14 Interesting Facts About Robin Williams
14. Robin & charity
In 1986, he teamed up with Whoopie Goldberg and Billy Crystal to found Comic Relief USA, an annual HBO television benefit devoted to the homeless, which has raised $80 million as of 2014.
Bob Zmuda, creator of Comic Relief, explains that Williams felt blessed because he came from a wealthy home, but wanted to do something to help those less fortunate. Williams made benefit appearances to support literacy and women’s rights, along with appearing at benefits for veterans. He was a regular on the USO circuit, where he traveled around the world to perform for soldiers.
Williams and his second wife, Marsha, founded the Windfall Foundation, a philanthropic organization to raise money for many charities. In December 1999, he sang in French on the BBC-inspired music video of international celebrities doing a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)” for the charity Children’s Promise.
In response to the 2010 Canterbury earthquake, Williams donated all proceeds of his “Weapons of Self Destruction” Christchurch performance to helping rebuild the New Zealand city. Half the proceeds were donated to the Red Cross and half to the mayoral building fund. He also performed with the USO for U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Rest in peace, good friend. You won’t be forgotten.
