Remembering Robin Williams

TIME Magazine presents Remembering Robin Williams.

From New York Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff, the definitive biography of Robin Williams – a compelling portrait of one of America’s most beloved and misunderstood entertainers. From his rapid-fire stand-up comedy riffs to his breakout role in Mork & Mindy and his Academy Award-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams was a singularly innovative and beloved entertainer. He often came across as a man possessed, holding forth on culture and politics while mixing in personal revelations – all with mercurial, tongue-twisting intensity as he inhabited and shed one character after another with lightning speed. But as Dave Itzkoff shows in this revelatory biography, Williams’s comic brilliance masked a deep well of conflicting emotions and self-doubt, which he drew upon in his comedy and in celebrated films like Dead Poets Society; Good Morning, Vietnam; The Fisher King; Aladdin; and Mrs. Doubtfire, where he showcased his limitless gift for improvisation to bring to life a wide range of characters. And in Good Will Hunting he gave an intense and controlled performance that revealed the true range of his talent. Itzkoff also shows how Williams struggled mightily with addiction and depression – topics he discussed openly while performing and during interviews – and with a debilitating condition at the end of his life that affected him in ways his fans never knew. Drawing on more than a hundred original interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, as well as extensive archival research, Robin is a fresh and original look at a man whose work touched so many lives.

The New York Times cultural reporter and author of Lads describes the impact of his drug-addict father on his early childhood, tracing his efforts as an adult to rebuild their relationship and untangle his father's tragic and complicated past.

With his twinkling eyes, boundless energy and unrivalled natural wit, Robin Williams was the comedian who brought laughter to a generation.Through roles in cherished films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Aladdin and Hook, he became the genial face of family comedy. His child-like enthusiasm was infectious, sweeping viewers away. Allied to his lightning-quick improvisation and ability to riff lewdly off any cue thrown at him, Robin was that rare thing - a true comic genius who appealed to adults and children equally.He could also play it straight, and empathetic depth came to him naturally. A poignant performance in Good Will Hunting won him an Academy Award whilst his masterfully chilling turn in psychological thriller Insomnia shocked audiences and hinted at a darker side.What truly caught the imagination, though, was his good-heartedness. Warmth radiated from him on-screen, but he was legendary for his off-screen acts of selfless generosity. Where most Hollywood A-listers demand outrageous pampering in their contract riders, he always insisted that the production company hire a full quota of homeless people to help make his movies.But behind the laughter lay a deeply troubled man, and tragedy would follow. At midday, on 11 August 2014, Robin Williams was pronounced dead at his California home. The verdict was suicide. He had battled depression and addiction for many years and was allegedly beset by financial difficulties.Virginia Blackburn's sensitive and thoughtful biography celebrates his genius and warmth, but also attempts to understand what could have driven such a gentle and gifted man to so tragic an end. This is Robin Williams, the life, the laughter, and the deep sorrow of the man who made the world smile.

