It has been 10 years since Robin Williams tragically died, plunging the world into mourning over the loss of one of the greatest talents ever seen.
On August 11, 2014, it was announced that the actor, who had lit up the screen in Jumanji, Mrs Doubtfire, Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting and so many more, had died by suicide at the age of 63, at his California home.
It was later confirmed that the dad-of-two had been misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s and had actually been suffering from neurodegenerative illness Lewy body disease – a form of dementia.
It’s fair to say that he touched so many lives and, in the decade since Hollywood lost one of the brightest stars, many are still sharing stories of his generosity behind the scenes, and the many ways he would try and improve anyone’s day.
To honor his memory, we’ve compiled some of the beautiful stories that his co-stars, fans and famous followers revealed in the wake of his death, showcasing the huge legacy he has left behind.
Speaking in a new chat with Vanity Fair, Sally Field – who played his ex-wife, Miranda Hillard, in Mrs Doubtfire – couldn’t help but walk down memory lane and reminisce about their time together filming the 1993 classic.
However, what fans don’t know is that Robin managed to change the entire shoot so that she could be with her family when her father died during production.
‘I never shared this story before. I was in the camper outside of the courtroom where we were shooting the divorce scene,’ she told the outlet. ‘My father had a stroke a couple of years before, and was in a nursing facility.
‘I got a phone call from the doctor saying my father had passed, a massive stroke. He asked if I wanted them to put him on the resuscitator. I said “No, he did not want that. Just let him go. And please lean down and say, ‘Sally says goodbye.’”
‘I was of course beside myself. I came on the set trying with all my might to act. I wasn’t crying. Robin came over, pulled me out of the set, and asked, “Are you okay?”’
When she shared the news, he jumped to action and ‘got her out of there’, as she added: ‘He made it happen – they shot around me the rest of the day. I could go back to my house, call my brother, and make arrangements. It’s a side of Robin that people rarely knew: He was very sensitive and intuitive.’
The iconic role of Daniel Hillard / housekeeper Mrs Doubtfire was written just for Robin, but that didn’t stop him from going above and beyond to ensure the younger actors nailed their auditions.
Casting director Janet Hirshenson told Metro.co.uk about his efforts before the cameras were even rolling: ‘What was most fun was, I loved casting the children. We took all of our favorite children from LA to San Francisco to test with Robin, and Robin was so…. wonderful.
‘He improvised all the time but these were little children, including five year olds and it was their test.
‘He was trying so hard to keep on book, to help the kids with their audition.’
Not only did he make the cast laugh with raps, and treat them to outings while dressed up as the titular character, he also made sure that the younger stars had his support at all times – Lisa Jakub (Lydia Hillard) revealed he personally wrote a letter to her school after she was kicked out due to her flourishing career.
In an open letter on the day of Robin’s death, published on her blog, she penned: ‘It’s devastating, at 14, to have your formal education terminated. I felt like a freak and a reject. When I arrived at work the next day, Robin noticed that I was upset and asked me what was wrong.
‘I explained what had happened, and shortly after that, he handed me a letter that he had written to my school … He wrote embarrassingly kind things about my character and my work, and requested that they reconsider and allow me to return to my classes.
‘When I told him I still didn’t think they would take me back, he said, “It’s kind of like Amnesty International. That 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 to return to school.
‘But here’s what matters from that story. Robin stood up for me. He was in my corner. I was only 14, but I had already seen that I was in an industry that was full of back-stabbing. And it was entirely clear that Robin had my back.’
It wasn’t just his own cast and crew that Robin would drop everything to help out – he previously purchased a bike for Conan O’Brien after learning he was at a low point, and helped Jessica Chastain graduate college.
In 1993, he made a point of routinely cheering Steven Spielberg up during a tough experience on Schindler’s List.
The pair had previously worked together in Hook and kept up a close friendship, but the acclaimed director was a ‘wreck’ while filming one of his next next movies – following German industrialist Oskar Schindler’s efforts to save thousands of Jewish lives during the Holocaust – and things would often become too emotional for him.
‘The hard days were beyond my imagination, and the easy days were never easy. Everything we shot at Auschwitz with the women, when the women’s train was reassigned to Auschwitz, that was the toughest,’ the filmmaker told the Hollywood Reporter.
‘Often I was a basket case, just a wreck, and Kate [Capshaw, Steven’s wife] always sat with me, let me get it out and talked me through it, or just let me be quiet and she would be quiet. We’d 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 on the movie, and once a week, every Friday, he’d call me on the phone and do comedy for me. Whether it was after 10 minutes or 20 minutes, when he heard me give the biggest laugh, he’d hang up on me.’
Music legend Pink also revealed the moment Robin focused on nothing but making her laugh at the 2003 Grammys, when she missed out on her first ever solo nominations – for her M!ssundaztood album and Get The Party Started.
Detailing her heartbreak to Billboard in 2019, she explained that she broke down after losing out to Norah Jones, but the Jumanji star – who happened to be seated in front of her – swiftly stepped in and ‘launched into a 15-minute stand-up routine’ to comfort her.
‘He made fun of everybody that walked by. He was so compassionate and lovely to me that it ended up being one of my favorite moments of my career,’ she confessed.
‘I was so glad I f**king lost. My Grammy would be sitting down at my guesthouse collecting dust, but I have the memory of Robin Williams being an amazing person.’
Robin didn’t just extend his generous spirit to fellow stars – Mark Cole, a father from North Carolina, previously opened up about the time the superstar visited his terminally ill daughter in 2004, when she only had weeks to live.
‘He made her feel very special all day; it was just one-on-one,’ he told CNN. ‘He really wanted to spend time with Jessica.’
The 13-year-old, who was battling a brain tumor, requested a visit with Robin through the Make-A-Wish foundation, because of how much she loved Mrs Doubtfire.
Sadly, she was too fragile to make the trip, so he chartered a private jet to her doorstep to fulfil her request.
‘It must have cost $30,000, $40,000,’ Mark said, adding that Jessica ‘lit up’ at the A-List guest.
‘I couldn’t believe it. I felt very privileged 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 has truly left a huge, inextinguishable void in Hollywood as we have lost one of the biggest talents that we were lucky enough to see on our screens – but his memory and generosity will never be forgotten.
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