"From New York Times reporter Dave Itzkoff comes the definitive biography of Robin Williams-- a compelling portrait of one of America's most beloved and misunderstood entertainers. From his rapid-fire stand-up comedy riffs to his breakout role in Mork & Mindy and his powerful Academy Award-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams was a singularly innovative actor and comedian. He often came across as a man possessed, holding forth on culture, politics, and personal revelation-- all with mercurial, tongue-twisting intensity as he inhabited and shed one character after another. But as Dave Itzkoff shows in this revelatory biography, Williams's comic brilliance masked a deep well of conflicting emotions and self-doubt. In his comedy and in celebrated films like Dead Poets Society; Good Morning, Vietnam; The Fisher King; Aladdin; and Mrs. Doubtfire, he showcased his limitless gift for improvisation, bringing his characters to life and using humor to seek deeper truths. Itzkoff also shows how Williams struggled mightily with addiction and depression and with a debilitating condition at the end of his life that affected him in ways his fans never knew. Drawing on more than a hundred original interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, as well as extensive archival research, Robin is a fresh and original look at a performer whose work touched so many of our lives"--Book jacket.

"A New York Times book."

Prologue -- Part one: Comet -- Punky and Lord Posh -- The escape artist -- Legalized insanity -- My favorite Orkan -- The Robin Williams show -- Mork blows his cork -- Bungalow 3 -- Part two: Star -- Mr. Happy -- Tough love -- Gooooooood morning -- O captain! -- Dreamlike parts, with phantasmagoric associations -- Father man -- Hot flashes -- Part three: Supernova -- Golden dude -- Fade to white -- Weapons of self-destruction -- The tiger in winter -- Gone -- Everything will be okay -- The big room -- Epilogue -- Robin Williams: Selected works and awards.