--- description: The comedian died one year ago, on Aug. 11, 2014 title: Robin Williams: Read 5 Essential Stories About the Actor and Comic image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8cc7f453bd712ea4/69885e95e53aba69a94df005/1101790312_400.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [remembrance](/tag/remembrance/) ## remembrance Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 5 Essential Robin Williams Stories by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 11, 2015 10:00 AM CUT  The Mar. 12, 1979, cover of TIME The Mar. 12, 1979, cover of TIMECover Credit: MICHAEL DRESSLER by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 11, 2015 10:00 AM CUT _This Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of Robin Williams’ surprising death. In honor of the milestone, here are five essential TIME stories chronicling his remarkable career:_ **The introduction:** The first full-fledged TIME article about Williams (excluding a capsule review of _Mork & Mindy_ that ran earlier that fall) was this Oct. 1978 story about how the comic’s career was destined to be much more than _Mork_. --- > “” --- _Subscribers can read the whole story here, in the TIME Vault:_ [The Robin Williams Show](http://time.com/vault/issue/1978-10-02/page/84/ "undefined") **The cover story:** Not a year had gone by before Williams was on the cover of TIME, for a story about what it took to top the ratings. --- > “” --- _Subscribers can read the whole issue here, in the TIME Vault:_ [Chaos in Television](http://time.com/vault/issue/1979-03-12/page/1/ "undefined") **The next step:** By the time Richard Schickel [reviewed](http://time.com/vault/issue/1987-12-28/page/76/ "undefined") _Good Morning, Vietnam_ in 1987, Williams was firmly enshrined as “the decade’s reigning comic soloist.” In a full-page feature accompanying the review, Richard Corliss reported on Williams’ transition from successful comic to full-on movie star. --- > “” --- _Subscribers can read the whole story here, in the TIME Vault:_ [Playtime for Gonzo](http://time.com/vault/issue/1987-12-28/page/77/ "undefined") **The interview:** In 2011, around the time of Williams’ Broadway debut, Belinda Luscombe spoke to the actor about the world, his career and the perils of fame. --- > “” --- _Read the full Q&A, free of charge, here on Time.com:_ [10 Questions for Robin Williams](http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2065243,00.html "undefined") _Read the outtakes here:_ [10 More Questions With Robin Williams ](http://time.com/3110844/10-more-questions-with-robin-williams/ "undefined") **The end:** When news broke of Williams’ death, TIME published[ a special issue](http://time.com/vault/issue/2014-08-25/page/1/ "undefined") remembering the man and his work. At its center was a stirring remembrance by Richard Corliss, who captured just why those two personas—the human being, the comic—had touched so many people. --- > “” --- _Read the full obituary, free of charge, here on Time.com:_[ The Heart of Comedy](http://time.com/3110842/robin-williams-the-heart-of-comedy/ "undefined") ### Robin Williams' Life in Pictures  Robin Williams in the 8th grade at Detroit Country Day School in Birmingham, Mich. in 1965. Courtesy Williams Family  In the 8th grade, Robin Williams, #15, played on the basketball team at Detroit Country Day School. Seth Poppel—Yearbook Library  Robin Williams in high school. Courtesy Robin Williams  Williams' played the spinach-loving sailor Popeye in its eponymous 1980 film. Paramount/AP  Robin Williams in September of 1981 Steve Ringman—San Francisco Chronicle/Corbis  Robin Williams with his mom, Laurie Williams, during the premiere of "Moscow on The Hudson" at Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif in 1984. Ron Galella—Wire Image/Getty Images  Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve at Silver Friedman's "The Original Improvisation" in New York in 1988. Jim Demetropoulos—Retna Ltd./Corbis  Robin Williams, third from right, dressed as a cheerleader on Nov. 12, 1979 with the Broncos' Pony Express cheerleaders during the filming of an episode of "Mork & Mindy," in Denver. AP  Robin Williams played radio DJ Adrian Cronauer in director Barry Levinson's comedy drama, Good Morning Vietnam in 1987. Touchstone Pictures/AP  Williams taught a generation to seize the day, to make their lives extraordinary, as John Keating in Dead Poets Society. Buena Vista Pictures  Williams played a grown up version of Peter Pan in the 1991 family classic Hook. TriStar Pictures  Williams lent his substantial talents to voicing Genie in Disney's 1992 animated film Aladdin. Disney  Household chores were no match for Robin Williams as he donned layers of prosthetics to play Mrs. Doubtfire in the 1993 movie of the same name. 20th Century Fox  Williams starred as Alan Parrish, a boy stuck inside a board game for twenty-six years in the 1995 film Jumanji. TriStar Pictures  Starring opposite a young Matt Damon, Williams played Dr. Sean Maguire, in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting. Miramax  Williams played a living android in the 1999 film Bicentennial Man. Buena Vista  Williams took on the likeness of Teddy Roosevelt in Ben Stiller's Night at the Museum. 20th Century Fox  Robin Williams and his family are seen with their dogs on May 2005\. From left to right: Kiwi (poodle), son Cody Williams, Robin Williams, daughter Zelda Williams, Marsha Williams and Mizu (poodle) Lacy Atkins—Emily Scott Pottruck/Trails of Devotion ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3991288/robin-williams-articles/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3991288/robin-williams-articles/"},"headline":"5 Essential Robin Williams Stories","datePublished":"2015-08-11T10:00:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:06.311Z","description":"The comedian died one year ago, on Aug. 11, 2014","url":"https://time.com/3991288/robin-williams-articles/","keywords":["remembrance"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8cc7f453bd712ea4/69885e95e53aba69a94df005/1101790312_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8cc7f453bd712ea4/69885e95e53aba69a94df005/1101790312_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mar. 12, 1979","caption":"Mar. 12, 1979","creditText":"Cover Credit: MICHAEL DRESSLER","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/remembrance/","name":"remembrance"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3991288/robin-williams-articles/","name":"5 Essential Robin Williams Stories"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Many Faces of Robin Williams: A Career in Photos","description":"The Faces of Robin Williams","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/KV0zG3Zo/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-13T21:09:16.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KV0zG3Zo.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3991288/robin-williams-articles/","duration":"PT1M40S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3991288/robin-williams-articles/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```