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When Robin Williams went off the script
Many of Robin Williams' funniest moments were never in any script. He made them up as he went, on movie sets and TV shows, and once right after a real fall. more
In Dead Poets Society he plays John, who gives his class a lesson on Shakespeare. First comes the version many people know, "Oh Titus, bring your friend hither." Then, with no script asking for it, he slips into Marlon Brando. The film is mostly serious, but the bit never pulls you out of the story.
The Fisher King, from director Terry Gilliam, earned him an Oscar nomination. In one scene he and Jeff Bridges are on a double date with Mercedes Ruehl and Amanda Plummer. Nobody at the Chinese restaurant can keep a talk going, and the awkward moments pile up. The scene seems to have grown out of improv, surprise song and all.
Television got the same treatment. Playing Heads Up with Ellen DeGeneres, he chains accents and voices so fast that the game stops mattering. He goes from a Miley Cyrus bit to Cher to David Beckham, and DeGeneres can't stop laughing. On Whose Line, in a sketch about directors bossing around unruly actors, he makes every partner look good.
Williams took a lot from Jonathan Winters, who meant a great deal to him. On 60 Minutes, he cuts in on his friend and turns into a director. He coaches Winters through new characters, telling him, "I want you to work with your eyes." Once they step outside, the two drift from one strange character to the next, still trading lines like "It's a two shot, work with me."
He stars with Nathan Lane in The Birdcage as Armand Goldman, who owns a drag club in Miami. At the big dinner, Armand slips and falls while carrying a pot of soup. Co-star Hank Azaria says Williams really did slip. He gets right back up and keeps going, though he nearly cracks up as he tells his son to go.
SaveSit-down interviews didn't slow him down. On Inside the Actors Studio, he has the whole room laughing before host James Lipton asks a single question. Then he turns the rest into something close to a stand-up set.
Chris Columbus, who directed Mrs. Doubtfire, let him make things up the whole way through. In one scene his character Daniel makes prank calls to Sally Field's Miranda. One of his made-up callers wants to know if the kids are well behaved or need "a few light slams every now and then." Outtakes show dozens of takes, each with a new voice and a wilder back story.
At the Oscars, he joins his friend Billy Crystal on stage and stands behind him, pretending to dub the host. Still, his biggest playground was the Genie in Aladdin. He gave the animators sixteen hours of material, full of celebrity impressions. They drew the Genie to fit his bursts, like the moment he does Pinocchio, growing nose and all.
SavePeople who grew up with him still say they miss him. As one fan put it, every line he gave sounded made up on the spot, and every one landed right on time.
