It eats the spinach. Oh.
Olive, you got no tits
and a tight box."
Did you just say, "It eat--
it eats the spinach"?
Is that Popeye
in Silence
of the Lambs?
-Yeah.
-"It eats the spinach."
You're throwing spinach
down the hole.
"It eats the spinach."
(both laughing)
Craig Ferguson:
Congratulations on getting
married. That's lovely.
-It's wonderful, isn't it?
-Yeah, it's very nice.
Getting married
for the third time,
my best man,
Bobcat, said,
"It's like bringing
a burn victim
-to a firework show."
-(laughter)
Did he say that
during his speech?
-Yes.
-God Bless him.
Isn't that lovely?
Three strikes,
you're out.
That's it.
Yeah. I wouldn't
do that again.
No, if you do it again, that's--
you have to give up
a body part. That's it.
"How many times
you've been married, Bill?"
(mumbles)
"Four times.
Four times."
Years went by,
maybe 20 years...
and I just didn't see him.
So...
that's why I agreed
to do his show.
I wanted
to see him.
(clears throat)
Dad?
-Oh!
-(gasps)
Hey, gang!
May I present
Ms. Lily Schecter?
Dawber:
I could just tell something
was really just not right.
He wasn't that happy
soul that he had been.
His body was stiff
and he wasn't
super sharp.
He looked like
a wax figure.
-Simon?
-Mmm?
Where are you?
You're really
different tonight.
Is there
something wrong?
Dawber:
So I started
questioning him.
No, everything
seemed great.
"The new wife,
she's wonderful.
I want you to meet her,
and everything's great."
And he said, "But I'm
really freaked out,
"because I'm--
I'm losing weight
and I don't know why,
and I'm having tests run."
Idle:
He was here
doing his sitcom,
I watched him once,
and I thought,
"Oh, he's so uncomfortable."
And I invited him
to dinner--
you see, I heard
he was so down--
and then we just made him
laugh and laugh and laugh,
and he just--
"Oh, thank you.
I really needed a laugh."
Romanek:
He came to visit us
and just hung out
at the house all day.
He was shooting
that sitcom
he was doing.
Sort of a sparkle
had gone out of his eye.
And I, you know,
when I said
goodbye,
he said, "Thanks,
I had a really
nice time,"
which I think he
did, there was kids
running around,
new people to meet,
and he talked to
everybody.
But I said,
"Are you all right, Robin?"
And he said,
"Yeah, I'm fine, boss."
And I-- I knew
it wasn't true.
And I-- I don't think
I even said, "Really?"
I just let-- you know,
he didn't want to go there,
and so I gave him a hug.
He didn't really
like to talk about
his issues, you know.
Crystal:
We met at a movie theater.
I was
a little concerned
because I felt
he was very quiet.
When we left each other,
he started to cry.
And I said,
"What's the matter?"
And he said, "Oh,
I'm just so happy
seeing you."
And then he told me
that he had been diagnosed
with Parkinson's.
And when he told me,
I never heard--
I never heard
Robin be afraid...
except for that moment.
Couple of months later,
we were going on vacation,
Janice and I, to Europe.
And... I called him to say
I was gonna
be away, and--
but I'm reachable on--
I said my phone,
I have my computer,
so whatever.
And he says, "Okay. And...
you know I love you."
And I said, "I love
you too, pal."
And... that was the last time
I spoke to him.
(waves crashing)
Newsman:
We have just received word
that the Academy
Award-winning actor
and comedian
Robin Williams has died.
The sheriff's office says
that suicide is suspected.
"God, no.
No, no, no, no.
Can't be.
Can't possibly be."
And so, I just, like--
I lost it at that point.
I really did, so.
Oh.
Can't talk about it.
(crying)
Joe Rogan:
A lot of people were
trying to attribute
all sorts of reasons
for why he did it.
Goldthwait:
Yeah. You know,
Robin was my best pal
and-- and his
coroner's report came out,
and he had
Lewy body dementia.
-Oh.
-Goldthwait:
And I-I witnessed this.
I witnessed
his processing reality
completely different
than the way
everybody else does.
And so when
I think about that,
I think about
how strong he was.
You know he would
have like some days
where he was doing
kind of OCD stuff
and-and-and--
and processing
things incorrectly,
but then you'd have
a day when he was back,
so you go,
"Oh. Well, maybe it's"--
Rogan:
He just had a bad day, or--
No, maybe it's
the Parkinson's drugs,
and they've gotta
get those dialed in.
He was going to doctors.
He was in therapy.
He was doing--
and it just--
the only reason
I talk about that is--
is his brain was
giving him misinformation.
He really was
getting misinformation
from his own brain
and was suffering
from this disease.
(gulls cawing)
In the weeks following
my father's passing,
it was really hard
to kind of... feel anything.
Everything felt very...
raw, and it was hard
to kinda put
everything together.
Bobcat came and visited.
We felt like it would be
a good idea to...
jump in the ocean.
And it turned out to be
a really nice thing to do.
It was good to...
jump in, and--
and actually...
kinda know that...
my father's presence
and spirit was around.
Robin as John Keating:
I would like you to step
forward over here.
Peruse some
of the faces
from the past.
You've walked
past them many times,
but I don't think you've
really looked at them.
They're not that different
from you, are they?
Same haircuts,
full of hormones,
just like you.
Invincible,
just like you feel.
The world
is their oyster.
They believe
they're destined
for great things,
just like
many of you.
Their eyes are
full of hope,
just like you.
Did they wait
until it was too late
to make from their lives
into even one iota
of what they were capable?
Because, you see,
gentleman,
these boys are now
fertilizing daffodils.
But, if you listen
real close...
you can hear them whisper
their legacy to you.
Go on, lean in.
Listen.
You hear it?
(whispers)
Carpe...
Carpe diem.
Seize the day, boys.
Make your lives
extraordinary.
Robin:
You've got to be crazy.
It's too late
to be sane. Too late.
You've got to go
full-tilt bozo.
(laughter)
'Cause you're only given
a little spark of madness,
and if you lose that...
you're nothing.
Note, from me to you...
Don't ever lose that,
'cause it keeps you alive.
Good night,
Robin
Thanks for
all the laughs
Thanks for all
The fun you brought
And all those
Silly photographs
Good night, Robin
Forever in your debt
The way you made us
Laugh and laugh
We never will forget
And though we'll never know
Just why you felt you
had to go
We'll always miss you
And though we wonder why
You made us cry,
we say goodbye
And wish that
we could kiss you
Good night, Robin
Thanks for all the fun
Thanks for all the laughs
you brought
And all the funny
Things you've done
Good night, Robin
It's hateful
That you've gone
But we're grateful
For that fateful day
You came along
Good night, old pal