One of the greatest comedians of all time, Robin Williams captured hearts with his impeccable wit and humor. Having starred in some of the widely acclaimed movies like Dead Poets Society, Jumanji, Good Will Hunting among others, the late actor seized his time in the film industry. However, life took a bothersome turn later in his life. The actor was unable to keep up with his profession, his film career stalled, and his comeback to TV was a disaster.
31 years after starring in 1974’s Happy Days, Robin Williams returned to TV in 2013. Williams was cast in the sitcom, The Crazy Ones which derived poor ratings from critics and minimal audience. As a result, the show was canceled after its first season itself. When asked why he chose to star in a TV show again, Williams had a rather concerning response.
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Robin Williams needed to pay the bills
It was expected that The Crazy Ones would do well, relying on Williams’ comical expertise. The show also featured TV star Sarah Michelle Gellar. However, the particularly critical reviews hinted at the show’s failure. Even the audience didn’t tune in to watch the iconic comedian’s epic comeback. Therefore, CBS canceled it on May 10, 2014, after airing its Season 1. As a result, Robin Williams was devastated, and regarded it as a personal failure, per TMZ.
Otherwise a brilliant actor, it’s disheartening where fate brought him. Ahead of his return to TV, the late actor was interviewed by Parade. Then 62 years old, Williams was asked about what encouraged him to make a comeback, despite having a successful film career. He told Parade,
“The idea of having a steady job is appealing. I have two [other] choices: go on the road doing stand-up, or do small, independent movies working almost for scale [minimum union pay]. The movies are good, but a lot of times they don’t even have distribution. There are bills to pay. My life has downsized, in a good way. I’m selling the ranch up in Napa. I just can’t afford it anymore.”
The blunt response took the fans by storm. His close ones were worried that Williams was burdened with financial stress. He also revealed that his two divorces were quite expensive which cost him much of his fortune. Besides, the actor was unable to afford his previous lavish lifestyle and was bound to sign with the CBS flop.
The Crazy Ones’ failure hit him hard
According to a report by TMZ, the Jumanji actor was depressed after his show got canceled. Months after The Crazy Ones’ cancellation, Williams was found dead in his California residence, per The Guardian. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease which pushed him towards anxiety, depression, and paranoia. Consequently, he was unable to accept his failure, and that his career was ending. Williams committed suicide, and his wife, Susan Williams claimed that depression was one of the reasons. She told People,
“It was not depression that killed Robin. Depression was one of let’s call it 50 symptoms, and it was a small one.”
Williams kickstarted his acting career with the 1974 TV show, Happy Days. He appeared in only two of the episodes as an alien, Mork. His impressive performance pushed his career to greater heights. Owing to his popularity as Mork, a spin-off series of Happy Days starred him as the lead character. ABC’s Mork & Mindy was a massive hit, which encouraged its four seasons. The world remembers Robin Williams as a great actor, and his work as a symbol of priceless art.
