“You – Only You – Will Have Stars That Can Laugh”: Remembering Robin Williams [Video]
I saw Robin Williams perform stand up comedy at a small club in Detroit when I was still in college. He made it look so easy, I thought I could do it. (I couldn't, at least not the way he did.)
It's not easy, and it's even harder the way he did it, with one hand in the improv pocket.
The world is a sadder place because I can never laugh the way Robin made me laugh ever again. Here are five videos I love of Robin.
While many felt the most inspirational movie Robin did was "Dead Poets Society", I prefer this scene from his Oscar winning role in "Good Will Hunting", where his character rips into Will and teaches him a lesson about the difference between book learning and life experience.
No doubt, Robin's best skill was stand up comedy. Here he reveals to Charlie Rose that stand up comedy was a release, and turns what is traditionally a stuffy talk show into more laughs.
Robin was always a great guest on the late night talk shows, where the hosts could give him room to improvise and go off on tangents. Here is one of the interviews that David Letterman calls "the weirdest of his career".
To show his ability as a stand up comic, here's his take on the invention of golf, which shows off his improv skills as he deconstructs the sport down to its core. (WARNING! BAD LANGUAGE!)
And last, but not least, one of the most underrated Williams' film is "World's Greatest Dad", a super dark comedy, written by his longtime friend Bobcat Goldthwait, about a father who co-opts his son's death to benefit his own career. Here's a funny clip where a student tries to pass off a Queen song as his own.
Robin Williams Fast Facts
nominated for Best Actor three times
won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Good Will Hunting
won two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Grammy Awards
attended Juilliard with Christopher Reeve
loved video games ... named his daughter after Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda video game
loved cycling and owned 50 bikes
drove a Toyota Prius
always wanted to play The Riddler in a Batman movie
supported St. Jude Children's Research Hospital