Ten years have passed since Robin Williams tragically passed away and the world mourned the loss of one of the greatest talents of all time.
On August 11, 2014, it was announced that the actor who lit up the screen in Jumanji, Mrs. Doubtfire, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting and many others had committed suicide at his home in California at the age of 63.
It was later confirmed that the father of two had been wrongly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was actually suffering from the neurodegenerative disease Lewy body disease, a form of dementia.
It’s fair to say he touched so many lives, and in the ten years since Hollywood lost one of its brightest stars, many still tell stories of his generosity behind the scenes and the many ways he tried to brighten everyone’s day.
To honor his memory, we’ve compiled some of the beautiful stories revealed by his co-stars, fans and famous followers after his death, showing the tremendous legacy he left behind.
In a new conversation with Vanity Fair, Sally Field – who played his ex-wife Miranda Hillard in “Mrs. Doubtfire” – couldn’t help but reminisce about their time together filming the 1993 classic.
What fans don’t know, however, is that when her father died during production, Robin managed to postpone all filming so she could be with her family.
“I’ve never told this story before. I was in the RV outside the courtroom where we were filming the divorce scene,” she told the outlet. “My dad had a stroke a few years ago and was in a nursing home.”
“I got a call from the doctor telling me that my father had died. He had suffered a massive stroke. He asked if I wanted them to put him on the resuscitation bag. I said, ‘No, he didn’t want to. Just let him go. And please bend down and say, ‘Sally says goodbye.'”
“I was beside myself, of course. I came on set and tried to act with all my might. I didn’t cry. Robin came over, pulled me off the set and asked, ‘Are you OK?'”
When she shared the news, he jumped into action and “got her out of there,” she added: “He made it happen – they revolved the rest of the day around me. I was able to go home, call my brother and arrange everything. That’s a side of Robin that people hardly knew: he was very sensitive and intuitive.”
The iconic role of Daniel Hillard as housekeeper Mrs. Doubtfire was written specifically for Robin, but that didn’t stop him from doing his best to ensure the younger actors were successful in their auditions.
Casting director Janet Hirshenson said Metro.de of his efforts before the cameras even rolled: “The most fun thing for me was that I loved casting the kids. We took all of our favorite kids from LA to San Francisco to test with Robin, and Robin was so… wonderful.”
“He was improvising all the time, but these were small children, including five-year-olds, and it was their test.”
“He tried so hard to stay on topic to help the kids with their auditions.”
Not only did he make the cast laugh with raps and invite them on outings where he dressed as the title character, but he also made sure the younger stars had his support at all times – Lisa Jakub (Lydia Hillard) revealed that he personally wrote a letter to her school after she was expelled because of her blossoming career.
In an open letter posted on her blog on the day of Robin’s death, she wrote: “It is devastating to lose your education at 14. I felt like a freak and an outcast. When I came to work the next day, Robin noticed that I was upset and asked me what was wrong.”
“I explained to him what had happened and shortly thereafter he handed me a letter he had written to my school… He wrote embarrassingly nice things about my character and my work and asked that they reconsider and allow me to return to class.”
“When I told him I still didn’t think they would take me back, he said, ‘It’s a bit like Amnesty International. This school just needs to know that people know the truth.’ The school framed the letter. They hung it in the principal’s office. But they didn’t invite me back to school.
“But that’s the most important thing about this story. Robin stood up for me. He was on my side. I was only 14, but I had already realized that I was in an industry where there was a lot of intrigue. And it was very clear that Robin was behind me.”
Not only did Robin drop everything to help his own cast and crew – he had previously bought a bicycle for Conan O’Brien after realizing he was ill and helped Jessica Chastain finish her degree.
In 1993, he made a point of regularly cheering up Steven Spielberg during a difficult experience on Schindler’s List.
The two had previously worked together on “Hook” and enjoyed a close friendship, but by the time he was filming one of his next movies – about German industrialist Oskar Schindler’s efforts to save thousands of Jewish lives during the Holocaust – the acclaimed director was a “wreck” and the shoot often became too emotional for him.
“The hard days were beyond my imagination, and the easy days were never easy. Everything we shot with the women in Auschwitz, when the women’s train was being moved to Auschwitz, was the hardest,” the filmmaker told the Hollywood Reporter.
“A lot of times I was a nervous wreck, just a wreck, and Kate (Capshaw, Steven’s wife) would sit with me and let me get it all out and talk to me about it, or she would just let me be quiet and she would be quiet. We would sit there and look at each other. Emotionally, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done as a filmmaker.
“Robin knew how hard it was for me to be in the film, and once a week, every Friday, he would call me and do a comedy for me. Whether it was 10 or 20 minutes in, when he heard me laugh the loudest, he would hang up.”
Music legend Pink also revealed the moment Robin was only focused on making her laugh at the 2003 Grammys when she missed out on her first-ever solo nominations – for her album “M!ssundaztood” and “Get The Party Started.”
When she described her grief to Billboard in 2019, she explained that she broke down after losing to Norah Jones, but the “Jumanji” star – who happened to be sitting in front of her – quickly stepped in and “did a 15-minute stand-up routine” to console her.
“He made fun of everyone who passed by. He was so compassionate and kind to me that it ended up being one of the best moments of my career,” she confessed.
“I was so glad I fucking lost. My grandma would be sitting in my guest house gathering dust, but I remember Robin Williams being an amazing person.”
Robin showed his generosity not only to his fellow stars – Mark Cole, a father from North Carolina, previously spoke about the superstar’s visit in 2004, when his terminally ill daughter had only a few weeks to live.
“He made her feel special the whole day; it was just a one-on-one conversation,” he told CNN. “He really wanted to spend time with Jessica.”
The 13-year-old, who suffered from a brain tumor, asked to visit Robin through the Make-A-Wish Foundation because she loved Mrs. Doubtfire so much.
Unfortunately, she was too frail to make the trip, so he chartered a private jet to her doorstep to fulfill her wish.
“It must have cost $30,000, $40,000,” Mark said, adding that Jessica “radiated” at the A-list guest.
“I couldn’t believe it. I felt very honored that he came to spend the day with her like that. It was the most moving thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Robin’s untimely death leaves a huge, indelible void in Hollywood. We have lost one of the greatest talents we have ever seen on our screens – but his memory and generosity will never be forgotten.
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