People
Robin Williams
Acting · follow into films and chains
Biography
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and comedies alike, he is regarded as one of the greatest comedians of all time. He received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and five Grammy Awards. Williams began performing stand-up comedy in San Francisco and Los Angeles during the mid-1970s, and released several comedy albums including Reality ... What a Concept in 1980. He rose to fame playing the alien Mork in the ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy (1978–1982). He received his first leading film role in Popeye (1980). Williams went on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Good Will Hunting (1997). His other Oscar-nominated roles were for Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), and The Fisher King (1991). Williams starred in the critically acclaimed dramas The World According to Garp (1982), Moscow on the Hudson (1984), Dead Poets Society (1989), Awakenings (1990), Patch Adams (1998), Insomnia (2002), One Hour Photo (2002), and World's Greatest Dad (2009). He also starred in family films such as Hook (1991), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Jumanji (1995), Jack (1996), Flubber (1997), RV (2006), and the Night at the Museum trilogy (2006–2014). He lent his voice to the animated films Aladdin (1992), Robots (2005), Happy Feet (2006), and its 2011 sequel. Williams was found dead at his home in Paradise Cay, California, in August 2014, at the age of 63. At the time of his suicide, he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. According to his widow, Williams had experienced depression, anxiety, and increasing paranoia. His autopsy found "diffuse Lewy body disease" and Lewy body dementia professionals said his symptoms were consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies.
Notable films
Where to start
Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.
Dead Poets Society
Appears in a KinoChain journey
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Jumanji
Appears in a KinoChain journey
Good Will Hunting
As Sean Maguire
Aladdin
As Genie / Peddler (voice)
Mrs. Doubtfire
As Daniel Hillard / Mrs. Doubtfire
Night at the Museum
As Theodore Roosevelt
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
As Theodore Roosevelt
Chains
KinoChain journeys
Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.
It was Miss Scarlet, in the cinema...
Celebrating Lesley Ann Warren's 80th birthday with a journey through board game adaptations, from the witty whodunit of Clue to the explosive naval warfare of B...
8 films
The Classroom Without Walls
From a London schoolroom to a Parisian banlieue, a journey through films where teaching becomes an act of defiance and connection.
8 films
The Weight of the Cape: Inheriting a Legacy You Never Asked For
Before the multiverse had a use for her, Kara Zor-El's first outing wasn't framed as destiny, it was framed as a mistake to fix. She loses the Omegahedron, the...
8 films
Topics
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Related people
Collaborators & neighbours
Acted
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
2024 · Self (archive footage)
Commitment to Life
2023 · Self (archive footage)
Robin's Wish
2020 · Himself (archive footage)
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
2014 · Theodore Roosevelt
The Angriest Man in Brooklyn
2014 · Henry Altmann
The Butler
2013 · Dwight H. Eisenhower
The Big Wedding
2013 · Father Monaghan
Happy Feet Two
2011 · Ramon / Lovelace (voice)
World's Greatest Dad
2009 · Lance Clayton
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
2009 · Theodore Roosevelt
Certifiably Jonathan
2007 · Self
Night at the Museum
2006 · Theodore Roosevelt
Happy Feet
2006 · Ramon / Lovelace (voice)
RV
2006 · Bob Munro
Noel
2004 · Charlie Boyd / The Priest
The Final Cut
2004 · Alan W. Hakman
One Hour Photo
2002 · Seymour "Sy" Parrish
Insomnia
2002 · Walter Finch
Death to Smoochy
2002 · Rainbow Randolph
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
2001 · Dr. Know (voice)
Bicentennial Man
1999 · Andrew
Patch Adams
1998 · Patch Adams
Deconstructing Harry
1997 · Mel
Good Will Hunting
1997 · Sean Maguire
Hamlet
1996 · Osric
The Birdcage
1996 · Armand Goldman
Jumanji
1995 · Alan Parrish
Mrs. Doubtfire
1993 · Daniel Hillard / Mrs. Doubtfire
Aladdin
1992 · Genie / Peddler (voice)
The Fisher King
1991 · Parry
Dead Again
1991 · Cozy Carlisle
Hook
1991 · Peter Banning / Peter Pan
Awakenings
1990 · Malcolm Sayer
Cadillac Man
1990 · Joey O'Brien
Dead Poets Society
1989 · John Keating
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
1988 · King of the Moon
Good Morning, Vietnam
1987 · Adrian Cronauer
Popeye
1980 · Popeye