New York Times:
In 1986, Robin Williams was at a crossroads. “Mork & Mindy” was four years behind him, and his movie career had been foundering. His marriage to Valerie Velardi, his first wife and the mother of their son, Zak, was unraveling. But he still had two reliable sources of joy in his life: his live comedy act, and Zak.
Zak was just 3 at the time, but in his own way, he played a pivotal role in Robin’s stand-up tour from this period, which culminated in a performance at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Over the span of this hour-long set (which was also released as the Grammy Award-winning comedy album “A Night at the Met”), he plays his usual grab-bag’s worth of characters: Robin Leach, Ronald Reagan, a ballet-dancing Tom Landry and, in a whispery, falsetto voice, Zak.
I was/am a huge fan of Robin Williams. I first met him here in Vancouver while he was shooting Jumanji and I interviewed him in San Francisco at a Macworld Expo. We corresponded for a time and I treasured the little piece of him I had. I remember this bit well and this is a great dissection of it.
Who is cutting the damn onions around here? That portion of the act has always been one of my favorites because of the vulnerability he shows with this thing called fatherhood. It has taken on further meaning for me after joining that particular club.
Brilliant, thanks for posting this.
I love everything Robin Williams did. Something that stands out to me is the scene in The Bird Cage where he’s showing the (dumb, well hung) drag performer various dance steps (all to be held inside), people call it the “try more gum” scene.
https://youtu.be/H5TQ4GF8rNI
My wife was a serious modern dancer and what Williams did there, maybe spontaneously, was incredible.
I remember this set. I had no idea what was going on in his personal life, but it seemed this exchange with his son had something informing it.
Williams was one of the first big standup comedians I can remember making a successful transition to serious acting. It was a pleasure to watch him work.