Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951 โ August 11, 2014) was a stand-up comedian and actor.
He first became famous as the star of Mork & Mindy. The series also helped make his mark as a hailed master of improvisational comedy, whom writers of various productions learned it was often best to accommodate him considering his off-the-cuff humor was often better than their more carefully prepared material.
Williams later became known for his starring roles in Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Good Will Hunting, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was also well-known for voicing the Genie in Disney's Aladdin and Aladdin and the King of Thieves.
In 1979, he was announced as a guest star on The Muppet Show in an issue of the Muppet Show Fan Club Newsletter, but did not appear on the series.
Williams appeared on the cover of two issues of Muppet Magazine: Issue 1 (1983) and Issue 14 (1986).
He appeared in several Sesame Street segments:
- Williams uses his shoe to demonstrate what makes something alive. (EKA: Episode 2749)
- The celebrity version of "Monster in the Mirror." (EKA: Episode 2835)
- Williams talks to Elmo about what one can do with a stick. (EKA: Episode 2835) The basic script was written by Sonia Manzano, but Williams improvised during taping, including the reference to Gene Shalit's moustache.[1]
- Willams talks about his knees. (EKA: Episode 3709)
- Williams shows off the wonders of feet. (EKA: Episode 3923)
- Williams asks Elmo and the children whether they would allow a nonsense talking, horned two-headed stranger to play baseball with them. The Two-Headed Monster shows up to play. (EKA: Episode 2795)
- Williams talks to a robin (Kevin Clash) about how similar and different they are. The robin sings (in a different voice) "Lullaby of Birdland." (First: Episode 2848)
- Williams and the Two-Headed Monster explain the word "conflict" in a Season 42 Word of the Day segment.