Facts about the legendary Robin Williams.

43 Absolutely Heartwarming Facts About Robin Williams
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Larger-Than-Life Facts About Robin Williams, A Tormented Genius
March 24, 2023 |
Miles Brucker
Larger-Than-Life Facts About Robin Williams, A Tormented Genius
With a career spanning decades, many of us grew up with Robin Williams. Whether it was Mork & Mindy, Dead Poets Society , or Jumanji , Williams’ frenetic charm and his ability to jump between the hilarious and the heart-wrenching made him an unforgettable part of our lives. When we lost Robin Williams, we lost a little bit of brightness in the world, but we’ll never forget the laughter and joy he brought us. However, there’s so much more to Williams’ story than his most memorable parts or his tragic end—and these facts are proof.
1. He Was A Poor Little Rich Kid
The bombastic Robin Williams we came to know and love was a far cry from the shy kid who grew up in Chicago. For one, Williams was a bit lost in his blended family—each of his parents had a child from a previous marriage. On top of that, both his mother and father worked hard to maintain the family’s affluence and privilege.
Williams was quiet and reserved as a child—but he soon figured out an easy shortcut to get the attention he desperately craved.
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2. He Did It For Love And Attention
When he was still just a kid, Williams figured out that he could make his mother laugh to get her attention. Really, the rest is history. He soon became the class clown at school, and at home, he bonded with the family’s maid—often the only person around for him to talk to. But, at the same time, his bold sense of humor hid a well of pain.
The lack of attention from his parents hurt him much more than he let on—and as time passed, the pain only grew and intensified. Williams, however, was adept at hiding it.
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3. He Had To Fight For Himself
Unfortunately, Willams’ father Robert’s job demanded more than just his time. When Robin was just 12, the whole family moved to Michigan for Robert’s work. Williams lost all his friends and had to start over again at a new school. While he built himself up again, eventually joining the wrestling and soccer teams and becoming class president, it didn’t come easily for him.
The other kids picking on him was a problem, as was a struggle with dyslexia. Williams fought for everything he got in school—an experience that would repeat itself when he got into the world of showbiz later on.
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4. His Life Changed Overnight
Robin Williams had dealt with having his whole life upended before—so when his father decided to retire early and move the family to California, 16-year-old Robin took a deep breath and prepared for another struggle at a new school. But this time, he was in for a massive surprise. His new school was nothing like the stuffy private institution he went to in Michigan.
This was, after all, California in the 60s. Williams even recalls having a teacher who dropped acid at work. The freeform environment was just what he needed, and he developed even more into the man we’d come to know from TV and movies.
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5. He Changed Lanes
By the time he graduated high school, Robin Williams had established himself enough for his classmates to vote him “Funniest,” as well as “Least Likely to Succeed.” It was clear that he had a gift for making people laugh—however, it hadn’t quite clicked that he could make a career out of it. Williams enrolled in a nearby college to study political science, but before long, he had no choice but to face the facts.
After just a few months, he dropped out to pursue acting. His hopes were high—but he had little idea what he was in for.
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6. He Got A Huge Opportunity
After three years of studying acting at a community college, Williams got an opportunity that many dream of, but few get to fulfill. In 1973, he got a full scholarship to the Juilliard School—just one of 20 students that the advanced drama program accepted that year. He was among classmates like Kelsey Grammer , Frances Conroy, and Christopher Reeve (who would go on to become a lifelong friend).
It was the chance of a lifetime—but his path at the school wasn’t always an easy one to walk.
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7. They Didn’t Know What To Do With Him
When Robin Williams arrived at Juilliard, both classmates and staff had no idea what to make of him. As Reeve said, “I’d never seen so much energy contained in one person.” His ability to immediately nail accents blew away his voice and speech teacher, while his nonstop flood of jokes frustrated other instructors. They began to doubt that there was more to him than just comedy— but he had an ace up his sleeve.
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8. He Blew Everyone Away
When Robin Williams got a part in a Juilliard production of a Tennessee Williams’ play, both instructors and classmates had their doubts that he’d be able to pull off a serious role without cracking a joke. Well, when the play opened, they got the surprise of a lifetime—Williams totally nailed the part, with Reeve saying the performance left him “astonished.”
John Houseman had been the one who accepted Williams into the school. Now, he realized he had to sit down with Williams and have a very unexpected conversation.
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9. They Told Him To Leave
John Houseman, a veteran actor and producer, was a man who knew what he was talking about. After all, in 1973, he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Three years later, Houseman sat Williams down and gave him some surprising advice . He told Williams that he’d already learned everything he could at the school. And so, Williams dropped out of Juilliard in his junior year.
It was time to see how far his talent would take him in the real world.
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10. He Left It All Behind
Juilliard had been a rigid space with a classical training style, which never suited Williams particularly well. Harkening back to his exciting move to California as a teen, the now 25-year-old went to San Francisco in 1976. Though a far cry from its hippie heyday, San Francisco still had the same free-wheeling attitude.
Here, Williams honed his stand-up—but not for too long.
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11. He Began Experimenting
Williams quickly grew out of the San Francisco stand-up scene and took his act down the Pacific Coast Highway to Los Angeles. There, he became acquainted with the city’s dark side all too quickly. If San Fran was all flowers and free love, Los Angeles was sensuality, drugs, and rock and roll—and Williams, in particular, got into the second one.
Still, while there was dabbling, it wasn’t getting in the way of his career...yet.
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12. He Got An Unusual Part
It didn’t take long for a TV producer to notice Williams during one of his many stand-up sets. After a few bit parts, Williams got a cameo on Happy Days as a visiting alien named Mork. Had any other actor taken the quirky part, it likely would’ve been immediately forgotten—but Williams made a serious impression on both TV execs and audiences, and it became his big break.
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13. His Show Was A Hit—Until It Burned Out
The spin-off sitcom Mork & Mindy , starring Williams as the alien Mork and Pam Dawber as his roommate and friend Mindy, was a massive hit and aired from 1978 to 1982. Well, at least it was a massive hit...in the beginning. As the show changed its focus from Mork's attempts to fit in on Earth to the budding romantic relationship between the titular characters, the ratings took a dive.
Williams skillfully rode this wave of TV highs and lows—and offscreen, things were just as tumultuous.
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14. He Got To Know The Dark Underbelly Of The Comedy World
The success of Mork & Mindy gave Robin Williams a lot more opportunities in the stand-up world, including a string of HBO specials. But, while filming a sitcom demanded a reg…

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