A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITOR’S CHOICE A SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A VULTURE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR “A generous, appreciative biography of Robin Williams by a New York Times culture reporter. The author, who had access to Williams and members of the comedian’s family, is an unabashed fan but doesn’t shy away from the abundant messiness in his … comedian’s family, is an unabashed fan but doesn’t shy away from the abundant messiness in his subject’s personal life.”–The New York Times Book Review
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.
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If you loved Robin Williams you’ll love this book
Interesting if not great bio
Great book on the life of Robin Williams. Really enjoyed it!
Dates read 4/20-4/23
What an amazing look into Robin Williams personal and career life. This book takes you through so many emotions-funny, movie highs and lows, loneliness, depression, marriage, medical lows, divorce, births, drugs, lewy body dementia, sadness, and shock.
I didn’t know a lot about Robin’s life until this book, like his upbringing, parents, brother, movie flops, children, and wives. I enjoyed the step back in time to learn about Robin Williams the person from the beginning. His dedication to the troops so heartwarming. I absolutely love that about him.
I’ve heard of people suffering from depression cover up their personal demons by making jokes and just being funny all the time, poor Robin he was suffering so bad behind closed doors.
The funny parts of the book that stood out to me is when Robin’s makeup artist says that Winnipeg is an dismal place, that there is nothing there and Robin says you can watch your dog runaway for a week. OMG that is so funny. Also, the part about the Heimlich retriever. Robin was such a funny man with a quick wit.
Then that heartbreaking day comes when we receive the shocking news, Robin Williams is dead. The world just couldn’t believe it. Then later to find out he has a neurological disease and committed suicide. I loved the make shift shrines people went to lay flowers and candles to kind of make peace that this loving, caring, funny father of comedy is gone, really gone. This part had me in tears. The make shift shrines were where Robin had once been.
The Author made a good point about Robin’s demise, was Robin in his right mind when he hung himself or did he know what he was doing? I guess we will never know. We all know that this book will not have a happy ending. It’s nice to know we can always sit back and watch his movies and just let Robin make us laugh. That’s what he would have wanted.
Quote from the World’s Greatest Dad, Robin’s line:
I used to think the worst thing in life is ending up all alone, It isn’t. The worst thing in life is ending up with people that made you feel all alone.
The author does a fantastic job writing this book, I highly recommend and I thank Net Gallery, the author Dave Itzkoff, Henry Holt and Company for the pleasure of reviewing Robin’.
This is a carefully researched biography about Robin Williams, that offers great insight into the man most people didn’t know. I’m still reading it, and thoroughly enjoying it!
Not much depth, from this readers perspective. Almost like reading a listing
of Robin’s performances. Interesting if you are giant fan, but not really
that well done.
Very sad, I learned things about him that I had been unaware of!
Gave me more insight into someone I have always found fascinating. Such a talent and critics were very unfair to him many times, but he kept doing what he wanted and what was important to him.
It offers nothing new and is eminently underwhelming.
Kind of dry reading, it was mainly facts about Robin William’s career. I did not get a “feel” of Robin Williams as a man.