Williams briefly studied political science before enrolling at Juilliard to study theatre. After graduation, he performed in night clubs where he was discovered for the role of Mork on an episode of Happy Days and the subsequent Mork & Mindy TV series. Williams' wild comic talent involves a great deal of improvisation, following in the footsteps of his idol, Jonathan Winters. Williams has also proven to be an effective dramatic actor.


Man of the Year (2006): $1,000,000
The Night Listener (2006): $65,000
Bicentennial Man (1999): $20,000,000
Jumanji (1995): $15,000,000
Aladdin (1992): $100,000
Popeye (1980): $500,000

Moved to San Francisco when he was 16. Resides with his family in San Francisco's Seacliff neighborhood. April 11, 1983: Son, Zachary Pym "Zak" Williams, with Valerie Velardi, born. November 25, 1991: Son Cody Alan Williams, with Marsha Garces Williams, born. 1997: Voted funniest man alive by Entertainment Weekly. During the making of "Mork & Mindy" (1978), Williams departed from the scripts and ad libbed so many times and so well, that the producers stop trying to make him stick to the script and deliberately left gaps in the later scripts leaving only "Mork can go off here" in those places so Robin could improvise. Was set to appear on an episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) as the time traveler Prof. Berlinghoff Rasmussen, but a schedule conflict forced him to drop out (the role eventually went to Matt Frewer). He was inspired to seek a Trek role by his friend Whoopi Goldberg, who made several appearances on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) as the bartender Guinan. Attended Claremont Men's College, where he played soccer. He is a fan of the comedy series "Monty Python's Flying Circus" (1969). Enjoys cycling and occasionally trains with Lance Armstrong. Graduated from Redwood High School in Larkspur, California, north of San Francisco. Other famous alumni from Redwood include Gabrielle Carteris ("Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990)) and Erin Gray (Kate from "Silver Spoons" (1982)), and Jason Branson, radio talk show guest/therapist and author. 1980: Hit #104 on the Billboard Singles Charts with "I Yam What I Yam" (Boardwalk 5701). Shares birthday with Josh Hartnett. Was voted "Least Likely to Succeed" by his fellow graduates at Larkspur. He was voted the 50th Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly. Helped his long-time friend Christopher Reeve pay his medical bills during his final years following the horse riding accident. He was considered for the role of Joe Miller in Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia (1993). Denzel Washington was cast instead. Has been seen in playing paintball at public reservations near his Northern California residence. 2004: Dedicated his winning the Cecil B. DeMille award at the Golden Globes to friend Christopher Reeve. Was a guest on Johnny Carson's next to last episode of the "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962), along with Bette Midler. He and his Being Human (1993) and Robots (2005) cast mate, Ewan McGregor, have both shared a role with Alec Guinness. McGregor, of course, played the young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels. Williams appeared in Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet (1996), as Osric, a part that Guinness had played on stage opposite John Gielgud. Williams also shares that part with another Star Wars series actor, Peter Cushing, who played the same role in the same year in the film, opposite Laurence Olivier. 1993: Wrote the foreword to Gary Larson's book, "The Far Side: Gallery 4". Though he is highly regarded for his ability to perform numerous different voices, he only has lent his voice to five animated features: FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), Aladdin (1992), Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1995) (V), Robots (2005), and Happy Feet (2006). However, he did have the occupation of doing voice-over work for a cartoon on Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), played a small role in the TV animated short A Wish for Wings That Work (1991) (TV), and has done narration for different rides and attractions at Disney World. He has also done the voice for the character "Dr. Know" in the movie Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001), which is in itself not a animated movie. 1976: Performed at the opening of the San Francisco Comedy Competition against Dana Carvey, Harry Anderson and A. Whitney Brown. He's a "Star Trek" (1966) fan. Considers Jonathan Winters and Richard Pryor as his comedic idols. Was considered for the Bobby Wheeler role in the TV series "Taxi" (1978). It went to Jeff Conaway. 1993: Was turned down for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination in for his performance in Aladdin (1992), because he only voiced The Genie. Owns a home and vineyard in Northern California's St. Helena district, hence the quip, "I love the smell of Napa in the morning." Not-too-distant neighbors include football legend Joe Montana (Calistoga) and filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (Rutherford), both of whom run their own vineyards. Asked by James Lipton about what he would like to God say when he arrives in the heaven, Williams answered that "There is a seat in the front" in the concert of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Elvis Presley. He is one of the few celebrities to have a segment in Sesame Street that didn't have any puppets or actors playing sesame street regular characters. He and his former wife frequently visited Australia during their holidays. Lives in San Francisco and Napa, California. Was voted "Most Humurous" and "Least likely to succeed" in school. Checked himself into rehab to be treated for alcoholism. He already overcome a drug and alcohol addiction in the '80s. He left rehab in September 2006. [July 2006] His role in August Rush (2007) was modeled after the character of Fagin from Oliver Twist (1948), who was played in David Lean's film by Alec Guinness. Guinness also played Osric in John Gielgud's theatrical production of Hamlet. Williams played the role in Kenneth Branagh's film version. During the course of recording the voice of Genie in Aladdin (1992), Robin improvised so much they had almost 16 hours of material. He also ad-libbed so many of his lines that the movie's script was turned down for a Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award nomination. Studied acting with Michael Howard in New York City.