With the unexpected passing of Robin Williams, the creative industry wanted to remember Robin in their own way. This book is a tribute to the man who touched so many around this world. Mad Artist Publishing (http://madartistpublishing.com), Sketchoholic (http://sketchoholic.com) come together with their members to create a book of drawings, paintings, illustrations depicting Mr. Robin Williams portraits and caricatures from his acting roles over his decades in the entertainment industry. Artists include: Walter Fornero (Cover Illustration & Foreword), Nikhil Shinde, Aya Assaf, Mariano Ayerdi, Primitivo Agullar, Ali Seiffouri, Fernando Mendez, Espoir Samir, Alexandru Popa, Euan Mactavish, Jason Seiler (Foreword), Gilberto Bobadilla de Anda, Chong Jit Leong, Cyril (ideo) Brenner-Loegel, Martin Alejandro Fallocca, Jeff Stahl (Foreword), Oswaldo Gallego Londoño, Derek Brennan, Rafael Rivera, Jiwenk Wae, Luciano Velazquez, Por Hevert Benitez, Rui Duarte, Eduard Castañer, Benny Nicolini, Maximiliano Bagnasco, Daniel Stieglitz, Flora Zhai, François Horlait, Christopher Hart, Brice Mercier, Anita Foy, Tuncay Erol, Fabien Maignaut, John Aslarona, Marcelo Guerra, Priyanka Goswani, Diego Parpaglione, Arie Vanderwyst, Nelson Fernandes dos Santos, Hayati Boyacioglu, Jay Salce, Sam Gorrie, Andres Alvez, Rocky Sawyer, Marco Andres Kap, Becca Turner, Sebastian Cast, Saeta Hernando, Janlops Sandoval, Wal Alves, Efrain Robles Malo, Vojtech Camfrla, Tomislav Kaurin, Xi Ding, Ali Hussain, Leonardo Nieves Sillie, Alex Gallego, Sri Priyatham, Laura Pintamonadas, Rich Conley, David Boudreau, Lars-Erik Robinson, Mahboob Raja, Ian Baker, Ryan Shaw, Paul Williams, Marcelo CamiÑo, Tasiir Franz, Asier Garcia Laburu, Matthew Benkner, Eric Scala, Jeannette Hall, Pablo Rosando, Paulo Gaete C, Maxim Shagovikov, Jeong Jin Min, Marta Efremova, Kaexi Ng, Steve Bright, Alejandro Pérez, Ricardo Ajler, Ross Peplow, Juby Markus Sakoda, Carlos Rubio, Mica Hendricks, Gene Williams, Omar Rovelo Gallardo, Eugenio Candia, Miguel Garrido, Cédric Agnel, Eric Roark, Jordan Szymanowski, Diego Puglisi, Tomás Serrano, Hunter Campbell, Bertrand Daulle, Steve Cas, Pauli Bates, Gavin Cameron, Pier "Misterponce" Prigent, Francisco Hidalgo, Carlos Martyn Burgos, Erwin Oscarson M. Guevara, Thibaut Loiez, Georges Miho, Tarek Hakeem, Miguel Torres, Lakshmanan Sokkiah, Marzio Mariani, Daniel Coelho, Dimitris Efstratiadis, Rick Adams, Toni Malakian, Glen Batoca, Nathaniel R Kapnicky, Paulo Pinto, Youngmin Kwack, Agnès Boisramé Jacquelin, Rusty Tabo, Rio Shuvo, Nico Suarez, Sergio Bonavena, Juan Pablo Costa, Mat Roff, Lütfü Çak?n, Anthony Lewis, Parvatha Sekhar, Khasis Lieb, Juanpablo Castromora, Ramiro Olavarria, Tiago Santos, Taher Aljishi, Dedy Ronggo, Eddie Duran, William Heflin, Islam Abdelrazek Mohamed, Ricardo Gomes Ryck, Santos Palacios, Emir Farias Saffi, Johny Marquez, Elliott Langford, Anderson De França Oliveira, Guillermo Serrano, Adrián Bueno, Pradeep Rajguru, Anthony Samargis, Vojtech Camfrla, Matt Long.

From his first appearance as Mork from Ork on the 1970s sitcom Happy Days, Robin Williams was heralded as a singular talent. In the pre-cable television era, he was one of the few performers to successfully transition from TV to film. An Oscar-winning actor and preternaturally quick-witted comedian, Williams became a cultural icon, leaving behind a large and varied body of work when he unexpectedly took his own life in 2014. This collection of new essays brings together a range of perspectives on Williams and his oeuvre, including beloved hits like Mrs. Doubtfire, Good Morning, Vietnam, Good Will Hunting, The Fisher King, Dead Poets Society and Aladdin. Contributors explore his earlier work (Mork and Mindy, The World According to Garp) and his political and satirical films (Moscow on the Hudson, Toys). Williams's darker, less well-known fare, such as Being Human, One Hour Photo, Final Cut and Boulevard, is also covered. Williams's artistry has become woven into the fabric of our global media culture.

Gathering together three major works of acclaimed playwright Rajiv Joseph, this collection features the Pulitzer Prize finalist, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, alongside the critically acclaimed Gruesome Playground Injuries and Animals Out of Paper Gruesome Playground Injuries charts the intersection of two lives using scars, wounds, and calamity as the mile markers to explore why people hurt themselves to gain another’s love and what the cumulative effect is of such damage; Animals Out of Paper, a subtle, elegant, yet bracing examination of the artistic impulse and those in its thrall, follows a world-famous origamist as she becomes the unwitting mentor to a troubled young prodigy, even as she must deal with her own loss of inspiration; and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, a darkly comedic drama that looks on as the lives of two American soldiers, an Iraqi translator, and a tiger intersect on the streets of Baghdad.

For nearly 20 years, designers and non-designers alike have been introduced to the fundamental principles of great design by author Robin Williams. Through her straightforward and light-hearted style, Robin has taught hundreds of thousands of people how to make their designs look professional using four surprisingly simple principles. Now in its fourth edition, The Non-Designer’s Design Book offers even more practical design advice, including a new chapter on the fundamentals of typography, more quizzes and exercises to train your Designer Eye, updated projects for you to try, and new visual and typographic examples to inspire your creativity. Whether you’re a Mac user or a Windows user, a type novice, or an aspiring graphic designer, you will find the instruction and inspiration to approach any design project with confidence. THIS ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO DESIGN WILL TEACH YOU The four principles of design that underlie every design project How to design with color How to design with type How to combine typefaces for maximum effect How to see and think like a professional designer Specific tips on designing newsletters, brochures, flyers, and other projects