World's Greatest Dad is a 2009 American black comedy film written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. It stars Robin Williams, Daryl Sabara, and Alexie Gilmore. The film was released on July 24 on video on demand providers before its limited theatrical release on August 24, 2009. This film was rated R by the MPAA for language, crude and sexual content, some drug use, and disturbing images.

Plot[link]

Lance Clayton (Robin Williams) is a single father, unpublished author, and high-school English teacher who dreams of becoming a famous writer. He unsuccessfully tries to bond with his 15 year old underachieving, manipulative, hostile, sex-obsessed teenage son Kyle (Sabara).^[4] Kyle is a student at the school where Lance teaches an unpopular poetry class. His only friend is Andrew, a fellow student who spends his evenings at the Claytons' house trying to avoid his embarrassing alcoholic mother. He is respectful and starkly different from Kyle. Kyle's consistently poor academic performance and vile behavior gain the attention of the school principal, who advises Lance that Kyle should transfer to a special-needs school. Lance meanwhile is in a noncommital relationship with a fellow teacher named Claire, who is spending time with a fellow teacher named Mike who runs a more successful class than Lance, and on his nights alone when Claire cancels their dates Lance bonds with his elderly neighbor.

One night, after Kyle and Lance spend an evening with Claire, Lance discovers in horror that Kyle has accidentally strangled himself in an autoerotic asphyxiation accident in his bedroom, looking at a picture of Claire's underwear that he sneaked under the table with his cell phone that night. To avoid embarrassing his son and himself, he stages Kyle’s death as an intentional suicide. He writes a suicide note on Kyle’s computer and hangs his son’s body in the closet. Initially, most of the students and faculty at Lance's school are uninterested in Kyle's death, Kyle having been a very unpopular and unlikeable person. However, a classmate later obtains the suicide note from police records and publishes it in the school newspaper. The note strikes a chord with the students and faculty, and suddenly many students claim to have been friends with Kyle and are touched by how deep and intelligent he shows himself to be in his writings.

Enjoying the attention his writing is finally receiving, Lance decides to write and publish a phony journal that was supposedly written by his son before his suicide. Kyle becomes something of a post-mortem cult phenomenon at the school, and soon Lance begins to receive the attention and adoration that he had always desired. He begins spending more time with Claire, his class becomes more popular, and students treat him as a friend. Andrew finds Kyle’s suicide note and journals as highly uncharacteristic based on Kyle's personality when he was alive, but Lance brushes him off when Andrew confronts him. The journal soon attracts the attention of book publishers and Lance lands a television appearance on a nationally broadcast talk show. The school principal then decides to rename the school library in Kyle’s honor, despite Kyle's attitude at school during his lifetime and the fact that the principal had at one point suggested that Kyle be transferred. Lance's work, though published under false pretenses, earns him all the fame and appreciation he has dreamed of.

At the library dedication, pressed by a combination of his guilt over exploiting his son’s death, his mounting hatred for the hypocrites who claimed false friendship, and the faculty’s new-found admiration of the “genius” of his dead son, Lance confesses before the school. He declares none of them liked Kyle, but that he loved his son, eventhough he was unpleasant and unintelligent, and that Lance wrote his suicide note and journal to cover up his son's accidental death. Claire slaps Lance and approaches Mike, the principal and students glare and sneer at him, but Lance feels reborn and runs to the school's pool and dives into it naked. Lance becomes the new social pariah and is hated by everyone, but Andrew tells him he knew Lance wrote the journal and that he enjoyed it and feels Lance should keep writing.

Cast[link]

• Robin Williams as Lance Clayton
• Alexie Gilmore as Claire Reed
• Daryl Sabara as Kyle Clayton
• Geoff Pierson as Principal Wyatt Anderson
• Henry Simmons as Mike Lane
• Mitzi McCall as Bonnie
• Jermaine Williams as Jason
• Lorraine Nicholson as Heather
• Morgan Murphy as Morgan
• Toby Huss as Bert Green
• Tom Kenny as Jerry Klein (talk show producer)
• Jill Talley as Make-Up Woman
• Bruce Hornsby as “Bruce Hornsby”
• Krist Novoselic as Newspaper Vendor (cameo)
• Bobcat Goldthwait as the limo driver (uncredited)

Production[link]

The film was shot in Seattle, Washington, largely at the former F.A. McDonald School in Wallingford.^[5] Seattle resident and former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic has a wordless cameo while consoling Williams' character at a newspaper stand (Goldthwait had previously opened for Nirvana, the cameo may be a reference to Cobain's suicide). Bruce Hornsby appears as himself at the library dedication.

Home video[link]

The DVD was released on December 8, 2009 and featured an audio commentary track with the director, deleted scenes, outtakes, and a making of featurette.

