Robin Williams

Robin McLaurin Williams was an American actor and comedian, who was well-known for his various film roles, such as portraying Armand Goldman in , Daniel Hillard/Euphegenia Doubtfire in , an adult Alan Parrish in , Bob Munro in , Theodore Roosevelt in the and Peter Pan/Banning in . He also voiced Batty Koda in 20th Century Fox's , Fender Pinwheeler in Blue Sky's , and Ramón and Lovelace in .
For Disney, Williams was best known for his voice work as the Genie in the 1992 Disney animated feature film Aladdin, a role of which he had reprised in later projects.
==History==
Williams was given the role of Ariel's dolphin friend Breaker in The Little Mermaid. However, when Breaker's role in the film was scrapped, he left the film.
Williams was asked to voice the Genie in the 1992 Disney animated feature film Aladdin, shortly after the death of lyricist Howard Ashman. In gratitude for his success with the Disney-produced Touchstone film Good Morning, Vietnam, Williams agreed to take the role for SAG scale pay ($75,000), on condition that his name or image not be used for marketing, and his (supporting) character not take more than 25% of space on advertising artwork, since was scheduled for release one month after Aladdin's debut. Additionally, Williams believed the character's voice was his property and did not want it to be imitated.
Out of financial concern, the studio went back on the deal on both counts, especially in poster art by having the Genie in 25% of the image, but having other major and supporting characters portrayed considerably smaller.
Williams and Disney had a bitter falling-out, resulting in Dan Castellaneta taking over as the voice of Genie in The Return of Jafar and the Aladdin television series. Castellaneta was also hired for Aladdin and the King of Thieves and had completed recording all his lines. Disney's Hyperion book Aladdin: The Making of an Animated Film, listed both of Williams' characters, "The Peddler" and "The Genie", ahead of main characters but was forced to refer to him only as "the actor signed to play the Genie".
When Jeffrey Katzenberg was fired from Disney and replaced by former 20th Century Fox production head Joe Roth (whose last act for Fox was greenlighting Williams' film, Mrs. Doubtfire), Roth arranged for a public apology to Williams by Disney. Williams agreed to perform in the Hollywood Pictures film Jack, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and even agreed to voice Genie again for the King of Thieves sequel (for considerably more than scale), replacing all of Castellaneta's dialogue.
When Williams re-teamed with Doubtfire director Chris Columbus for Touchstone Pictures' Bicentennial Man in 1999, Disney asked that the budget be cut by approximately $20 million and when the film was released on Christmas Day, it flopped at the box office. Williams blamed Disney's marketing and the loss of content the film had suffered due to the budget cuts. As a result, Williams was again on bad terms with Disney and Castellaneta was once again recruited to replace him as the voice of Genie. The 2004 DVD release for Aladdin has no involvement whatsoever from Williams in the bonus materials, although some of his original recording sessions can be seen.
Even though Jim Meskimen had been cast as Genie's new official voice actor in 2008, Williams eventually made peace with The Walt Disney Company again and in 2009, he agreed to be inducted into the Disney Hall of Fame, being honored as a Disney Legend.
==Death==
Williams was found unconscious in his home in an unincorporated area just outside Paradise Cay, California, at around 11:55 AM PDT on August 11, 2014, and was pronounced dead at 12:02 pm. The Coroner Division of Marin County said the death appeared to be a suicide from hanging. This was confirmed in November 2014 with evidence, such as that Williams had used a pocketknife to slice his wrists before the suicide and finally used a belt wrapped around his neck to kill himself. No suicide note has been found.
It was revealed that he had been diagnosed with in 2013 and was suffering from deep paranoia and depression. Six weeks later, it was determined by a toxicology report that the cause of death was a suicide from asphyxiation by hanging. It was also discovered on his death certificate that the very day after his death, Williams was cremated and his ashes were dumped into the San Francisco Bay as per a request Williams made in his will. An autopsy revealed that Williams had been suffering from "diffuse Lewy body dementia", which had been misdiagnosed as Parkinson's. This may have contributed to his depression.
Williams' wife Susan Schneider said, "I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken." Fellow Disney Legend, Steve Martin, tweeted, "I could not be more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, great talent, acting partner, genuine soul." U.S. President Barack Obama said Williams was "one of a kind," and someone who "ended up touching every element of the human spirit." Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, who was a personal friend of Williams, said that Williams had called him the night before the suicide and had given him a subtle goodbye. Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb was dedicated to his memory, along with Mickey Rooney.
