Not sure if you have heard yet, but another celebrity is getting a divorce despite a relatively lengthy marriage. Robin Williams has been married to his second wife, Marsha, for 19 years, but she filed for divorce last week citing the ever popular irreconcilable differences. Here is a link to an article that gives you some more of the details and a link to see the actual divorce papers if you wish.

Add Williams to the list of recent celebrity divorces which includes Russell Simmons, Paul McCartney, Hulk Hogan, Sean Penn, Eddie Murphy, David Hasselhoff, Timothy Busfield, Valerie Bertinelli among others. I wrote about Eddie Murphy after his divorce was publicized back in January. In that article, I included a Top 10 list of Murphy's movies. I thought I would do the same thing for Robin Williams. I loved him back in his breakthrough television sitcom Mork & Mindy (1978-1982). He made his cinematic debut in the 1980 movie Popeye. That did not make the list, but here are OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 10 ROBIN WILLIAMS MOVIES:
Honorable Mention - 2002 was an unconventional year for Williams - He had three movies this year which his roles were much darker than anything he had really played before. One Hour Photo was a crime drama where he played "Sy Parrish," a obsessed film developer. Death to Smoochy was a dark comedy (though not very good at all) where he played "Rainbow Randolph," a horrible kiddie show host. Insomnia was a thriller where he played "Walter Finch," a sociopathic writer opposite of Al Pacino. The movies are not all that memorable, but the fact that the comic genius went against typecast to play these unconventional roles deserves at least honorable mention.

10. Jack (1996) as "Jack Powell" - I feel this is a very underrated performance by Williams which he plays a character with a fictional disease that causes him to age four times faster than normal. He is a 10 year old boy in the body of a 40 year old man and pulls it off with innocence and charm. This touching film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, preaches the message that in life every second counts.

9. The Fisher King (1991) as "Parry" - In this film, which crosses the entire gambit from comedy to tragedy, he plays a deluded homeless man opposite of Jeff Bridges. It is really a wonderful film and Williams was nominated for the Best Actor in a Leading Role Oscar for his efforts.

8. Awakenings (1990) as "Dr. Malcolm Sayer" - This film, directed by Penny Marshall and also starring Robert Deniro, received Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. It is a very emotional film with great character development and interaction.

7. Happy Feet (2006) as the voices of "Ramon" and "Lovelace" - This film ranked highly on my Best Animated Feature Films list because of its heartwarming tale and fantastic music. It won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film. His vocal performance in this film is superb, but not as special as his performance in another animated film which will appear next on this list.

6. Aladdin (1992) as the voice of "Genie" - This performance is pure brilliance and is the main reason for the success of this Disney movie which was the highest grossing film of 1992. His role would establish the trend of star power in voice casting for animated films. According to the DVD commentary, most of his dialogue was improvised which makes it that much more impressive.

5. Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) as "Daniel Hilliard/Mrs. Doubtfire" - He won the Golden Globe for Best Actor as he played the divorced Dad who disguises himself as a 60 year old female nanny in order to spend more time with his children. The film, directed by Chris Columbus, often displays Robin Williams at his comedic best. The make up to transform him into "Mrs. Doubtfire" would take 4 ½ hours each day to apply. I feel that Williams' performance in the film was probably better than the film itself, but it is still very entertaining to say the least.

4. The Birdcage (1996) as "Armand Goldman" - This is a very funny, but over-the-top, comedy about a gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion who agree to pretend to be straight when they are introduced to the conservative parents of his son's fiancé. The film, directed by Mike Nichols, also stars Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest and a very funny Hank Azaria.

3. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) as "Adrian Cronauer" - Williams received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading role for his outstanding performance as a disc jockey on Armed Forces Radio in Saigon during the Vietnam War. There are very serious aspects of this film, but many scenes involve classic Robin Williams comedy. It is reported that all of his radio broadcasts were actually ad-libbed which, like in Aladdin, makes it that much more amazing to me.

2. Good Will Hunting (1997) as "Sean Maguire" - This movie has appeared on both my Matt Damon/Ben Affleck Top 10 and Best Films Nominated But Not Winning the Best Picture Oscar Top 10 lists. This film won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and Williams won his only Oscar of his career for Best Supporting Actor. This performance could be the best in his impressive career and ironically it is not a comedy role at all.

1. Dead Poets Society (1989) as "John Keating" - I love this movie which deservingly won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Williams was nominated for Best Actor while the film was also nominated for Best Picture and Peter Weir for Best Director. Williams plays an English professor at a private school who encourages his students to think for themselves. It also features a great cast of kids and some wonderful dialogue (see some great quotes in the 'quote of the day' section below) and character interaction. It is a very special film and Williams is at the heart of it.

There is my list. Are any of your favorites missing??? I never enjoyed several of his children's movies like Jumanji, Hook, Flubber and (though I have loved some of his voice work) Robots, so they do not appear on this list. I truly mean it when I say that Robin Williams is a comic genius. I hope he finds more opportunities to showcase that amazing talent on the silver screen.

That wraps up another issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. Please spread the word and recommend it to anyone you think might enjoy. Click on the archives to make sure you have not missed any past issues. Peace and much love.

Check this out: A picture of pure irony at its best...

Quote of the day: I believe I have quoted Dead Poets Society here before, but here are a few more of my favorite quotes from the Robin Williams character "John Keating"...
  "There is a time for daring and a time for caution, and a wise man knows which is called for."
  "Sucking all the marrow out of life doesn't mean choking on the bone."
  "Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all. Thoreau said, ‘Most men lead lives of quiet desperation.' Don't be resigned to that."
  "Carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary."

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