Reception[link]

World's Greatest Dad received generally positive reviews from critics, holding a "Fresh" rating of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 115 reviews, with the consensus: "World's Greatest Dad is a risky, deadpan, dark comedy that effectively explores the nature of posthumous cults of celebrity."^[6] Metacritic reported that the film had an average score of 69 out of 100, based on 23 reviews.^[7]

The film was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival, the website hailing it as a "lusciously perverse, and refreshingly original comedy that tackles love, loss, and our curious quest for infamy." It also commented on Robin Williams' performance as outstanding.^[4] Sandra L. Frey observed the film's portrayal of teen angst, and said that the film also reminds the audience that adults can offer strong angst of their own.^[8] Devin Faraci called the film "brilliant" and "genius." Paul Fischer named it as one of the best films of the year.^[9] Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz both gave the film favorable reviews on At The Movies. Mankiewicz saluted Daryl Sabara's performance as exceptionally well done, commented on the film's "remarkably funny script," and overall considered it a "little gem." Tom Rougvieq from the Whitstable Times gave it a 3 out of 4 stars and called it a refreshing comedy of the age, praising its originality and Robin Williams' performance.^[10] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave World's Greatest Dad 3 out of 4 stars, but noticed that the material could have been even darker in its satire, and he questioned whether it was the director's intention.^[11]

See also[link]

• A Million Little Pieces, a recent literary hoax popularized on a television talk show

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• World's Greatest Dad at the Internet Movie Database
• World's Greatest Dad at Rotten Tomatoes

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (January 2012)

Robin Williams
Williams at "Stand Up for Heroes" in 2007
Birth name	Robin McLaurin Williams
Born	(1951-07-21) July 21, 1951 (age 60) Chicago, Illinois, United States
Medium	Stand-up, film, television
Nationality	American
Years active	1972–present
Genres	Character comedy, physical comedy, improvisational comedy, satire/political satire, observational comedy, blue comedy
Influences	Peter Sellers, Richard Pryor, Jonathan Winters, George Carlin, Chuck Jones
Influenced	Conan O'Brien, Frank Caliendo,[1] Dat Phan, Jo Koy
Spouse	Valerie Velardi (1978–1988; 1 child) Marsha Garces Williams (1989–2008; 2 children) Susan Schneider (2011–present)
Website	RobinWilliams.com
Academy Awards
Best Supporting Actor 1997 Good Will Hunting – Sean Maguire
Emmy Awards
Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program 1987 Carol and Carl and Whoopi and Robin Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program 1988 ABC Presents A Royal Gala
Golden Globe Awards
Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy 1978 Mork & Mindy – Mork Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy 1987 Good Morning, Vietnam – Adrian Cronauer Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy 1991 The Fisher King – Parry Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy 1993 Mrs. Doubtfire – Daniel Hillard ("Euphegenia Doubtfire") Cecil B. DeMille Award 2005
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 1996 The Birdcage – Armand Goldman Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role 1997 Good Will Hunting – Sean Maguire
American Comedy Awards
Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role) 1994 Mrs. Doubtfire – Daniel Hillard ("Euphegenia Doubtfire")

Robin McLaurin Williams^[2][3] (born July 21, 1951^[4]) is an American actor and comedian. Rising to fame with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork & Mindy, and later stand-up comedy work, Williams has performed in many feature films since 1980. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting. He has also won two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globes, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and five Grammy Awards.^[5][6]

Early life[link]

Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Laura McLaurin (née Smith, 1922–2001), was a former model from New Orleans, Louisiana.^[7] His father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams (September 10, 1906 – October 18, 1987), was a senior executive at Ford Motor Company in charge of the Midwest region. His maternal great-great-grandfather was senator and Mississippi governor Anselm J. McLaurin.^[8] Williams is of English, Welsh, Irish, and French ancestry.^[9] He was raised in the Episcopal Church (his mother practiced Christian Science).^[10][11] He grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he was a student at the Detroit Country Day School,^[12] and later moved to Woodacre, Marin County, California, where he attended the public Redwood High School. Williams studied at Claremont McKenna College (then called Claremont Men's College) for four years.^[13] He has two half-brothers: Todd (who died August 14, 2007) and McLaurin.^[14]

Williams has described himself as a quiet child whose first imitation was of his grandmother to his mother. He did not overcome his shyness until he became involved with his high-school drama department.^[15]

In 1973, Williams was one of only 20 students accepted into the freshman class at the Juilliard School, and one of only two students to be accepted by John Houseman into the Advanced Program at the school that year, the other being Christopher Reeve.^[16] In his dialects class, Williams had no trouble mastering all dialects quickly. Williams left Juilliard in 1976.

Television career[link]

After appearing in the cast of the short-lived The Richard Pryor Show on NBC, Williams was cast by Garry Marshall as the alien Mork in the hit TV series Happy Days.^[17] As Mork, Williams improvised much of his dialogue and physical comedy, speaking in a high, nasal voice. Mork's appearance was so popular with viewers that it led to a spin-off hit television sitcom, Mork & Mindy, which ran from 1978 to 1982; the show was written to accommodate Williams' improvisations. Although he played the same character as in his appearance in Happy Days, the show was set in the present day, in Boulder, Colorado, instead of the late '50s in Milwaukee. Mork was an extremely popular character, featured on posters, coloring books, lunchboxes, and other merchandise.

