Photo: Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP
Here, on what would have been his 72nd birthday, remember the late actor’s life in photos.
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FUNNY BEGINNINGS
Courtesy Robin Williams
02of 19BEST IN CLASSFrank Edwards/GettyBy the ’70s, he took that talent to New York City’s prestigious Juilliard School. There, he befriended classmate Christopher Reeve (here with Williams at the 1979 People’s Choice Awards). “I’d sit back and hope to catch the girls that were downstream,” helater joked to PEOPLE.
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BEST IN CLASS
Frank Edwards/Getty
By the ’70s, he took that talent to New York City’s prestigious Juilliard School. There, he befriended classmate Christopher Reeve (here with Williams at the 1979 People’s Choice Awards). “I’d sit back and hope to catch the girls that were downstream,” helater joked to PEOPLE.
03of 19PLANET HOLLYWOODEverettReaching for the stars took a literal turn when Williams portrayed Mork, an alien from Planet Ork, onHappy Daysin 1978. His extraterrestrial performance earned him and costar Pam Dawber an ABC spin-off calledMork & Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982.
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PLANET HOLLYWOOD
Everett
Reaching for the stars took a literal turn when Williams portrayed Mork, an alien from Planet Ork, onHappy Daysin 1978. His extraterrestrial performance earned him and costar Pam Dawber an ABC spin-off calledMork & Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982.
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FIRST LOVE
Ron Galella/WireImage
05of 19
PARTY ANIMAL
06of 19CAUSE CELEBSHBO/GettyWilliams took his act to the road on multiple stand-up tours, includingAn Evening with Robin Williams(1982) andRobin Williams: At the Met. He also brought the laughs for a good cause: Beginning in 1986, he teamed up with Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal for theComic Relief special, a star-studded HBO telethon benefiting the homeless. “There were no cell phones when we started. There were just phones in the old days,” he joked to PEOPLE when the special returned in 2006 after a hiatus.
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CAUSE CELEBS
HBO/Getty
Williams took his act to the road on multiple stand-up tours, includingAn Evening with Robin Williams(1982) andRobin Williams: At the Met. He also brought the laughs for a good cause: Beginning in 1986, he teamed up with Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal for theComic Relief special, a star-studded HBO telethon benefiting the homeless. “There were no cell phones when we started. There were just phones in the old days,” he joked to PEOPLE when the special returned in 2006 after a hiatus.
07of 19A CHANGE OF HEARTGary Lewis/Polaris"Right now I’m moving through my personal life like a hemophiliac in a razor factory," Williams said in 1988 amid marital struggles. The comedian found himself torn between wife Valerie and Marsha Garces, the couple’s 20-something live-in nanny for son Zachary. They married in 1989 and had two children (Zelda Rae and Cody Alan) beforedivorcing in 2008 after 19 years of marriage.
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A CHANGE OF HEART
Gary Lewis/Polaris
“Right now I’m moving through my personal life like a hemophiliac in a razor factory,” Williams said in 1988 amid marital struggles. The comedian found himself torn between wife Valerie and Marsha Garces, the couple’s 20-something live-in nanny for son Zachary. They married in 1989 and had two children (Zelda Rae and Cody Alan) beforedivorcing in 2008 after 19 years of marriage.
08of 19COURTING OSCAREverettWilliams’s career took a serious turn in 1987 when he portrayed convention-defying Armed Forces Radio Service deejay Adrian Cronauer in the war comedyGood Morning, Vietnam. The performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, as well as a Golden Globe Award.
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COURTING OSCAR
Williams’s career took a serious turn in 1987 when he portrayed convention-defying Armed Forces Radio Service deejay Adrian Cronauer in the war comedyGood Morning, Vietnam. The performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, as well as a Golden Globe Award.
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WORDS TO LIVE BY
Touchstone Pictures
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NO DOUBT ABOUT IT
Layers of prosthetics and a shiny gray wig turnedMrs. Doubtfireinto a 1993 hit and transformed the actor into America’s favorite nanny. In April 2014, it was reported thata sequelto the family classic is in development at Fox 2000.
