46 AMERICANWAY
JULY 1 2007
The voice on the phone could burst out in improvisational rifts that couldput you on the
floor. RobinWilliams has had that effect on people throughout 30 years of comedy. But
today, there are fewof the laugh-a-millisecond screeds that fuel his comedy routines, little
of the insane cartoon-character voices he’s provided in such roles asGenie in
Aladdin
and
Ramon/Lovelace, themadpenguinking, in
HappyFeet
.He’s not roaring “Goodmorning,
Vietnam!”ashedid in theOscar-nominatedfilmof the samename, space-chanting “Nanu,
nanu” as hedid inhis breakout television show
MorkandMindy
, or advisinghis students
to “Seize the day!” as he didwhile playing an inspirational teacher in
DeadPoets Society
.
Today, Williams, one of the most venerable entertainers of our time, who has lit up the
screen in films ranging from
GoodWill Hunting (
for which hewon anOscar in 1998) to
Mrs.Doubtfire
(forwhichhedressed indrag), isnot acting.
Today,RobinWilliams is serious about something: hishometownof SanFrancisco. This
city, where he has lived since he was 16, saved him in a sense and gave him not only a
homebut alsoacareerpath.Hearrived inSanFrancisco in1967, theonlychildof aperipa-
teticFord auto executive and amodel turnedhomemaker.Hewas a childof privilegewho
had an overactive imagination andwatched JonathanWinters comedy onTVwithhis fa-
ther for fun.He couldhave followedhis father intobusiness. But in the freewheelingSan