Starting in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Williams began to reach a wider audience with his standup comedy, including three HBO comedy specials, Off The Wall (1978), An Evening with Robin Williams (1982), and Robin Williams: Live at the Met (1986). Also in 1986, Williams reached an ever wider audience to exhibit his style at the 58th Academy Awards show.^{[citation needed]}

His stand-up work has been a consistent thread through his career, as is seen by the success of his one-man show (and subsequent DVD) Robin Williams: Live on Broadway (2002). He was voted 13th on Comedy Central's list "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time" in 2004.^[18]

After some encouragement from his friend Whoopi Goldberg, he was set to make a guest appearance in the 1991 Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "A Matter of Time", but he had to cancel due to a scheduling conflict;^[19] Matt Frewer took his place as a time-traveling con man, Professor Berlingoff Rasmussen. Williams, along with Billy Crystal, appeared in a cameo together at the beginning of an episode of the third season of Friends. Both Williams and Crystal's parts weren't originally in the script. They were apparently in the building where the show was shooting and were asked to improvise their lines.^[20]

Williams appeared on an episode of the American version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? (Season 3, Episode 9: November 16, 2000). During a game of "Scenes from a Hat", the scene "What Robin Williams is thinking right now" was drawn, and Williams stated "I have a career. What the hell am I doing here?"^[21] On December 4, 2010, he appeared with Robert De Niro on SNL in the sketch What Up with That.

Movie roles[link]

Most of Williams' acting career has been in film, although he has given some performances on stage as well (notably as Estragon in a production of Waiting for Godot with Steve Martin). His performance in Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) resulted in Williams being nominated for an Academy Award.^[17] Many of his roles have been comedies tinged with pathos.

His role as the Genie in the animated film Aladdin (1992) was instrumental in establishing the importance of star power in voice actor casting. Williams also used his voice talents in Fern Gully, as the holographic Dr. Know in the 2001 film A.I. Artificial Intelligence, in the 2005 animated film Robots, the 2006 Academy Award-winning Happy Feet, and an uncredited vocal performance in the film Everyone's Hero. Furthermore, he was the voice of The Timekeeper, a former attraction at the Walt Disney World Resort about a time-traveling robot who encounters Jules Verne and brings him to the future.

In 1998, he won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his role as a psychologist in Good Will Hunting.^[17] Williams has also starred in dramatic films, which earned him two subsequent Academy Award nominations: First for playing an English teacher in Dead Poets Society (1989), and later for playing a troubled homeless man in The Fisher King (1991);^[17] that same year, he played an adult Peter Pan in the movie Hook. Other acclaimed dramatic films include Awakenings (1990) and What Dreams May Come (1998). In the 2002 film Insomnia, Williams portrays a writer/killer on the run from a sleep-deprived Los Angeles policeman (played by Al Pacino) in rural Alaska. And also in 2002, in the psychological thriller One Hour Photo, Williams played an emotionally disturbed photo development technician who becomes obsessed with a family for whom he has developed pictures for a long time. In 2006 Williams starred in The Night Listener, a thriller about a radio show host who realizes he has developed a friendship with a child who may or may not exist.

He is known for his improvisational skills and impersonations. His performances frequently involve impromptu humor designed and delivered in rapid-fire succession while on stage. According to the Aladdin DVD commentary, most of his dialogue as the Genie was improvised.

In 2006, he starred in five movies including Man of the Year and was the Surprise Guest at the 2006 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. He appeared on an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that aired on January 30, 2006.

At one point, he was in the running to play the Riddler in Batman Forever until director Tim Burton dropped the project. Earlier, Williams had been a strong contender to play the Joker in Batman. He had expressed interest in assuming the role in The Dark Knight, the sequel to 2005's Batman Begins,^[22] although the part of the Joker was played by Heath Ledger, who went on to win, posthumously, the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

He was portrayed by Chris Diamantopoulos in the made-for-TV biopic Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Mork & Mindy (2005), documenting the actor's arrival in Hollywood as a struggling comedian.

Disputes with Disney[link]

In gratitude for his success with the Disney/Touchstone film "Good Morning, Vietnam", Williams voiced the Genie in the Disney animated film Aladdin for SAG scale pay ($75,000), on condition that his name or image not be used for marketing, and his (supporting) character not take more than 25% of space on advertising artwork, since Toys was scheduled for release one month after Aladdin's debut. The studio went back on the deal on both counts, especially in poster art by having the Genie in 25% of the image, but having other major and supporting characters portrayed considerably smaller. Disney's Hyperion book, Aladdin: The Making Of An Animated Film, listed both of Williams' characters, "The Peddler" and "The Genie", ahead of main characters but was forced to refer to him only as "the actor signed to play the Genie".^[23]

