What was Robin Williams’ last movie?
August 11th, 2014, was a sad day in the history of Hollywood, as that was the day beloved comedian Robin Williams was found dead in his Paradise Cay, California home.
The comedic genius was 63 years old, and to make matters even more tragic, it was reported that the cause of death was suicide. Williams’ wife, Susan Schneider, let it be known that he had suffered severe depression in the lead-up to his death and had been diagnosed with the early stages of Parkinson’s Disease. By November, though, an examination of Williams’ brain suggested he was suffering from diffuse Lewy body dementia, which Schneider described as the terrorist inside her husband’s brain.
It was a tragic end for one of Hollywood’s most popular actors and a man many consider one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time. Tributes poured in for Williams from family, friends, and even then-President of the United States Barack Obama, who declared him “an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between.”
Above all, Williams’ uncanny ability to make audiences feel something, whether trying to make them laugh or cry, was celebrated by everyone who had ever watched him on screen or worked with him.
Throughout his 35-year career on the silver screen, Williams charmed audiences and critics alike with his zany yet compellingly human performances in countless hit comedies and family movies like Mrs Doubtfire, Jumanji, Popeye, and Flubber. However, despite coming from the world of comedy, it would be in dramas that Williams would arguably hit his highest points as an actor.
So, what was Robin Williams’ final movie?
Strangely, naming Williams’ last movie isn’t quite as simple as it sounds. You see, he had several movies released posthumously, including a couple whose release dates were delayed in different territories.
In 2014, one of Williams’ films was released before his death (The Angriest Man in Brooklyn), while another (Boulevard) premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. Boulevard, a low-budget drama about a middle-aged man coming to terms with his sexuality, wasn’t widely released until July 10th, 2015, though.
Williams then had two posthumous releases in 2014. The black comedy A Merry Friggin’ Christmas was released that November, while his third appearance as a sentient museum exhibit version of Theodore Roosevelt in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb came out in December.
In truth, though, the last movie that featured Williams as a prominent member of the cast was Absolutely Anything, a sci-fi comedy starring Simon Pegg. Williams lent his vocal talents to the film – directed by his longtime pal Terry Jones of Monty Python fame – by playing a talking dog named Dennis. It was released on August 14th, 2015, in the UK but didn’t arrive in the US until May 12th, 2017 – almost three years after the treasured star passed away.
And what was Robin Williams’ first movie?
In the smutty 1977 comedy Can I Do It…til I Need Glasses? Williams appeared in two sketches and played different roles. He played a lawyer in one and a hillbilly with a toothache in another and was paid the princely sum of $150 for his troubles. Both sketches were cut from the final edit of the film, though – until Williams’ TV role in the ludicrously popular Mork & Mindy shot him to fame.
Quick-thinking producer Mike Callie then dug through the deleted material for Can I Do It, restored Williams’ scenes, and re-released the film with Williams’ name bumped up to top billing. Naturally, the new star wasn’t happy with this and took Callie to court. His credit was subsequently reduced to “And of course…Robin Williams.”
…but when did Robin Williams win an Oscar?
Between 1987 and 1991, Williams made three films that earned him Oscar nominations—Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, and The Fisher King—and with 1997’s Good Will Hunting, he finally took home one of those prestigious Little Golden Men.
In the early 2000s, Williams also brilliantly subverted his smiling, fun-loving image with a series of darker, sinister roles in the likes of One Hour Photo, Insomnia, and The Night Listener.
