Good times with Robin

During the summer of 1972, I met Robin Williams. We had friends in common and spent time together in Marin County, California.

My New York college roommates and I had heard about this intriguing place north of San Francisco. Hot tubs and “California Girls” along with a reputation for “laid-back” attitude led us to Marin. After finding some like-minded locals near San Anselmo, we rented a house for July and August. Here’s the picture: a half a dozen or so men in their early twenties, half from New York and the rest from Northern California; it was a fun-filled summer. Robin did not live in the house, but he was friends with the Californians and was a regular around dinnertime and for Sunday softball games. What I remember most about being around Robin was that he was always on. He was funny, thoughtful in an endearing way, and impossible to shut up, not that anyone wanted him to stop. One night, I was at the sink doing dishes. Robin wandered into the kitchen and started telling jokes, doing voices and generally carrying on. Pretty soon everyone in the house was there, keeping the dish-washer company as Robin entertained us all. We knew, too, that Robin was a fine actor. He performed regularly in the College of Marin theater program. I remember seeing him in Fiddler on the Roof and also doing Shakespeare. To a person, we all got it. He was special and the rest of the world would soon find out.

Years later, we were both in NY, he at Juilliard and I at ABC News. We'd bump into each other in Central Park or the streets of the West Side every few months. Robin wasn't famous yet, so it was just two guys who had just a little in common. Sometimes I would see him on Sundays doing mime in the park. He would always draw a crowd; he was that good. After all, to paraphrase Charlie Chaplin, the street is the most legitimate theater of all. As was the case in California, he was always funny. And more than anybody I ever met, he had the ability to energetically entertain all who would listen, spontaneously and smartly.

I ran into Robin one time later, at the SF airport. He was a big star by then, in the middle of his run on Mork and Mindy. You'd never know it though; he was down to earth, the same friendly guy.

What a loss. He's the funniest guy I ever met. So glad, though, he got to do what he did so well and enrich all our lives.