Williams and Disney had a bitter falling-out, resulting in Dan Castellaneta voicing the Genie role in "The Return of Jafar" and the "Aladdin" animated television series. Castellaneta was also recorded as the original voice for the feature "Aladdin and the King of Thieves". When Jeffrey Katzenberg was fired from Disney and replaced by former 20th Century Fox production head Joe Roth (whose last act for Fox was greenlighting Williams' film "Mrs. Doubtfire"), Roth arranged for a public apology to Williams by Disney. Williams agreed to perform in Hollywood Pictures' "Jack", directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and even agreed to voice the Genie again for the "King of Thieves" sequel (for considerably more than scale), replacing all of Castellaneta's dialogue.^[24]

When Williams re-teamed with "Doubtfire" director Chris Columbus for 1999's "Bicentennial Man", Disney asked that the budget be cut by approximately $20 million, and when the film was released on Christmas Day, it flopped at the box office. Williams blamed Disney's marketing and the loss of content the film had suffered due to the budget cuts. As a result, Williams was again on bad terms with Disney, and Castellaneta was once again recruited to replace him as Genie in the "Kingdom Hearts" video game series and the "House of Mouse" TV series. The DVD release for "Aladdin" has no involvement whatsoever from Williams in the bonus materials, although some of his original recording sessions can be seen.

Robin Williams has recently made peace with The Walt Disney Company and in 2009 agreed to be inducted into the Disney Hall of Fame, designated as a Disney Legend.^[25]

Stand-up career[link]

Williams has done a number of stand-up comedy tours since the early 1970s. Some of his most notable tours include An Evening With Robin Williams (1982), Robin Williams: At The Met (1986) and Robin Williams LIVE on Broadway (2002). The latter broke many long-held records for a comedy show. In some cases, tickets were sold out within thirty minutes of going on sale.

After a six year break, in August 2008 Williams announced a brand new 26-city tour titled "Weapons of Self Destruction". He was quoted as saying that this was his last chance to make cracks at the expense of the current Bush Administration, but by the time the show was staged only a few minutes covered that subject. The tour started at the end of September 2009, finishing in New York on December 3, and was the subject of an HBO special on December 8, 2009.^[26]

Accusations of plagiarism[link]

Williams was accused of stealing material from other comics to the extent that David Brenner claims that he confronted Williams personally and threatened him with bodily harm if he heard Williams utter another one of his jokes.^[27]

Theatre career[link]

In theatre, Williams has headed his own one-man show, Robin Williams: Live on Broadway, that played at The Broadway Theatre in July 2002.^[28] He made his Broadway acting debut in Rajiv Joseph's Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, which opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on March 31, 2011.^[29][30][31] He previously appeared opposite Steve Martin at Lincoln Center in an Off-Broadway production of Waiting for Godot.^[32]

Personal life[link]

Marriages and children[link]

Robin Williams' first marriage was to Valerie Velardi on June 4, 1978. They have one child, Zachary Pym (Zak) (born April 11, 1983). During Williams' first marriage, he was involved in an extramarital relationship with Michelle Tish Carter, a cocktail waitress whom he met in 1984. She sued him in 1986, claiming that he did not tell her he was infected with the herpes simplex virus before he embarked on a sexual relationship with her in the mid-1980s, during which, she said, he transmitted the virus to her. The case was settled out of court. Williams and Velardi divorced in 1988.^[33]

On April 30, 1989, he married Marsha Garces, his son's nanny who was already several months pregnant with his child. They have two children, Zelda Rae (born July 31, 1989) and Cody Alan (born November 25, 1991). However, in March 2008, Garces filed for divorce from Williams, citing irreconcilable differences.^[34]

Williams married his third wife, graphic designer Susan Schneider, on October 23, 2011, in St. Helena, California.^[35]

Family and friends[link]

While studying at Juilliard, Williams befriended Christopher Reeve. They had several classes together in which they were the only students, and they remained good friends for the rest of Reeve's life. Williams visited Reeve after the horse riding accident that rendered him a quadriplegic, and cheered him up by pretending to be an eccentric Russian doctor (similar to his role in Nine Months). Williams claimed that he was there to perform a colonoscopy. Reeve stated that he laughed for the first time since the accident and knew that life was going to be okay.^[16]

Wiliams' at the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) in 2005

On August 20, 2007, Williams' elder brother, Robert Todd Williams, died of complications from heart surgery performed a month earlier.^[36]

Addiction and health problems[link]

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Williams had an addiction to cocaine; he has stated that he has since quit. Williams was a close friend of and frequent partier alongside John Belushi. He says the death of his friend and the birth of his son prompted him to quit drugs: "Was it a wake-up call? Oh yeah, on a huge level. The grand jury helped too."^[17]

On August 9, 2006, Williams checked himself in to a substance-abuse rehabilitation center (located in Newberg, Oregon), later admitting that he was an alcoholic.^[37] His publicist delivered the announcement:

After 20 years of sobriety, Robin Williams found himself drinking again and has decided to take proactive measures to deal with this for his own well-being and the well-being of his family.