On his death, Disney CEO Robert Iger released the statement:
Before the first performance of the Broadway show Aladdin after Williams' death, James Monroe Iglehart, the actor who played the Genie led the audience into singing "Friend Like Me" in tribute.
Shortly after his death, Disney Channel and its sister channels Disney Jr. and Disney XD all aired the original Aladdin over the course of a week, with a dedicated drawing of the Genie at the end of each airing before the credits.
At the 2015 Disney Legends ceremony, Ne-Yo sung a cover of "Friend Like Me" in tribute.
==Awards and nominations for Robin Williams' roles in Disney films==
Year	Film 	Role 	Type of Award 	Category 	Result
1988	Good Morning, Vietnam	Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer	Academy Award 	Best Actor 	rowspan=2
1988	Good Morning, Vietnam	Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer	BAFTA Award 	Best Actor in a Leading Role 	
1988	Good Morning, Vietnam	Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer	Golden Globe Award	Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy	rowspan=5
1989	Good Morning, Vietnam	Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer	Grammy Award 	Best Comedy Album 	
1993	Aladdin 	Genie / The Peddler 	Golden Globe Award	Special Award for Vocal Work 	
1993	Aladdin 	Genie / The Peddler 	MTV Movie Award 	Best Comedic Performance 	
1993	Aladdin 	Genie / The Peddler 	Saturn Award 	Saturn Award For Best Supporting Actor 	
1998	Flubber 	Professor Brainard 	Kids' Choice Award	Favourite Movie Actor 	
==Filmography==
*Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) - Airman Second Class Adrian Cronauer
*Aladdin (1992) - Genie/The Peddler
*Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996) - Genie
*Great Minds Think 4 Themselves (1996) - Genie
*Flubber (1997) - Philip Brainard
*Old Dogs (2009) - Dan Rayburn
*Back to Never Land (1989) - Himself/Lost Boy
*The Timekeeper - The Timekeeper
*Dead Poets Society - John Keating
*Jack - Jack Powell
* - Sean Maguire
*Bicentennial Man - Andrew Martin
*Insomnia - Walter Finch (Insomnia was released under the Warner Bros. logo in America and the Touchstone Pictures logo in other countries).
* - Kevin Powalski
*Old Dogs - Dan Rayburn
==Roles==
Popeye.jpg|Popeye(Popeye)
Genie5.png|Genie(Aladdin franchise)
Peddler Aladdin.jpg|Peddler(Aladdin)
The timekeeper animatronic.jpg|The Timekeeper(The Timekeeper)
John Keating - Dead Poets Society.jpg|John Keating(Dead Poets Society)
Jack Powell.jpg|Jack Powell(Jack)
Philip Brainard.jpg|Philip Brainard(Flubber)
Dan Rayburn.jpg|Dan Rayburn(Old Dogs)
Andrew Martin.jpg|Andrew Martin(Bicentennial Man)
File:Back To Never Land (1989)|Himself/Lost Boy (Back to Neverland)
==Gallery==
Jim and Robin.jpg|Robin Williams with Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell.
Robin Williams behind the scenes Aladdin.jpg|Robin Williams behind the scenes of Aladdin.
1-68th-academy-awards.jpg|Williams presenting a Special Achievement Oscar to John Lasseter for Toy Story.
Robin Williams recording King of Thieves.jpg|Robin Williams behind the scenes of Aladdin and the King of Thieves.
Disney Adventure Robin&Genie.png|Robin Williams with Genie on the cover of Disney Adventures (September 1996).
Disney Adventure Ursula02.jpg|Robin Williams with Ursula on the cover of Disney Adventures (December 1997).
Robin Williams daughter Zelda Old Dogs event.jpg|Robin Williams and his daughter Zelda at the premiere of Old Dogs in November 2009.
Robin Williams visits Jimmy Fallon.jpg|Robin Williams visiting in November 2009.
Robin Williams visits JKL.jpg|Robin Williams visiting in November 2013.
Robin williams disney legends.png|A memorial for Robin Williams in San Francisco.
File:Robin Williams with Genie.jpg
==Trivia==
*He was once considered to voice Woody in Toy Story, but Tom Hanks was cast in the end.
*He was also considered to voice James P. Sullivan in Monsters, Inc., along with Bill Murray, , Steve Martin, and Dan Aykroyd, before the role was ultimately given to John Goodman.
*He was indirectly referenced as the Genie in a Once Upon a Time episode, when Aladdin tells Jasmine that the genie is free and has been gone for a while, referencing Williams' death.
==References==
==External links==
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