The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography [Paperback]

Jay David (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 1999

Ever since his days as "Mork" on Mork and Mindy, Robin Williams has captivated the hearts and funny bones of audiences everywhere. No one will forget his performances in such classics as "Good Morning Vietnam, Awakenings, and "Dead Poets Society, or his hilarious roles as the nanny in "Mrs. Doubtfire and as the zany doctor in "Patch Adams.

"The Life and Humor of Robin Williams offers his millions of fans a lively, thorough account of Robin Williams's life and career. Chronicling the early years, from his supportive Chicago childhood to his first college improv class, the book goes on to describe the actor's rapid descent into Hollywood's fast lane. But Williams cleaned up his life and made a breakthrough into serious acting with his extraordinary performance in "The World According to Garp and the steady climb ever since to his more recent, Oscar-winning triumph in "Good Will Hunting.

For the countless fans of Robin Williams, this biography is a fascinating and comprehensive look at the star's inspiring history.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

The thinnest of ``clip'' jobs, David's biography amounts to a rehash of profiles from mass-market magazines, not even arranged interestingly or spiced up in any way. Fans of the manic comedian craving information about his life would find it more entertaining to tune into an interview segment on a morning television talk showat least then they'd get the all-important cadence to Williams's punch lines. When David quotes the man in action, he gets down just a jumble of words. It's impossible to discern the pattern of the free associations Williams is known for, and that misses all the fun. Williams's life, luckily for David, is an above average Hollywood story. Williams had one of those mythic lonely childhoods that turned him into an artist, craving attention and not ever knowing how to control himself when he got it. He sped through the 70s crossing paths with all the legends of the comedy world, spinning out of control on cocaine and producing some inventive comedy (and also Mork and Mindy). Then, suddenly, the goofball emerged as a serious actor, garnering Academy Award nominations and box-office billions in films like Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Good Will Hunting. Yet David can't make anything of these details. He jumps from one story to another, merely quoting from news sources, and never gets into a narrative structure. He even makes Williams's final encounter with John BelushiWilliams was perhaps the last person to see the comedian alive before his drug overdoseseem bland. And that's not the worst of it. David adds his own analysis of Williams's comic style and his take on Williams's movies throughout the biography, which are meither astute nor pertinent. (8 b&w photos) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Jay David is the author of Growing Up Black: From Slave Days to the Present--Twenty-Five African Americans Reveal the Trials and Triumphs of Their Childhoods and Growing Up Jewish: An Anthology. He lives in New York City.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1st edition (September 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688152457
• ISBN-13: 978-0688152451
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,956,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Vanilla Biography, March 13, 2004

By 

JMack (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography (Paperback)

It is difficult to write a biography that only goes for 200 pages unless it is the Reader's Digest version of the person's life. Jay David essentially has written a stripped down biography of Robin Williams. After reading the book, I feel I have only scratched the surface of this talented actor/comedian's life and talents.

Much of Robin's early life is cited from previous interviews with other sources. While this is acceptable, it makes the early part of the book seem like a "cut and paste" job. The book journeys into his early career and family life with similar techniques. When the book arrives at the point where Robin Williams' career really takes off, the author becomes consistent with the layout of the chapters. The first part is how Williams came to work on the movie/project with various antidotes. The second part of the chapters is a documentation of the critical reviews of the movie. I felt a lot was omitted from the book. Nothing is mentioned about his hosting Saturday Night Live. Similary, little is mentioned of his stand-up work or Comic Relief. I would have thought they would have included more of Robin Williams' humor in here since the book is called "The Life and Humor of Robin Williams".

The book does have strong points. I did learn about Williams family and marital life. Few people are aware that Williams came from a privilaged family background. I also believe that the insight provided on many of the movies is well documented. One must keep in mind that the book was printed in 1999 so it is not entirely up to date. With this being said, fans of Williams will enjoy learning about the development of his career. Despite being an easy read, the book has too many weak points to be enjoyed by the casual reader.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Biography misses the Mork., August 15, 2007

By 

David C. Roller (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography (Paperback)

A 2007 summer reading list mini review.

I have been an ardent fan of the humor of Robin Williams equal parts manic and cerebral since his debut on Happy Days some 30 years ago. So, when I saw this book at my local library, I checked it out thinking that I would be treated to some of his crazier routines like this one from Mork and Mindy:

Mork: (reporting to Orson) They even have a religion that worships O.J. Simpson.
Orson: The Juice?
Mork: Yeah, and the gentiles too.

What I got instead was a biography that after a good glimpse of his childhood years focused too much on the obvious and also on unneeded periphery from his work.

Examples of this are an approximately two page plot synopsis of Mrs. Doubtfire, and a penchant from listing at least 3 other films for each director Williams ever worked with. Aside from unnecessary, some of the periphery is also inaccurate. When speaking of the immense popularity of Happy Days the author tells us that Laverne and Shirley ran for 4 seasons, it ran for 8.

I will have to give the author, Jay David, some credit. It takes a certain kind of talent to write about such a colorful figure as Williams and make it come out dry.