A Look Back at the Wonderful, Madcap & Brilliant Career Milestones of Robin Williams

The tragic and shocking passing of acclaimed actor Robin Williams has left Hollywood in a state of disbelief and mourning.  Friends, celebrities and industry peers have flooded twitter with their outpourings of grief. Jared Leto tweeted, "Thank you to the beautifully original + brave artist that is Robin Williams. You taught us how to stand on the edge, fearless, + shine."

Anderson Cooper recalled interviewing him and offered this snippet, "Whenever you went to interview him, you put your seatbelt on and held on for dear life." The TV Academy offered some words as well, "Our condolences to the friends and family of Robin Williams he was such a talented, funny, intelligent person."

Sesame Street tweeted, "We mourn the loss of our friend Robin Williams, who always made us laugh and smile." John Stamos remembered him as well, "The first autograph I ever got: Dear money, send mom. Robin Williams." But industry peer Steve Martin perhaps said it best, "I could not be more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, great talent, acting partner, genuine soul."

Robin Williams was born on July 21, 1951, the only child of a Ford auto executive and a former model from Mississippi. Williams attended private school just outside of Detroit but was a shy kid who largely entertained himself with his own imagination. Williams recalled that when his parents took him to see Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey on the big screen in San Francisco, the teenager was not only amazed by the film but inspired to try acting. In his senior year, he joined the theater group at Redwood High School in Larkspur and made an impression on the student body, who voted him "Most Funny but Least Likely to Succeed."

“I could not be more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, great talent, acting partner, genuine soul.” -Steve Martin

Williams later landed a full scholarship to the best dramatic training ground in the country - the Juilliard School in New York City. He was one of only 20 incoming freshmen accepted that year, and shared that honor with his roommate Christopher Reeve. At Juilliard, Williams received classical dramatic training, honing his technique on Shakespeare and studying under famed actor John Houseman. He also earned money as a street performer, miming in white grease paint outside the Museum of Modern Art for change and applause.

After moving to Los Angeles, he debuted at the Improv in 1976, went on to play the Comedy Store, and immediately made an impression with his manic energy and his trademark baggy pants and loud shirts. Williams made his television debut as a member of the ensemble of a revival of Laugh-In and followed up with the short-lived Richard Pryor Show in 1977.  But his career really spring boarded when in 1977, Williams showed up at an audition for a guest role as an alien on the top sitcom Happy Days, and promptly got the part when he sat on his head in the office of producer Gary Marshall.

Below SSN takes a look at the career milestones of Robin Williams, at once luminous, madcap, uproarious, and most of all much loved talent that will be missed.

Mork and Mindy  (1978) SSN Insight: His wildly popular debut on Happy Days led to a recurring role, and by the start of 1978, the comic actor had a four-year contract to star in his own spin-off series, Mork and Mindy airing from 1978 through 1982. The show featured Williams as an émigré from the planet Ork who learns to adjust to American life with the help of a hip young music store clerk (Pam Dawber) who lets him live in her attic. Williams became an overnight sensation with a No. 3 rated show, a Golden Globe Award, and his likeness plastered on games, toys, and trinkets. His character's catchphrase "Nanu! Nanu!" even entered into the popular lexicon.

A Night at the Met (1986) SSN Insight: Perhaps his most famous concert film, which resulted in a Grammy winning comedy album. It was to be one of his last major concerts during the 1980s. Williams' razor-sharp humor and voice work was seamlessly interviewed between riffs on the topics of drugs, sex, Mikhail Gorbachev, Ronald Reagan, and Libya.

Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) SSN Insight: Based on a real-life figure who boosted troop morale with his Saigon-based dispatches, Cronauer's unbridled comic ramblings and radio plays were actually improvised by the actor, and his outstanding performance earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination, in addition to over a $100 million dollars in ticket sales.

Awakenings (1990) SSN Insight:He steadily continued exploring his interest in complex human characters, and showing a penchant for outsiders trying to connect with society. Penny Marshall cast him in Awakenings as a historic doctor who revived catatonic patients, for which he shared a Best Actor Award from the National Board of Review with co-star Robert De Niro and earned a Golden Globe nomination.

The Fisher King (1991) SSN Insight: Stephen Spielberg's Hook was a certified blockbuster and one of the most popular films of the year - but it was Williams' turn in Terry Gilliam's stylish The Fisher King that won him critical favor. He took home his first Golden Globe award for the Herculean task of portraying an unhinged homeless man who enters into a curious, Biblical-inspired scenario with the shock-jock (Jeff Bridges) responsible for the traumatic murder of his wife. The film beautifully showcased Williams' dramatic capability and his ability to fuse it with the spontaneous energy of his comedy-based performances. It was a truly touching performance and one for which many felt he was robbed come Oscar time.

Aladdin (1992) SSN Insight: Williams was back in high comic form the following year with the hugely successful animated Disney feature Aladdin. Freed from the physical restrictions of live-action acting, Williams took off on inspired riffs, impersonating scores of cross-generational pop-culture icons from Arnold Schwarzenegger to William F. Buckley. He earned special recognition from the Golden Globes and another from the National Board of Review.

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) SSN Insight: Williams followed up with another box office triumph as one of the more iconic characters of his career, Mrs. Doubtfire, for which Williams donned drag to play a doddering Scottish nanny in Chris Columbus' smash family comedy hit.  With immpeccable Academy Award winning make-up he made fooling your kids in an elaborate ruse hilarious and endearing at the same time. Audiences agree and in it grossed an incredible $441 million, second only to Jurassic Park in 1993.

The Birdcage (1996) SSN Insight: Ironically, Williams had the more subdued performance as Armand, the nightclub owner playing off of his high-strung drag queen lover (Nathan Lane), in Mike Nichols' reworking of 1978's "La Cage aux folles". Williams proved himself as a true showman, reeling in his rapid-fire energy to let Lane steal the show.  Variety heralded the performance, reviewing it as, "one of his welcome restrained outings, Williams modulates his characterization beautifully, depending upon the role Armand is required to play at any given moment: father, endlessly tolerant companion, club boss and “straight” man in the big dinner scene."

Good Will Hunting (1997) SSN Insight: Taking another turn toward the dramatic, Williams went on to deliver one of his best performances, earning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as a tough-love therapist trying to help a troubled genius played by Matt Damon in Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting. It was a stunningly human portrait that unquestionably put Williams at the top of the list of Hollywood's most accomplished and versatile actors - and he owed it all to the two Hollywood newcomer screenwriters, Affleck and Damon - which many found ironic, Williams included.

One Hour Photo (2002) SSN Insight: The boldest departure from his film persona and one of his most memorable roles, Williams delivered an incredible three-dimensional performance as a quietly insane stalker in One Hour Photo. The indie $12 million budgeted film earned $55 million at the box office and was widely adored by critics achieving an 81 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Variety called the performance, "one of his creepiest, atypical roles, and the comic star responds with an unusually restrained performance that is, in the end, quite moving."

Robin Williams: Weapons of Self Destruction (2009) SSN Insight: After postponing his one-man stand-up comedy act to replace his aortic valve, Williams returned with to the road with a vengeance for a 26-city tour that September. Ending later that December, the act was filmed for this HBO comedy special, which earned three Emmy Award nominations, including one for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.