Robin Williams

Robin Williams, the man Entertainment Weekly voted "The Funniest Man Alive" in 1997, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. His knack for goofy, oddball behavior was a trait that showed itself as far back as high school, where Williams was voted "Least Likely to Succeed" by his peers at Larkspur High School. At first, Williams chose political science as his college major, but quickly packed traditional college in when Julliard accepted his application. Eventually, Williams came back to the San Francisco Bay Area and worked as a mime and stand-up comedian on the burgeoning West Coast comedy circuit. Stints at L.A.'s Comedy Store and Laugh-In followed, which led to a guest appearance on Happy Days, where Mork from Ork was born. From 1978-1982 Williams starred in the show's successful spin-off, Mork and Mindy, and his star was on the rise. Successful cable specials followed, culminating in 1986's Comic Relief, a hugely successful charity-based event where he starred with Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg. It seemed that not even a shaky film debut (1980's Popeye) could put a damper on the enthusiasm the public had for Robin. Thankfully, other early projects such as The World According to Garp and Moscow on the Hudson proved to be box-office hits, and further ingrained the performer into the hearts of the American public. Over the years, Williams has proven himself to be a rare commodity in Hollywood: a warm, comedic actor with exceptional improvisational skills who can also deliver genuine, heartfelt emotion on the big screen. In 1997, after three previous Oscar nominations, Williams finally took home the prize for his work in Good Will Hunting. Since then, the comedian has accepted darker roles in such films as Insomnia and One Hour Photo, proving, once again, what a well-rounded character actor he's become.