8/11/2019 Robin Williams Appreciation

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Robin Williams Appreciation -- Master of Laughter, Master of Tears

Aug. 11, 2014, 8:58 PM EST

By Alonso DuraldeTheWrap

The old adage states that every clown wants to playHamlet,butRobin Williamswas one of thefew who did. Granted, he never actually portrayed the melancholy Dane although he did pop

up as Osric in Kenneth Branagh's 1996 versionbutWilliams'career as a stand-up comedian,

sitcom lead, movie star, and occasional stage actor covered an astonishing breadth that rivals thatof any contemporary performer.

Most famous for his manic creations likeMork from OrkandMrs. Doubtfireand the Genie fromDisney's animated "Alladin," Williams had it within himself not just to embrace darkness and

pathos but also to tone his on-screen exuberance way, way down into subtle, minimal

performances.

Like the great movie clowns who preceded him, from Chaplin toJerry Lewis,Williams had anoccasional weakness for bathos, but in just the right role in just the right movie, his creations

were unforgettable.

Photos: A look back at Williams' life

Williams came a long way from his breakout role as alien Mork on TV's "Mork and Mindy," the

role that made rainbow suspenders a momentarily essential accessory for young Gen X-ersduring the late 1970s. His fast-paced, stream-of-consciousness, quasi-lunatic rants were like

nothing that network television had ever seen before, and while the show quickly grew stale, it

was clear that the small screen couldn't contain Williams' talent.

He wasn't just another stand-up who'd gotten lucky, of course during his tenure at Julliard, he

was one of two students (the other wasChristopher Reeve)selected by John Houseman for theschool's advanced program. And it was that level of dramatic training that prepared him for the

greater challenges of the movies.

Related: Stars react to Williams' death

Robert Altman's "Popeye," a production famously plagued with problems, but Williamscommitted to the one-eyed, inflated-forearmed sailor rather than merely falling back on

cartoonish antics. His real breakthrough occurred in "The World According to Garp," working

with director George Roy Hill to make a genuine Everyman out of theJohn Irvingcharacter.

There's no mugging in "Garp," no impersonations, no silly voices, but Williams captures the

unique blend of comedy and tragedy in this frustrated writer surrounded by both familial loveand societal madness. In many ways, "Garp" represents the apex of Williams' on-screen work,

but it indisputably demonstrated his ability to carry a movie and endear himself to an audience

without Mork-ian antics.

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Over the course of a varied film career, he would constantly mix it up, balancing somber films

like "Insomnia," "One Hour Photo," "The Night Listener," and the upcoming "Boulevard" with

mainstream uplift like "Awakenings" and "Dead Poets Society," alongside broad comedies likethe smash hit "Mrs. Doubtfire," which was all set to spawn a sequel before Williams' untimely

passing this week.

Seeing Williams playing a character could be thrilling, but to watch him as himself, showing up

unannounced on a late-night talk show, was equally electricthis was a man who was

obviously exploding with one idea after another, leaping from tangent to tangent to tangent, andwatching him stick the landing was often breathtaking.

He won an Oscar (for"Good Will Hunting"), two Emmys, twoSAG Awards,six Golden Globes,and six Grammys. He co-founded theComic Relief charitywith Billy Crystal andWhoopi

Goldberg.And he spent much of his adult life grappling with various addictions.

Robin Williamswill long be remembered as a brilliant comedian, the rat-a-tat absurdist who

followed Jonathan Winters (a mentor and idol of Williams') and precededJim Carrey.ButWilliams the actor, and his facility at both the broadest of comedy and the moist poignant of

drama, will also play a key role in his legacy.

AsOliver Wendell Holmesonce famously noted, "Laughter and tears are meant to turn thewheels of the same machinery of sensibility; one is wind-power, and the other water-power."

Related stories from TheWrap:

Robin Williams Leaves Behind Four Movies Including 'Night at the Museum 3'

Robin Williams, Oscar-Winning Actor, Dead at 63 of Suicide

How Hollywood Headlines (and Deaths) Spark Wikipedia Page Explosions

Hollywood's Notable Deaths of 2014 (Photos)

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