Robin Williams

Robin WilliamsChad J. McNeeley, U.S. Navy [Public domain]Lights, Cameras, Action! The movies are a place to go where you get rid of your everyday stress through entertainment. Robin Williams was one of the many actors who gave you this much-needed relief and entertainment better than any other. “Robin Williams was born on July 21, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois” (Biography.com Editors) and spent his life devoted to comedy and his acting career. He entertained people in all types of movies and roles. Serious roles in Good Will Hunting, and funny and childish roles in Mrs. Doubtfire (“Robin Williams.” Robin). However, even though his life had many happy moments, movie awards and nominations (“Robin Williams.” Robin) ,it also contained many behind-the-scenes hardships. But, there were more than hardships behind the scenes, there were even greater moments of kindness that most people don't even know about. Robin Williams, an influential actor and comedian of the twentieth century, lived a difficult yet wonderful life that made him the hero he was and filled him with determination and a loving personality that made him beloved.

Hollywood Scott Catron [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]Robin Williams lived a life constantly tiring himself to stay positive in the face of difficult circumstances. He spent his time preparing and refining his acting, and as a result, he was drawn closer to the effects of being a “Hollywood” actor: "Early in his career, Williams began to use drugs and alcohol heavily, and the growing pressures of his film career made the situation worse. On the set of Mork & Mindy [TV show] he suffered panic attacks and used drugs to self-medicate. 'Cocaine has been in Hollywood since the beginning of Hollywood,' he once said during an interview quoted by biographer Andy Dougan in Robin Williams. 'I think it's the pressure--some people snap. I used it to try and kind of numb out and forget; it was a reaction to sometimes try and escape from it all'” ("Robin Williams." Encyclopedia). With Williams’ experiences with drugs, it could have been easy to become a shell of the man he once was, become addicted, and lose his way. After many panic attacks and more health problems, he persevered and through determination he quit drugs entirely, and “in the summer of 2006, Williams suffered a drug relapse. He admitted himself to a rehabilitation facility for alcoholism treatment that August” (Biography.com Editors). Williams had succeeded in persevering through those tough times, but even before this Williams had a lonely childhood:  “They relocated frequently when Robin was young...Williams was basically happy but often lonely, he now says: 'My imagination was my friend, my companion'" (“Robin Williams.” Robin). In addition, “In interviews, he has described his childhood as lonely and himself as shy and chubby...He turned to humor as a way to attract attention” ("Robin Williams." St. James). With these negative effects, Williams had almost no friends from all the moving he went through with his parents. So Williams was determined to make things better and went on from chubby and shy to an amazing comedian. Through his discovery of comedy, he found ways to connect with people better than he ever did before and pursued a career based on this fact. This brought Williams to a point in his life that his childhood self couldn't have possibly imagined, a famed actor and comedian. In Robin Williams’ final moments, after a fantastic career and building a huge influential force over the entire entertainment industry, he died a sudden death: “By mid-summer, Williams's symptoms seemed to lift briefly, but on the evening of August 11, 2014, he was found at his home in Tiburon, having hanged himself with a belt. An autopsy showed that he suffered not from Parkinson's but from the rarer degenerative disease Lewy body dementia. He was 63 years old” (“Robin Williams." Encyclopedia). This was a cowardly act and there is no way to argue around how determination was not present as he proceeded to end his life. But, consider that Williams spent those most recent times before his death suffering from a disease called Lewy Body Dementia, which is similar to Alzheimer's in the way it affects the brain. Even though he had only persevered up until this point, he still lived a determined life to deal with the bad hand life had dealt him. This disease would have slowly taken his comedic personality and literally make him a shell of the man he once was.

Comic Relief with Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and Ted KennedyLaura Patterson [Public domain]Robin Williams’ life was more than just difficult situations he had to push through, it was also a life filled with moments that made him beloved by his friends and fans. Williams was featured in 70 movies (Puig), played all types of roles and created appeal for his own character: "He was one of the rare actors who was able to transcend his comic origins [started as a comedian] and be taken seriously as a dramatic actor. He could play an earnest English professor in Dead Poets Society and a benevolent nanny in Mrs. Doubtfire with equal aplomb" (Puig). Robin Williams was in every American household across the planet and through his roles and comedic flare became an influential actor. But he also became a beloved figure in Hollywood through not only his awards but his fabulous acting skill that made him the one to watch. He appealed to many different types of audiences around the world and that is one of the major reasons he is beloved for his work. Williams also built up an amazing role outside of his movies, and his stand up comedy routines enabled him to help others: “Along with friends Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg, he continues to labor diligently for Comic Relief, a charity for the homeless” ("Robin Williams." St. James). Robin Williams took time out his busy Hollywood life to help others, like the homeless in charities like Comic Relief. Through these actions, he bettered himself through helping others. This made him beloved by the people he helped and saved. Robin Williams represents a hero through his acts of kindness that made him beloved.

Robin Williams, through his acts of determination and his beloved personality, became a hero, and to millions served as an inspiration. In his life, he needed to persevere through drugs, alcohol, and a difficult childhood. He succeeded and paved the way into showing how others going through the same thing could reach his heights of recovery with a little comedy and determination. After his recovery, he also tried to assist others by joining charities and giving them the relaxing relief of comedy through his acting career. He spread his comedy through his roles, stretching through generations to appeal to everyone, transcending his comical origin. He often pushed himself hard in everything he did, cracking jokes or helping others, and was an amazing actor who dealt with difficult situations: “He worked with some of the industry's most challenging and artistic directors...while still taking roles in more predictable blockbusters that are actors' bread and butter” (Puig). He showed determination and his beloved personality his whole life right up till the end. Lights, Cameras, Action! The actor on screen giving you the needed entertainment for your busy life is dancing around and putting on a smile. But, behind the scenes, they have their own complicated and happy lives that the viewers don't know about. Robin Williams lived a life filled with determination and was beloved by everyone that his comedy and entertainment touched. Through these feats, Robin Williams became an inspirational hero.

Works Cited

Biography.com Editors. “Robin Williams.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 22 Jan.

2019, www.biography.com/people/robin-williams-9532797.

Puig, Claudia. "Far more than a funnyman." USA Today, 12 Aug. 2014, p. 01D. Biography In

Context, https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A378105119/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=fa75be33. Accessed 26 Mar. 2019.

"Robin Williams." Encyclopedia of World Biography, vol. 37, Gale, 2017. Biography In Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1631010719/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=efa98aeb. Accessed 21 Mar. 2019.

“Robin Williams.” Robin Williams (Biography Today), Jan. 2010, p. 1. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=b6h&AN=34912889&site=brc-live.

"Robin Williams." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, Gale, 2013. Biography In

Context,

https://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K2419201312/BIC?u=powa9245&sid=BIC&xid=02c658e7. Accessed 26 Mar. 2019.