Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind Page #3

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And then you went

from the workshop

to actually clubs.

(performing)

I can't sit down!

I'm too excited!

I drove all the way

from Squealer, Idaho,

to be here.

Well, I drove

my truck, Mary Beth.

-(audience laughs)

-It's a big ol' sucker.

It's huge.

Valerie Velardi:

He was at the Holy

City Zoo, bartending.

He filled in as a bartender

so that he could get up

on stage and play.

He had

a French accent,

offered me a drink,

chatted me up,

and was absolutely

delightful.

He asked me

for a ride home.

He was speaking French,

I was teasing him,

and we had a kiss,

mmm, and I just knew

I was going to see him again.

I was just finishing up

my masters degree

at Mills College in Dance.

So I was free,

and I was supporting

myself as a waitress.

He was always looking

for a connection,

And if he needed to pull

out another character

or an accent,

he was shameless,

he would just do it.

Robin (foreign accent):

America, beach and balls

country. Thank you.

-F*** a duck!

-(audience laughs)

Thank you,

cheap shot, no way.

(normal voice):

Some of the characters

people really love.

A character

can be a comic actor

more than a comedian.

I don't tell jokes.

I just use characters

as a vehicle for me,

but I seldom

just talk as myself.

I was his personal audience,

and I would help him

hone material.

Robin:

A soviet poem

of pain and suffering.

"Little Robin,

upon my windowsill

"with tiny breast of red,

"I brought the window

slowly down

and crushed

the sucker's head."

(laughter)

Velardi:
After being

in San Francisco

for six months,

it was so clear that

he was developing

his talent

and growing

in a particular

direction.

("Heat Wave" playing)

Whenever I'm with him

Something inside

Starts to burning

And I'm filled with desire,

could it be...

Letterman:

I had moved from Indiana

and went immediately

to The Comedy Store.

Here's what

I loved about

California then:

Governor Jerry

Brown was dating

Linda Ronstadt.

That's the California you want.

That's what California

is supposed to be,

and it was exactly that.

Soft, low,

sweet and plain,

I feel...

Letterman:

It was dynamic, it was

creative, it was exciting.

We were kids,

it was silly

and it was fun,

and it was

the best time of my life.

My name is Dave Letterman,

and originally, I am

from the State of Indiana.

And you know,

when I was growing up,

the one thing

that I'll never forget,

what I'll always remember

as long as I live,

is when Dad used to tease

me with the power tools.

-Did that happen

to you folks a lot?

-(laughter)

Letterman:

When we first saw

Robin on stage,

we were skeptical,

and we made

it kind of a project

to keep our eye on him.

(foreign accent)

This is a quick suppression,

a Spanish fly.

(laughter)

Are there

any Spanish people

here tonight?

Okay, we can do it!

Here we go,

the Spanish fly.

-(babbling quickly)

-(laughter)

In my head,

my first sight of him

was that he could fly

because of the--

the energy.

It was like observing

an experiment.

Something special.

First a little toot for me.

-(toots) Okay.

-(laughter)

We are ready.

(plays harmonica)

Everybody, shake from side

to side, come on, now.

What's the matter?

You would do it

if I was blind.

Here we go.

(mic feedback whines)

(normal voice)

One of the first

paying gigs I had

was this place called

The Laugh Stop.

It's their opening night.

The mics go down, they die,

and they're going

"What the f*** do we do?"

I think,

"I don't need a mic."

I just started

f***ing around.

I'm going

in the audience,

and I was loud enough

because I'd been trained

to be loud that

I could survive.

I see a sister.

Do you feel the need

to be healed?

-Woman:
Yes.

-I know you can walk

without that chair.

(laughter)

Dear sister,

give me your hand.

I hope to God

you're not a real cripple.

All I could really do was

hang on to the microphone

for dear life,

and here was a guy

who could levitate.

Are you ready now

to walk for Jesus?

Can you do it?

Oh my God!

Over here boys!

It's incredible!

Letterman:

We knew that whatever

it was Robin was doing,

we weren't gonna

get close to that.

And we were frightened

that, "Oh my,

"maybe we've come out here

at just exactly the wrong time

"when everything was changing,

and all we had was

our stupid little jokes."

Come inside my mind

and see what it's like

when a comedian

eats the big one.

Don't be afraid.

(squeaks)

-(laughter)

-Come on in.

Phase in Amrac,

opening sequence B.

Amrac phase-in now.

Hey, nice to be here.

(laughter)

Easy audience!

Move on to dynamite

second routine 1B!

Phase in now.

Amrac phase-in routine

"Open Response" 1B.

Amrac C and sequence A.

How 'bout that Oaxacan, eh?

(laughter)

Mayday!

Mayday! Mayday!

(mimics alarm blaring)

All systems overload!

Anything goes!

Phase in sequence 2,

Vegas pity response 1B.

Send in the clowns

Not buying the bullshit!

Career really over now!

All systems overload!

Ego check!

Everything failing! Lips?

(babbles)

Amrac, phase in now!

Relieve subconscious.

Mayday! Mayday!

(whooshes,

breathes heavily)

Well, f*** you!

What do you want

from me anyway?

(laughter, applause)

Man:

Yes!

Good evening.

People ask me,

"Is comedy as much fun

as I say it is?"

-(laughter)

-You know,

I'm wondering...

Bennett Tramer:

Are on you on wide shot?

-Woman:
No.

-Tramer:

You should zoom back.

(indistinct chatter)

You know, people wonder,

comedy and television...

(mumbles)

Woman:

Ooh! Oh, I'm sorry.

Tramer:

Being a writer

for Robin's standup

is like being

a pinch hitter

for Barry Bonds.

You're not

necessarily

needed,

except for special

circumstances.

But it's interesting to see

how he would build a bit.

He had a lightning-fast mind,

but it wasn't like

everything he did

came to him that night.

There was real work

and preparation.

There was a real thoughtful,

analytical process behind it.

It probably took him longer

to explain it to me

than coming together

in his mind.

Excuse me, sir,

we'd like to buy

your right front tire.

(indistinct chatter)

Tramer:

Stop, we'll take it

right off here.

Excuse me,

we're conducting

an experiment

in accidents on highways

caused by distractions.

(laughter)

Tramer:

He used to introduce me

as his best friend,

and I hadn't known

him that long.

I think he needed

a best friend.

Robin:

Madam please, please.

I'm making a plea for love.

Please, madam.

(indistinct chatter)

(Tramer laughs)

Larry Grobel:

Early in life, did you have

a fear of abandonment?

Robin:
Oh yeah.

It's a primal fear

for any child...

and then it dictates a lot

of how you deal with life.

McLaurin Smith-Williams:

My students know that

he was my brother,

and they

always have.

I've never

tried to

hide it,

but I also

don't try

to advertise

it either.

Robin and I shared a mom.

I was my mother's son

by her first marriage.

Shortly after I was born,

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