Robin Williams Tribute Speech

Today I’d like to talk about the life of American comedian and
actor Robin Williams, and his amazing ability to make anyone laugh in
any situation. Milton Berle once said, “Laughter is the best medicine in
the world.” Over the course of his life Robin Williams proved this
statement time and time again. I want to commemorate Robin Williams
life by describing to you his selfless attitude, his work with numerous
charities, and how he changed stand-up comedy forever.

Robin Williams for almost 40 years was the brightest star in the
comedy galaxy. He was extremely successful, but he never let his fame
interfere with his passion of doing good. Before an actor, singer or
performer decides to work for a company they create something called
a “rider”. This is a list of demands given to a company of things they
wish to be accommodated with. Most people ask for material things
like certain kinds of food and drinks in there dressing room etc.
However, Robin Williams insisted on his rider that for every film or
event he did, the producers must employ a certain number of homeless
people in the area as well. Williams was also a longtime advocate for
homeless rights. In 1990, he testified before the Senate in support of
the Homeless Prevention and Revitalization Act. He stated that the
problem could not be over looked anymore and it was our human duty
to act now. He said, “You can’t keep picking people up; you have to
stop them from falling altogether.” Robin was a incredibly generous
person who inspired many people to act the same. His longtime friend
Bob Zmuda said, ““Robin came from a family with money -- he was
brought up with a silver spoon in his mouth, and I think he felt so
blessed that he wanted to do something for people who weren’t
brought up like that.”
 Not only was he an advocate for homeless people, but Williams
also contributed to numerous other charities and organizations such as
Comic Relief, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, the LiveStrong
Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and more. On top of
these charities in 1986 Robin Williams alongside two other comedians
started their own non-profit charity called Comic Relief which helped
raise money for the homeless. The basis of the charity was a hosted
series of TV specials as part of the nonprofit Comic Relief to raise
money for America’s homeless. Before Williams passed his organization
Comic Relief had raised more than $80 million dollars.

Robin Williams is often remembered for his work in big-budget

Hollywood films like "Mrs. Doubtfire" and "Aladdin," but there are
others who instead focus on the impact the actor had in the world of
stand-up comedy. Often times stand-up comedians use the same
content from venue to venue, but with Robin Williams you’d never
know what you were going to get. Williams had a very energetic and
random theme for all of his stand-up shows. This is what made him so
popular in the stand-up scene. People couldn’t get enough of his jokes!
Actor Will Vought said, “"He was a brilliant joke writer but also a master
of voices, physical comedy and creating characters that we've never
seen before, A Mozart of voices that redefined stand-up comedy, no
one ever saw or heard anything like Robin Williams.”

After 63 years on Earth Robin Williams passed away leaving a

legacy of laughs, love, and happiness behind him. He was a generous
and selfless person who cared about the happiness of others before his
own. He strived to make the world a better place with his jokes and
charity work, and I think we could all take a lesson from his life and
apply it to our own.

Thanks you.