50 Fun Facts About Robin Williams

In which city was Robin Williams born on July 21, 1951?

He was born at St. Luke's Hospital; the family later moved to Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and then Tiburon, California.

Williams's father, Robert, was a senior executive at which car company?

He worked in the Lincoln-Mercury Division, and the family lived in a 40-room farmhouse in Bloomfield Hills when Robin was 12.

Which future Superman actor was admitted to Juilliard's Advanced Program alongside Robin Williams by John Houseman?

Williams left Juilliard in his junior year in 1976 after Houseman suggested the school had nothing more to teach him.

Williams's first stand-up performance, in 1976, was at a comedy club in which city?

The club was the Holy City Zoo; he later moved to Los Angeles and worked rooms including the Comedy Store.

Williams was cast as the alien Mork in a 1978 episode of which sitcom, before getting his own spin-off?

Garry Marshall cast him in the episode 'My Favorite Orkan'.

Mork & Mindy is set in which Colorado city?

Mork arrives on Earth in an egg-shaped spacecraft; Pam Dawber played Mindy, and the show ran on ABC from 1978 to 1982.

Which veteran comedian joined Mork & Mindy's final season as Mearth, the couple's child born looking elderly?

Winters was Williams's comedy idol, and Orkan biology explained why the baby aged backwards.

Williams's first starring film role was as which comic-strip character, in a 1980 Robert Altman musical?

The Sweethaven set built in Malta is still standing as a tourist attraction, and Shelley Duvall played Olive Oyl.

The Sweethaven set from Williams's 1980 musical still stands on which island?

The site is now known as Popeye Village, and Harry Nilsson wrote the film's songs.

Williams earned his first Oscar nomination as a real-life Armed Forces Radio DJ in which 1987 film?

Barry Levinson directed, and most of the radio-broadcast scenes were improvised.

Which real Saigon DJ's experiences loosely inspired Williams's 1987 breakthrough film?

The film is set in 1965 and was shot entirely in Thailand, in temperatures over 104°F.

In Dead Poets Society (1989), John Keating's fictional academy is in which state?

Peter Weir directed, Tom Schulman won the Oscar for the screenplay, and the story is set in 1959 at Welton Academy.

In Awakenings (1990), Williams's Dr Malcolm Sayer is modelled on which neurologist and author?

Penny Marshall directed, and Robert De Niro was Oscar-nominated as Leonard Lowe, a patient revived by the drug L-DOPA.

Which Monty Python member directed The Fisher King (1991), with Robin Williams as homeless Parry?

Jeff Bridges played the shock jock Jack Lucas, and Mercedes Ruehl won Best Supporting Actress.

In Steven Spielberg's Hook (1991), Williams plays a grown-up Peter Pan who has become what?

Dustin Hoffman played Hook, Julia Roberts was Tinker Bell and Maggie Smith played the elderly Wendy.

Williams voiced Aladdin's Genie for about $75,000 instead of his usual fee of roughly how much?

His condition was that his name and image not be used to sell merchandise, a deal Disney then broke.

To apologise over Aladdin marketing, Disney sent Williams a painting by which artist?

It was a self-portrait of the artist as Van Gogh, and it reportedly clashed with the Williams family's décor; he still refused to do the direct-to-video sequel.

Roughly how many hours of tape did Williams record improvising as the Genie?

The Golden Globes gave him a Special Achievement Award for the performance, since animated voice work had no category.

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), in which Williams's divorced father poses as a nanny, is set in which city?

The house at 2640 Steiner Street became a landmark; the film won the Oscar for Best Makeup and grossed $441 million.

Mrs. Doubtfire was based on a 1987 novel by which British children's author?

Chris Columbus directed and Sally Field played the ex-wife, Miranda.

In Jumanji (1995), Alan Parrish is trapped inside the board game for how many years?

The film, directed by Joe Johnston, is set in the fictional town of Brantford, New Hampshire, and based on Chris Van Allsburg's 1981 picture book.

The Birdcage (1996) is an American remake of which French-Italian film?

Mike Nichols directed, Nathan Lane played his partner Albert, and the cast won the Screen Actors Guild ensemble award.

Williams won his only Oscar for playing therapist Sean Maguire in which film?

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck won Best Original Screenplay the same night; Gus Van Sant directed.

In the film that won Williams his Oscar, his character teaches psychology at which institution?

