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Remembering Robin Williams (1951-2014)

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“You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn’t lose it.”

It is a sad moment in Hollywood. The great Robin Williams passed away on Monday, August 11th, at his home in Tiburin, California at the age of 63.

Williams was a beloved and multi-talented individual, who was primarily known for his uniquely animated personality. He first rose to fame as the alien Mork in the hit ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy between 1978 and 1982. Shortly after, his career in both stand-up comedy and feature films quickly flourished, starring in widely acclaimed films, such as Dead Poets Society (1989), Good Will Hunting (1997), Hook (1991), Aladdin (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Jumangi (1995), and Happy Feet (2006).

These were only but a few of the admired films Williams was featured in. The skilled dramatic actor, who knew exactly how to make us laugh and cry (sometimes at the same time), received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for portraying a psychologist in Good Will Hunting. In addition, the actor rightly received two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and five Grammy Awards.

As news of his tragic death spread Monday afternoon, social media was overflowing with tributes and remembrances dedicated to the legendary comedian and actor.

And the most heart-wrenching of them all:

To remember the legendary Robin Williams, click “Next” to view some of his all-time most memorable roles.

Mork in Mork & Mindy (1978-1982)

Mork & Mindy, a spin-off of Happy Days, was Williams’ first real exposure to mainstream audiences. He starred as Mork, an alien who comes to Earth from the planet Ork in a small, one-man egg-shaped spaceship. Pam Dawber co-starred as Mindy McConnell, his human friend and roommate.

DJ Adrian Cronauer in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

Williams received his first of four career Oscar nominations for his work as the freewheeling DJ Adrian Cronauer in Good Morning, Vietnam. Based on real events, it is set in 1965, when Cronauer takes over the AFR’s Saigon radio broadcast. In contrast to the dull DJs that have preceded him, Cronauer is a bundle of dynamite, announcing each broadcast with a loud, “Goooooood morning, Vietnaaaaam!”

John Keating in Dead Poet’s Society (1989)

Dead Poets Society was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Williams, who toned down his usually manic comic approach in this drama, portraying school teacher Mr. Keating in a traditional and rigid school. Mr. Keating is an unconventional educator who introduces his students to poetry and creates a place where they can truly be themselves. He inspires his students to seize the day and live their lives boldly; but in the end when this philosophy leads to an unexpected tragedy, the headmaster fires Keating, and his students leap to his defense.

Dr. Malcolm Sayer in Awakenings (1990)

Williams earned a 1991 Golden Globe nomination for Best Dramatic Actor for his powerful performance as Dr. Malcolm Sawyer in Awakenings. Throughout the movie we see how he bonds with his patients, those who were victims of an encephalitis epidemic and have been immobile. The new drug, provided by Sawyer, offers the prospect of reviving them.

Parry in The Fisher King (1991)

In The Fisher King, Williams plays a crazed but witty homeless man named Parry who became unhinged after witnessing his wife’s death unintentionally caused by former radio DJ Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges). A remorseful Jack soon realizes that to save himself, he first must save Parry, a role which landed Williams his third and final Academy Award Best Actor nomination.

Peter Banning/Peter Pan in Hook (1991)

Williams plays Peter Banning, a 40-year-old mergers and acquisitions lawyer, who lost his memory of ever being Peter Pan. With the encouragement of Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts), Banning reclaims his youthful spirit and flies off to Never Land to challenge his old enemy Hook and to rescue his kids.

Genie in Aladdin (1992)

Williams’ epically hilarious voicing of the Genie in Aladdin will forever be one to remember. After being discovered in a lamp by the street-savvy urchin, Genie joins in Aladdin’s quest to marry Jasmine and defeat Jafar. Williams’ Genie, who can change into anything or anybody, steals the show as he launches into one crazed monologue after another, impersonating figures from Ed Sullivan to Elvis Presley.

Daniel Hillard/Mrs. Doubtfire in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

In the family classic film Mrs. Doubtfire, Williams plays Daniel Hillard, an eccentric actor who specializes in dubbing voices for cartoon characters. Daniel, determined to stay in contact with his kids after divorcing his wife, gets a job as a housekeeper disguised as Mrs. Iphegenia Doubtfire, who is a stern but caring Scottish nanny. A sequel was planned for 2015.

Alan Parrish in Jumanji (1995)

Williams plays Alan Parrish, a boy who gets trapped in a board game for decades in this family fun film Jumanji. When two kids release him back to the present time, computer-animated creatures of the jungle are set loose on the city. The only way to stop the dangers is to finish the tormenting game.

Armand Goldman in The Birdcage (1996)

Williams plays Armand Goldman in The Birdcage, a gay cabaret owner in South Miami Beach. His long-time lover Albert (Nathan Lane) stars there as the drag queen Starina. They both agree to put up a false heterosexual front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée’s right-wing moralistic parents.

Jack Powell in Jack (1996)

Williams stars as the titular character Jack, a boy who has an unusual aging disorder that has aged him four time faster than a normal human being. He enters the fourth grade for the first time as a 10-year-old boy who appears to be a fully grown man in his 40s.

Dr. Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting (1997)

Williams won the 1998 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Sean Maguire, a therapist who draws the assignment of helping Will Hunting (Matt Damon) realize his full potential in both academia and as a human being. Their meetings together revealed a lot about the characters as well as the actors themselves, which resulted in more serious roles for Williams and igniting Matt Damon’s career.

Professor Phillip Brainard in Flubber (1997)

Williams plays Professor Phillip Brainard in the kid-friendly film Flubber. After creating rubber that allows objects to fly through the air, he calls it flubber. This film is based on the 1961 Disney classic, The Absent-Minded Professor.

Andrew Martin in Bicentennial Man (1999)

In this Chris Colombus sci-fi family film, Bicentennial Man, Williams plays a domestic android named Andrew Martin. Andrew seems capable of expressing emotion and generating original thoughts, and the longer he stays with the Martins, the more strongly these human traits manifest themselves. Over the next 200 years, Andrew becomes less a machine and more a member of the family, until a mechanic (Oliver Platt) tells Andrew that he might be able to turn him into a human being.

Lance Clayton in World’s Greatest Dad (2009)

Williams stars as Lance Clayton, a man who dreamed of being a rich and famous writer, in the dark comedy World’s Greatest Dad. When his son’s body is found in a humiliating accident, Clayton, a high school poetry teacher, attracts an overwhelming amount attention after covering up the truth with a phony suicide note.

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