11of 19FAMILY MANWireImageThe father of three (Zachary, Zelda and Cody) credited his children for helping him commit to sobriety. “If I had a choice to erase from my life something, I would leave all the memories of my children,” hesaid in 2006, “even the memories when they misbehave because it is still extraordinary.”
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FAMILY MAN
WireImage
The father of three (Zachary, Zelda and Cody) credited his children for helping him commit to sobriety. “If I had a choice to erase from my life something, I would leave all the memories of my children,” hesaid in 2006, “even the memories when they misbehave because it is still extraordinary.”
12of 19BIRD IS THE WORDEverettThree years afterMrs. Doubtfire, Williams once again helped bring drag to the big screen in 1996’s dazzlingThe Birdcage, a remake of the 1978La Cage aux Folles. Contrasting his performance with costar Nathan Lane’s,PEOPLE’s criticpointed out his layered performance, writing, “Williams, on the other hand, is unusually sensitive. He lets a lot of bruised hurt seep through the comic froth.”
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BIRD IS THE WORD
Three years afterMrs. Doubtfire, Williams once again helped bring drag to the big screen in 1996’s dazzlingThe Birdcage, a remake of the 1978La Cage aux Folles. Contrasting his performance with costar Nathan Lane’s,PEOPLE’s criticpointed out his layered performance, writing, “Williams, on the other hand, is unusually sensitive. He lets a lot of bruised hurt seep through the comic froth.”
13of 19BOSTON (UN)COMMONRex-USAWilliams took an unusual turn for the dramatic, playingMatt Damon’stherapist in 1997’sGood Will Hunting, and Hollywood noticed, rewarding him with an Oscar. “It’s the same sense I had onDead Poets Society, that there was something really powerful there,“he toldBostonmagazinein 2013. “I just knew it was a really beautiful piece of writing that’s worth doing, getting it out there. That alone, you gotta say, ‘I gotta take the shot.'”
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BOSTON (UN)COMMON
Rex-USA
Williams took an unusual turn for the dramatic, playingMatt Damon’stherapist in 1997’sGood Will Hunting, and Hollywood noticed, rewarding him with an Oscar. “It’s the same sense I had onDead Poets Society, that there was something really powerful there,“he toldBostonmagazinein 2013. “I just knew it was a really beautiful piece of writing that’s worth doing, getting it out there. That alone, you gotta say, ‘I gotta take the shot.'”
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WINNING BIG
Mike Blake/Reuters/Landov
15of 19REHAB REDONEArthur Grace/ZUMAAfter 20 years of sobriety, Williamsre-entered rehabin August 2006, seeking treatment for alcohol abuse. That October,he spoke toGood Morning Americaabout his addiction. “There’s a voice and it’s a little quiet voice that goes, ‘Jump,'” he explained. “That same voice that goes, ‘Just one.’ And the idea of just one for someone who has no tolerance for it, that’s not the possibility.”
15of 19
REHAB REDONE
Arthur Grace/ZUMA
After 20 years of sobriety, Williamsre-entered rehabin August 2006, seeking treatment for alcohol abuse. That October,he spoke toGood Morning Americaabout his addiction. “There’s a voice and it’s a little quiet voice that goes, ‘Jump,'” he explained. “That same voice that goes, ‘Just one.’ And the idea of just one for someone who has no tolerance for it, that’s not the possibility.”
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STAGE RIGHT
WENN
17of 19THIRD TIME’S THE CHARMJim Ruymen/LandovWilliamsmarried his third wife, Susan Schneider, in Napa Valley, California, in October 2011. The two met before the actor underwent heart surgery in 2009, and Schneider, a graphic designer, reportedly helped nurse the star back to health following his procedure.
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THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM
Jim Ruymen/Landov
Williamsmarried his third wife, Susan Schneider, in Napa Valley, California, in October 2011. The two met before the actor underwent heart surgery in 2009, and Schneider, a graphic designer, reportedly helped nurse the star back to health following his procedure.
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Richard Cartwright/CBS
With nearly 100 acting credits under his belt, Williams returned to the small screen, joiningSarah Michelle Gellaron the CBS seriesThe Crazy Ones. “The idea of having a steady job is appealing,“he toldParade. “There are bills to pay. My life has downsized, in a good way.”
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A SAD GOODBYE
Reed Saxon/AP
source: people.com
