Actor most well known for comedic impersonations, Robin Williams was born in 1951 in Chicago. He studied theater at Juilliard and worked at night clubs until he was cast as an alien for an episode of Happy Days. That episode spawned the sit-com Mork and Mindy, which lasted four years and made Williams well-known.
In 1987, Williams starred in Good Morning, Vietnam and was nominated for an Academy Award. He also received Academy Award nominations for The Dead Poets Society and Fisher Kings. His role as the psychologist in Good Will Hunting won him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Williams got in a legal dispute with Disney over the 1992 film Aladdin, in which he voiced the Genie. Williams had only taken the role on the condition that his name would not be used in advertising, and that his character's image only take 25% of the space in advertisements. The studio did not follow these conditions, and Williams refused to work on the sequel. The relationship was repaired after a public apology on Williams' part, and he appeared in later Disney films.
Notable Filmography
One Hour Photo - 2002
Artificial Intelligence: AI - 2001
Patch Adams - 1998
Good Will Hunting - 1997
Flubber - 1997
Jack - 1996
The Birdcage - 1996
Jumanji - 1995
Mrs. Doubtfire - 1993
Aladdin - 1992
Hook - 1991
The Fisher King - 1991
Awakenings - 1990
Dead Poets Society - 1989
Good Morning, Vietnam - 1987
Mork and Mindy - 1978-1982
Editor's note: Robin Williams died, aged 63, on August 11, 2014.