
Robin Williams
American actor and comedian whose four decades of work in stand-up, film, and television — Mork & Mindy, Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society, Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, Patch Adams — made him one of the most beloved cultural figures of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Born in 1951 in Chicago, he won the Academy Award for Good Will Hunting, six Golden Globes, and four Grammy Awards. His characters — Mr. Keating in Dead Poets Society ('Carpe diem'), Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting ('It's not your fault'), the Genie in Aladdin — became vehicles for some of the most-shared lines of contemporary moral imagination. He died by suicide in 2014 after a long struggle with Lewy body dementia, and his words on kindness, weirdness, and the depth of being human remain widely quoted.
quotes in library
Quotes by Robin Williams
106 quotes“To make them laugh and think — that is the work of a lifetime.”
“Yes, dear, I'm a comedian. No, that doesn't mean I have to be funny right now.”
“A simple truth is the most powerful joke.”
“The best comics are the saddest people. They've felt everything.”
“The kindest people are the ones who have been broken open.”
“You're given a gift. Don't squander it.”
“Use it for good. Use it for laughter. Use it for love.”
“In every act of laughter, a small healing.”
“Be open. The next moment is unwritten.”
“You can write your own story. The pen is in your hand.”
“The greatest lessons come from the smallest moments.”
“What you don't risk, you don't gain.”
“You don't know what real loss is, because it only occurs when you've loved something more than you love yourself.”
“Comedy is the dignity of the absurd.”
“I love laughter. The world needs more.”
“You don't have to be a clown to make people laugh. Just be honest.”
“Real comedy comes from real pain.”
“What you've been through is what you have to give.”
“Every wound is a doorway.”
Explore More Teachers
Discover wisdom from 500+ spiritual teachers across all traditions.
Browse All Teachers