The famous bench scene between Sean and Will was filmed in the Boston Public Garden.

In which 1998 film does Williams play a real-life doctor who treats patients with humour and compassion?

The same year he starred in What Dreams May Come, a fantasy about the afterlife.

Bicentennial Man (1999) is based on a story by which science-fiction author?

Chris Columbus directed, and Greg Cannom's makeup was Oscar-nominated.

In Insomnia (2002), Williams's murderer is pursued through Alaska by a sleep-deprived detective played by whom?

The same year he played a disturbed photo technician in One Hour Photo, completing a dark double bill.

In One Hour Photo (2002), Williams's Sy Parrish works the photo counter of which fictional big-box store?

Mark Romanek wrote and directed, and Williams won the Saturn Award for Best Actor.

In the Night at the Museum films, Williams plays a wax figure of which US president?

The figure wears a Rough Rider uniform; Ben Stiller plays night guard Larry Daley at the American Museum of Natural History.

In 1986 Williams co-founded Comic Relief USA with Whoopi Goldberg and which other comedian?

The HBO benefit for the homeless had raised $80 million by 2014, and the two friends also made an unscripted cameo together on Friends in 1997.

On the USO circuit, Williams travelled to 13 countries and performed for approximately how many troops?

His stand-up specials for HBO included Off the Wall (1978) and A Night at the Met (1986).

Williams's daughter, born in 1989, was named after a princess in which video game series?

His sons are Zachary, born 1983, and Cody, born 1991.

Which hobby did Robin Williams take up partly as a substitute for drugs?

He became a devoted fan of professional road racing as well as a rider.

Robin Williams was partying with which SNL comedian the night before he died of an overdose in 1982?

The death was a turning point that helped push Williams to quit drugs and alcohol.

In March 2009 Williams postponed a tour for surgery to replace which part of his heart?

The operation at the Cleveland Clinic also repaired his mitral valve and corrected an irregular heartbeat.

What was the name of the 26-city stand-up tour Williams launched in 2009 after a six-year break?

The tour was delayed by his heart surgery and finally opened at the end of September 2009.

Which CBS sitcom starring Williams as an advertising executive premiered in 2013 and lasted one season?

Sarah Michelle Gellar co-starred as his daughter.

How many Grammy Awards did Williams win over his career?

He also won two Primetime Emmys, two SAG Awards and the Golden Globes' Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2005.

Williams was named a Disney Legend in which year?

The honour came fifteen years after his falling-out with the studio over the Genie.

Williams's 2014 autopsy revealed diffuse Lewy bodies, a condition that had been misdiagnosed as what?

He had been diagnosed with early-stage Parkinson's and had not made it public.

Williams married his third wife, graphic designer Susan Schneider, in which year?

His earlier marriages were to Valerie Velardi (1978-1988) and Marsha Garces (1989-2010).

Williams enrolled to study political science at which California institution before dropping out?

He then studied theatre for three years at the College of Marin before winning a place at Juilliard.

Williams's mother was the great-granddaughter of a senator and governor of which state?

Laurie McLaurin, a former model from Jackson, descended from Anselm J. McLaurin.

Which Tennessee Williams play saw Robin Williams silence Juilliard critics by playing an old man?

His teacher Michael Kahn had dismissed his antics as mere stand-up; Christopher Reeve said he simply was the old man.

During his Juilliard summers, Williams worked as a busboy at The Trident in which California town?

He left Juilliard in 1976 after John Houseman suggested the school had nothing more to teach him.

At which San Francisco club did Williams give his first stand-up set, after tending bar there?

David Letterman later recalled seeing the newcomer at Hollywood's Comedy Store and thinking, 'there goes my chance in show business'.

What did Williams do at his Mork audition when asked to take a seat?

Garry Marshall needed a last-minute replacement for the 1978 Happy Days episode 'My Favorite Orkan' and was won over by the quirky humour.

Williams appeared opposite Steve Martin in a 1988 off-Broadway staging of which play?

His actual Broadway debut came much later, in Rajiv Joseph's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo in 2011.

Who voiced the Genie in The Return of Jafar after Williams refused to sign on for the sequel?

Williams was angry that Disney had broken an agreement about using the Genie in Aladdin's advertising.

Which Harry Potter role did Williams want, only to be blocked by a British-only casting rule?

Casting director Janet Hirshenson revealed that director Chris Columbus turned him down.