Williams was hospitalized in March 2009 due to heart problems. He postponed his one-man tour in order to undergo surgery to replace his aortic valve.^[38][39] The surgery was successfully completed on March 13, 2009, at the Cleveland Clinic.^[40][41]

Other interests[link]

Williams is a member of the Episcopal Church. He has described his denomination in a comedy routine as "Catholic Lite—same rituals, half the guilt."^[42]

Williams speaking at the 2008 BBC World Debate.

Williams is an avid enthusiast of games, even naming two of his children after game characters. He named his daughter after Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda action-adventure game series.^[43][44][45] They both have even been featured in an ad for the Nintendo 3DS remake of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.^[46] On this note, his son may have been named after Cody from the beat 'em up game Final Fight.^[47] He also enjoys pen-and-paper role-playing games and online video games, recently playing Warcraft 3, Day of Defeat, Half-Life,^[48] and the first-person shooter Battlefield 2 as a sniper.^[49] He was also previously a fan of the Wizardry series of role-playing video games.^[50]

On January 6, 2006, he performed live at Consumer Electronics Show during Google's keynote.^[51] In the 2006 E3, on the invitation of Will Wright, he demonstrated the creature editor of Spore while simultaneously commenting on the creature's look: "This will actually make a platypus look good."^[52] He also complimented the game's versatility, comparing it to Populous and Black & White. Later that year, he was one of several celebrities to participate in the Worldwide Dungeons & Dragons Game Day.^[53]

A fan of professional road cycling, he was a regular on the US Postal and Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team bus and hotels during the years Lance Armstrong dominated the Tour de France.^[54] He owns over 50 bicycles.^[55]

He also enjoys rugby union and is a big fan of former All Black, Jonah Lomu.^[56]

Williams is a supporter of eco-friendly vehicles. He currently drives a Toyota Prius,^[57] and is on the waiting list for an Aptera 2 Series electric vehicle.^[58]

Williams has recently announced that he would love to play The Riddler in the next installment to the Batman films by director Christopher Nolan, though Nolan has stated that The Riddler will not be featured in the film.^[59]

Williams performing at Camp Victory for the USO on December 13, 2010.

Charity work[link]

Williams and his former wife, Marsha, founded the Windfall Foundation, a philanthropic organization to raise money for many different charities. Williams devotes much of his energy to charity work, including the Comic Relief fundraising efforts (the program is hosted by himself, Billy Crystal, and Whoopi Goldberg).^[17] In December 1999, he sang in French on the BBC-inspired music video of international celebrities doing a cover of the Rolling Stones' "It's Only Rock & Roll" for the charity Children's Promise.^[60]

In response to the 2010 Canterbury Earthquake, Williams donated all proceeds of his "Weapons of Self Destruction" Christchurch performance to helping rebuild the New Zealand city. Half the proceeds were donated to the Red Cross and half to the mayoral building fund with the words "I hope this donation will go some way to helping the extensive rebuilding effort in the city."^[61] Williams has performed with the USO for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.^[62]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

Discography[link]

• Reality...What a Concept (1979)
• Throbbing Python of Love (1983)
• A Night at The Met (1986)
• Pecos Bill (1988)
• Live 2002 (2002)
• Weapons of Self Destruction (2010)

Williams appeared in the music video of Bobby McFerrin's hit 1988 song "Don't Worry, Be Happy".^[63] He teamed with McFerrin again to record a cover of The Beatles' "Come Together" for the 1998 George Martin album In My life.

He made a cameo in Cobra Starship's video "You Make Me Feel..." along with his daughter, Zelda Williams.^[64]

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Jay David (1999). The Life and Humor of Robin Williams: A Biography. New York: Quill. ISBN 978-0-688-15245-1. 
• Andy Dougan (1999). Robin Williams: A Biography. Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 978-1-56025-213-9. 
• Stephen J. Spignesi (1997). The Robin Williams Scrapbook. Secaucus, NJ: Carol Pub.. ISBN 978-0-8065-1891-6. 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Robin Williams

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Robin Williams

• Robin Williams – official website
• Robin Williams at the Internet Broadway Database
• Robin Williams at the Internet Movie Database
• Robin Williams at the TCM Movie Database
• Robin Williams at Yahoo! Movies

Robin Patricia Williams (born 1953) is an American educator who has authored many popular computer-related books, as well as the book Sweet Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write Shakespeare?^[1] Among her computer books are manuals of style The Mac is Not a Typewriter and The Non-Designer's Design Book, as well as numerous manuals for various Mac OS operating systems and applications, including The Little Mac Book.^[2] "Through her writing, teaching, and seminars, ... [Williams] has influenced an entire generation of computer users in the areas of design, typography, desktop publishing, the World Wide Web, and the Macintosh."^[3]

Biography[link]

Williams was born (1953-10-09)October 9, 1953,^{[citation needed]} grew up in San Jose and Fremont, California, graduated from Washington High School in Fremont, and then attended Santa Rosa Junior College.^[4]

Williams is an author, college instructor, lecturer, and leads The Understanders,^[5] a Shakespeare discussion and reading group. She has been a leader in New Mexico computer-related organizations^[6][7][8] and The Mary Sidney Society.^[9]

She is married to John Tollett^[10] and has three children.^[4]

Writings[link]

An autodidact,^{[citation needed]} she has written, designed, indexed, and produced more than fifty computer-related books,^[2] translated into twenty-three languages.^{[citation needed]}

Williams spent years studying William Shakespeare,^[11] and in 2006 issued her book Sweet Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write Shakespeare? in which she proposed the writer Mary Sidney as a candidate in the Shakespearean authorship question. She also teaches Shakespeare and leads The Understanders' 16-week discussion groups about individual plays.^[5]

Of Williams's research, her mentor,^[4] Cynthia Lee Katona, professor of Shakespeare and Women's Studies at the Ohlone community college, has said^{[citation needed]}

The first question I am asked by curious freshmen in my Shakespeare course is always, "Who wrote these plays anyway?" Now, because of Robin Williams' rigorous scholarship and artful sleuthing, Mary Sidney Herbert will forever have to be mentioned as a possible author of the Shakespeare canon. Sweet Swan of Avon doesn't pretend to put the matter to rest, but simply shows how completely reasonable the authorship controversy is, and how the idea of a female playwright surprisingly answers more Shakespearean conundrums than it creates....

Bibliography[link]

Books[link]

Williams is "the author of more than twenty award-winning and best-selling books",^[3] most published by Peachpit Press, Berkeley, CA.

Titles by Williams, Robin (writing alone under that name, except as noted).

• Little Mac Book, Leopard Edition, The
• Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Peachpit Learning Series, Adobe ReaderDownload
• Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: Peachpit Learning Series
• Non-Designer's Design and Type Books, Deluxe Edition, The
• Non-Designer's Collection, The
• Non-Designer's Type Book, The, 2nd Edition
• Little Mac Book, Tiger Edition, The
• Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger: Peachpit Learning Series
• Little Mac Book, The, Panther Edition
• Robin Williams Mac OS X Book, The, Panther Edition
• Non-Designer's Design Book, The, 2nd Edition
• Mac is not a typewriter, The, 2nd Edition
• Robin Williams Mac OS X Book, The, Jaguar Edition, 2nd Edition
• Little Mac OS X Book, The
• Little Mac Book, The, 7th Edition
• How to Boss Your Fonts Around, 2nd Edition
• Mac is not a typewriter, The
• Writing as Williams, Robin P. (2006): Sweet Swan of Avon: Did a Woman Write Shakespeare? (Imprint: Wilton Circle Press)

Titles by Williams, Robin, writing with Tollett, John (and, as noted, others).

• Robin Williams Cool Mac Apps: A guide to iLife 08, .Mac, and more
• Robin Williams Design Workshop, Second Edition, Adobe Reader, 2nd EditionDownload
• Podcasting and Blogging with GarageBand and iWeb eBookDownload
• Podcasting and Blogging with GarageBand and iWeb
• Robin Williams Design Workshop, 2nd Edition
• Macs on the Go, Adobe ReaderDownload
• Macs on the Go
• Non-Designer's Web Book, The, 3rd Edition
• Robin Williams Cool Mac Apps, Second Edition: A guide to iLife 05, .Mac, and more, 2nd Edition
• Robin Williams Cool Mac Apps: A guide to iLife, Mac.com, and more
• Little Mac iApps Book, The
• Little iMac Book, The, 3rd Edition
• With both Tollett and Rohr, Dave. Robin Williams Web Design Workshop
• Robin Williams Design Workshop
• Non-Designer's Web Book, The, 2nd Edition

With Cohen, Sandee.

• Non-Designer's Scan and Print Book, The

Articles[link]

Available for electronic download by Williams, Robin. publisher: Peachpit Press, Berkeley

• Robin Williams’s Guide to the Most Overlooked New Leopard Features
• How to use the Dock
• Designer's Toolbox: DVD hardware and software overview
• iMovie
• Introduction to Mac OS X
• Build A Better Business Card
• Little Mac iApps Tips
• iPhoto: Organize and Share Your Digital Photos
• Opening Apps & Docs in OS X
• Finding Your Way Around OS X
• Navigation Design
• Project: Logos
• Applying Your Identity
• Identity Template Files
• Tips on Designing Newsletters
• Tips on Designing Web Pages
• Peachpit TV (Audio Podcast): Interview with Robin Williams

References[link]

External links[link]

• Books by Robin Williams at Peachpit Press
• Her family website
• Her Mary Sidney site
• Her "The Understanders" discussion group
• Her "Wilton Circle Press" imprint of Peachpit Press

v t e Shakespeare authorship question (History) A series on alternative authorship theories for the works of William Shakespeare Theories Declaration of Reasonable Doubt Baconian theory Derbyite theory Oxfordian theory Prince Tudor theory Marlovian theory Candidates List of Shakespeare authorship candidates Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford Sir Edward Dyer Roger Manners, 5th Earl of Rutland Christopher Marlowe Sir Henry Neville William Nugent Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby Emilia Lanier Anne Whateley Supporters Joseph C. Hart Delia Bacon Orville Ward Owen James Wilde, 1st Baron Penzance George Greenwood Mark Twain Abel Lefranc J. Thomas Looney B. M. Ward Alden Brooks Charlton Greenwood Ogburn Calvin Hoffman Charlton Ogburn Roger Stritmatter Mark Anderson Charles Beauclerk Roland Emmerich John Orloff Bertram Fields Henry Albert Seymour

Team Hoyt in the 2008 Boston Marathon, near the halfway point in Wellesley

Team Hoyt is a father (Dick Hoyt, born June 1, 1940^[1]) and son (Rick Hoyt, born January 10, 1962) team from Holland, Massachusetts, who have competed together in various athletic endeavors, including marathons and triathlons. Rick has cerebral palsy and during competition Dick pulls Rick in a special boat as they swim, carries him in a special seat in the front of a bicycle, and pushes him in a special wheelchair as they run. Team Hoyt was inducted to the Ironman Hall of Fame in 2008.^[2]

Rick Hoyt's birth and early life[link]

Rick Hoyt was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth after his umbilical cord became twisted around his neck, which caused the blockage of oxygen flow.^[3] As a result, his brain cannot send the correct messages to his muscles.^[4] Many doctors encouraged the Hoyts to institutionalize Rick, informing them that he would be nothing more than a "vegetable."^[4] His parents held on to the fact that Rick’s eyes would follow them around the room, giving them hope that he would somehow be able to communicate someday.^[4] The Hoyts took Rick every week to Children’s Hospital in Boston, where they met a doctor who encouraged the Hoyts to treat Rick like any other child. Rick's mother Judy spent hours each day teaching Rick the alphabet with sandpaper letters and posting signs on every object in the house. In a short amount of time, Rick learned the alphabet.^[3]

At the age of 11, after some persistence from his parents, Rick was fitted with a computer that enabled him to communicate and it became clear that Rick was intelligent.^[5] With this communication device, Rick was also able to attend public school for the first time.^[6]

Rick went on to graduate from Boston University in 1993 with a degree in special education and later worked at Boston College in a computer lab helping to develop systems to aid in communication and other tasks for people with disabilities.^[7]

Dick Hoyt's career[link]

Dick is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard.

Team Hoyt[link]

Team Hoyt began in 1977 when Rick became inspired by an article on racing he saw in a magazine.^[8] Dick Hoyt was not a runner and was nearly 37 years old. After their first race Rick said, “Dad, when I’m running, it feels like I’m not handicapped.” After their initial five mile run, Dick began running every day with a bag of cement in the wheelchair because Rick was at school and studying, unable to train with him.”^[3] Dick was able to improve his fitness so much that even with pushing his son, he was able to obtain a personal record of a 5k in 17 minutes.^[9]

As of November 2011, the Hoyts had competed in 1069 endurance events, including 69 marathons and six Ironman triathlons.^[10] They had run the Boston Marathon 29 times. Also adding to their list of achievements, Dick and Rick biked and ran across the U.S. in 1992, completing a full 3,735 miles in 45 days.^[10][11]

They also compete in triathlons with Rick sitting in a boat for the swim portion, Dick pulls him in a boat with a rope attached to his body. For the cycle portion of the triathlon, Rick rides on the front of a specially designed tandem bike.^[4][12] Then he pushes Rick for the run.^[6]

Rick turned 50 in 2012 and Dick will be 72. As they speak and travel more they are racing less. At the beginning of their career, they participated in 50 races per year but now aim for 20-25 races per year. They still say they don't see an end in sight yet.^[9]

Racing history[link]

Total events (as of November 2011): 1069
Source: TeamHoyt.com^[10]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Team Hoyt - Official website
• Photo Gallery: Team Hoyt at SportsIllustrated.com
• Interview with Dick Hoyt on July 16, 2007 after being honored, along with Rick, as TheFinalSprint.com's July 2007 Success Story
• La Marató de TV3 (video)
• The Wheels Of Life Sports Illustrated, April 18, 2011
• Dick and Rick Hoyt: Still Running Together Impowerage Magazine, January 25, 2012

Sebastian Arcelus (born November 5, 1976) is an American actor. He has made a career in theatre on Broadway, regionally, and internationally. He made his Broadway debut in Rent, first as a swing, covering the male ensemble roles as well as Mark and Roger, and then as Roger. He also starred as Jan in the original cast of the Beach Boys musical Good Vibrations.

Arcelus also played the role of Fiyero on the first national tour of Wicked from January 3 until October 3, 2006. He then reprised the role in the Broadway production of the musical from January 9 until December 16, 2007.

