Robin Williams: Comic Relief Rest In Peace

Robin Williams: Comic Relief Rest In Peace

Via - Perry Williams
August 28, 2014

A Little Known Robin Williams Story:

“Years ago I learned a very cool thing about Robin Williams, and
I couldn’t watch a movie of his afterward without thinking of it.

I never actually booked Robin Williams for an event, but I came
close enough that his office sent over his rider.

For those outside of the entertainment industry, a rider lists out
an artist’s specific personal and technical needs for hosting them
for an event, anything from bottled water and their green room
to sound and lighting requirements.

You can learn a lot about a person from their rider.

This is where rocks bands list their requirement for green M&Ms
(which is actually a surprisingly smart thing to do).

This is also where a famous environmentalist requires a large gas
guzzling private jet to fly to the event city, but then requires an
electric or hybrid car to take said environmentalist to the event
venue when in view of the public.

When I got Robin Williams’ rider, I was very surprised by what
I found.

He actually had a requirement that for every single event or film
he did, the company hiring him also had to hire a certain number
of homeless people and put them to work.

I never watched a Robin Williams movie the same way after that.

I’m sure that on his own time and with his own money, he was
working with these people in need, but he’d also decided to use his
clout as an entertainer to make sure that production companies and
event planners also learned the value of giving people a chance to
work their way back.

I wonder how many production companies continued the practice
into their next non-Robin Williams project, as well as how many
people got a chance at a job and the pride of earning an income,
even temporarily, from his actions.

He was a great multiplier of his impact.

Let’s hope that impact lives on without him.

Thanks, Robin Williams, not just for laughs, but also for a cool
example.



Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014) was
an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker.