Oh Captain, My Captain: Remembering the legendary Robin Williams
"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."
Academy Award winning character actor Robin Williams has passed away from a suspected suicide, via asphyxiation, according to the Marin County Coroner's office.
In a statement the police said "At this time, the Sheriff's Office Coroner Division suspects the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia, but a comprehensive investigation must be completed before a final determination is made."
His publicist Mara Buxbaum said that the actor had been battling depression recently "This is a tragic and sudden loss, the family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time."
Survived by his wife Susan Schneider, who released a statement "This is a tragic and sudden loss, the family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time."
I am utterly heartbroken. On behalf of Robin's family, we are asking for privacy during our time of profound grief.
As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin's death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions."
To celebrate the life of such an amazing performer, The Fan Carpet have put together our most memorable performances from a career that spanned four decades...
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Mork & Mindy (1978-1982) Williams played Mork, an alien visitor from the Planet Ork with the signature greeting 'Nano Nano'. This hilarious and bizarre comedy saw Mork come to Earth in an egg to investigate Earth and report back to his superiors. As an outsider, Mork is unfamiliar with human customs and often questions some of the strange traditions that we take for granted. Much of the humor relies on Williams' unique comic voices and mannerisms. He went on to cross over into Happy Days 1978 and 1979. |
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Williams portrayed the titular hero Popeye. This live action adaptation of the beloved classic cartoon, saw Williams as the spinach munching sailor who travels to a seaside town called Sweethaven, falls in love with Olive Oyl, adopts Swee'pea, and makes an enemy of Bluto. |
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Williams portrayed Adrian Cronauer a DJ, whose signature greeting was 'Good morning Vietnam'. A new Disc Jockey is shipped from Crete to Vietnam to bring humor to Armed Forces Radio. He turns the studio on its ear and becomes wildly popular with the troops but runs afoul of the middle management who think he isn't G.I. enough. While he is off the air, he tries to meet Vietnamese especially girls, and begins to have brushes with the real war that never appears on the radio. |
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Williams played John Keating, an inspirational English Professor. Painfully shy Todd Anderson has been sent to the school where his popular older brother was valedictorian. His room-mate, Neil, although exceedingly bright and popular, is very much under the thumb of his overbearing father. The two, along with their other friends, meet Professor Keating, their new English teacher, who tells them of the Dead Poets Society, and encourages them to go against the status quo. Each, in their own way, does this, and are changed for life. |
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Williams portrayed beloved literary icon Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. In this live action version of Peter Pan from filmmaking legend Steven Spielberg, Williams portrayed Peter Banning an adult Peter Pan, who must travel back to Neverland in order to save his children who have been kidnapped by the villainous Captain Hook and remember who he once was. |
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FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) Williams lent his distant vocal talents to the mad cap bat Batty Koda. The fairy people of FernGully have never seen humans before, but when Chrysta sees one, Zak, she accidentally shrinks him down to her size. But there is trouble in FernGully, for Zak is part of a logging team who is there to cut down the forest. |
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Aladdin (1993) and Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996) Williams lent his voice to the Genie of the Lamp, he had so many quotable lines including 'Ten thousand years, can give you such a crick in the neck… hang on a second', 'Let's make some magic!', 'kinda fond of you kid' and 'no matter what anybody says, you'l always be a Prince to me'. Aladdin is a street-urchin who lives in a large and busy town long ago with his faithful monkey friend Abu. When Princess Jasmine gets tired of being forced to remain in the palace that overlooks the city, she sneaks out to the marketplace, where she accidentally meets Aladdin. Under the orders of the evil Jafar (the sultan's advisor), Aladdin is thrown in jail and becomes caught up in Jafar's plot to rule the land with the aid of a mysterious lamp. Legend has it that only a person who is a "diamond in the rough" can retrieve the lamp from the Cave of Wonders. Aladdin might fit that description, but that's not enough to marry the princess, who must (by law) marry a prince. |
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Williams portrayed Leslie Zevo. An eccentric toymaker's last wish is that his brother takes over the running of the business. The brother is a military General, and is out of touch with toymaking, and out of touch with reality too. The business should really have been given to Leslie, who was much more like his toymaking father. When the General starts making weapons instead of toys, Leslie decides to take action. |