He then starred as Bob Gaudio in the Broadway production of Jersey Boys from January 10, 2008 to January 11, 2009.^[1] before starring in Happiness, a musical which ran Off-Broadway at Lincoln Center Theater's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater for 14 weeks beginning on February 27, 2009.^[2]

Arcelus then resumed the role of Bob Gaudio in the Broadway production of Jersey Boys on July 14, 2009 and finished the role on October 10, 2010.^[3][4]

Arcelus originated the role of Buddy in Elf the Musical for a limited engagement run from November 10, 2010, through January 2, 2011, at Broadway's Al Hirschfeld Theater.^[5]

He assumed the role of Jack Chesney in Where's Charley? in a semi-staged production as part of New York City Center's Encores! series from March 17–20, 2011.^[6]

Arcelus originated the role of Jake Brigance in the stage production of A Time To Kill, premiering at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The play, based on the John Grisham novel of the same name, will run May 6 through June 19.^[7]

In November 2011, Arcelus starred in an off-Broadway limited engagement musical production of The Blue Flower at Second Stage, along with Marc Kudisch and Teal Wicks.^[8]

His voice can also be heard on numerous television commercials and animated programs.

Biographical Information[link]

Arcelus attended Williams College.

Arcelus married his Wicked co-star Stephanie J. Block on October 25, 2007. Block had starred alongside him as Elphaba in Wicked both on the national tour and on Broadway.

Sebastian's grandmother was Princess Catherine Ioannovna, daughter of Prince Ioann Konstantinovich of Russia, and the last member of the Romanov family born before the Revolution.^[9] Princess Catherine died in 2007.

Voice roles[link]

• Go, Diego, Go! (Nickelodeon) - Papi
• Samurai Deeper Kyo - Hotaru
• Shaman King - Yoh Asakura / Zeke Asakura (Hao Asakura)
• Gokusen - Youichi Minami
• Dinosaur King - Rex Ancient (Rex Owen)
• Yu-Gi-Oh! - Espa Roba, Rex Raptor
• Shrine of the Morning Mist - Tadahiro Amatsu
• Ultimate Muscle - Road Rage / Additional Voices
• Winx Club (4Kids Entertainment edit) - Timmy/Palladium
• Pokemon: Destiny Deoxys - Rafe
• Yu-Gi-Oh! GX - Marcel (Martin Kanou)
• Man of the People - Little G / Miscellaneous
• Turtles Forever - 1988 Raphael

Other projects[link]

In 2004, Arcelus appeared in the Movie Musical Temptation, with Broadway stars Alice Ripley, Adam Pascal, Anika Noni Rose, and film actress Zoe Saldana. among many others.^[10]

Arcelus was featured on iChannel, an interactive web-series about "a self-conscious young man who finds his life taken over by a video blog." He played I's brother, who frequently called or visited. Over 40 episodes were produced, each of 3–9 minutes in length.^[11]

During summer 2011, Arcelus filmed the independent feature film The Last Day Of August. He both performs in and produces the film. It is appropriately scheduled for release on August 31, 2012.^[12]

References[link]

1. ^ "Andrew Rannells is the New Bob Gaudio in Jersey Boys Starting January 13". Broadwayworld.com. http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Andrew_Rannells_Is_New_Bob_Gaudio_In_JERSEY_BOYS_Starting_113_20081229. Retrieved 2011-11-12. 
2. ^ Gleason, Arcelus, Powers and Sapp Cast in Lincoln Center Theater's Happiness
3. ^ "Sebastian Arcelus Returns to Jersey Boys July 14". Broadwayworld.com. http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Sebastian_Arcelus_Returns_To_JERSEY_BOYS_On_Broadway_714_20090714. Retrieved 2011-11-12. 
4. ^ Sebastian Arcelus Plays Final Performance in Broadway's Jersey Boys Oct. 10
5. ^ [1]
6. ^ Where's Charley? at New York City Center "Encores!" Nycitycenter.org
7. ^ "''A Time To Kill'' at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C". Broadway.com. 2011-04-14. http://www.broadway.com/buzz/156012/stage-adaptation-of-john-grisham-thriller-a-time-to-kill-to-premiere-at-arena-stage-starring-sebastian-arcelus/. Retrieved 2011-11-12. 
8. ^ Sebastian Arcelus, Marc Kudisch, Graham Rowat, Teal Wicks Will Help Blue Flower Grow at Second Stage, Playbill, September 8, 2011. Retrieved 2012-03-18.
9. ^ "Royal Russia - The Fate of the Romanovs: The Survivors". Angelfire.com. http://www.angelfire.com/pa/ImperialRussian/royalty/russia/survivor.html. Retrieved 2011-11-12. 
10. ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1278376/
11. ^ "View I Channel here". Connectwithi.com. http://www.connectwithi.com/. Retrieved 2011-11-12. 
12. ^ [2]

External links[link]