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Williams portrayed Daniel Hillard / Mrs. Doubtfire. This touching drama/ comedy saw Williams as Daniel Hillard, after a bitter divorce he took on the persona of Mrs. Doubtfire, a housekeeper in order to spend time with his children. |
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Williams portrayed Alan Parrish and is known for fighting off an alligator and known for lines like 'Run! IT'S A STAMPEDE!', 'Beware of the ground for which you stand / The floor is quicker than the sand' and 'In the Jungle you must wait, till the dice reads five or eight.' When two kids find and play a magical board game, they release a man trapped for decades in it and a host of dangers that can only be stopped by finishing the game. |
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Williams portrayed the title character Jack Powell. Because of an unusual aging disorder that has aged him four times faster than a normal human being, a boy enters the fifth grade for the first time with the appearance of a 40 year old man. |
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Williams played the eccentric and brilliant Professor Philip Brainard. Professor Phillip Brainard, an absent-minded professor, works with his assistant Weebo, trying to create a substance that's a new source of energy and that will save Medfield College where his sweetheart Sara is the president. He has missed his wedding twice, and on the afternoon of his third wedding, Professor Brainard creates flubber, which allows objects to fly through the air. It looks like rubber, so he calls it flubber. This film is based on the 1961 Disney classic, "The Absent-Minded Professor. |
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Williams won an Oscar for his portrayal of Sean Maguire. A touching tale of a wayward young man who struggles to find his identity, living in a world where he can solve any problem, except the one brewing deep within himself, until one day he meets his soul mate who opens his mind and his heart. |
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Williams played the title character Patch Adams. an unorthodox medical student who treats patients with humour. Patch Adams is determined to become a medical doctor because he enjoys helping people. Unfortunately, the medical and scientific community does not appreciate his methods of healing the sick, while the actual patients, medical professors, and hospital nurses all appreciate the work *he* can do, because they are unable to do it. |
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Williams played Andrew Martin. This film follows the 'life' and times of the lead character, an android who is purchased as a household robot programmed to perform menial tasks. Within a few days the Martin family realizes that they don't have an ordinary droid as Andrew begins to experience emotions and creative thought. In a story that spans two centuries, Andrew learns the intricacies of humanity while trying to stop those who created him from destroying him. |
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Williams portrayed Walter Finch an unsuccessful author who came to Alaska because he needs peace and privacy to write. He seems calm but he reacts with high aggression when someone disapproves him. Sent from the city to investigate the murder of a teenage girl in a small Alaska town, a police detective (Pacino) accidentally shoots his own partner while trying to apprehend a suspect. Instead of admitting his guilt, the detective is given an unexpected alibi, but this "solution" only multiplies the emotional complexity and guilt over his partner's death. He's also still got a murder to solve, in addition to the blackmail and framing of an innocent bystander being orchestrated by the man they were chasing. There's also a local detective (Swank) who is conducting her own personal investigation... of his partner's death. Will it all come crashing down on him? |
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Night at the Museum trilogy (2006 - 2014) Williams portrayed Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. A newly recruited night security guard at the Museum of Natural History discovers that an ancient curse causes the animals and exhibits on display to come to life and wreak havoc. |
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Happy Feet (2006) and Happy Feet Two (2011) Lending his voice to the penguins Ramon and Lovelace. Into the world of the Emperor Penguins, who find their soul mates through song, a penguin is born who cannot sing. But he can tap dance something fierce! |
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Williams played Bob Munro. Bob Munro and his dysfunctional family rent an RV for a road trip to the Colorado Rockies, where they ultimately have to contend with a bizarre community of campers. |
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Williams portrayred Dan. Two friends and business partners find their lives turned upside down when strange circumstances lead to them being placed in the care of 7-year-old twins. |
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Williams will be forever known for his contribution to cinema, making us laugh and cry throughout his tremendous career, he has Boulevard and The Angriest Man in Brooklyn awaiting release in the UK and Merry Friggin' Christmas and Absolutely Anything in post production, and will return to his role of Teddy Roosevelt in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb which is due in cinemas on December 19. Survived by his wife and his three children, Williams is a treasured entertainer and will be remembered forever, R.I.P and thank you for the laughter. R.I.P ROBIN WILLIAMS (1951 - 2014) • GONE BUT NEVER FORGOTTEN • THANK YOU FOR THE LAUGHTER |