THIS IS HOW ROBIN WILLIAMS WAS SPEAKING FRENCH
Silence!
The clown has left the building.
He told the truth – his truth – and that’s how he made us laugh.
He told the truth about the French, he drew a caricature in which we recognized ourselves, and we laughed, because we felt a sweet tenderness and warm love under the poignant words and gigantic gestures, in this sweet, sweet man with a heart larger than life itself.
He designed his own entrance and his own exit, even if we, the audience, don’t agree with it.
On one thing we most certainly can agree: He made us laugh a little and cry a little, and being more French than many knew, he made us laugh, because his humor was nothing but tender.
A tribute from Team J’Ouellette®
Robin Williams and France: a history of humor
America mourns Robin Williams. But France has lost one of its greatest American fans.
The comedian loved France, and above all loved to make fun of it (gently). Having French background (his mother, of French origin, lived in New Orleans), Robin Williams perfectly mastered the language of Molière and loved everything related to France.
To celebrate his most recent marriage with Susan Schneider, he chose Paris for his honeymoon. He said in an interview with a strong Gallic accent, that “walk around Paris in November is great because the streets are quieter, and a little wet and wild. And you walk around saying, “That’s enough now” (sic).
He also mentioned a trip to Paris in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, in which he mocks the Siri application and imagines she has a “Frenchy” accent.
Robin Williams was also a good friend of Lance Armstrong and a Tour de France follower, sending them a hilarious message of congratulations to them and the USPS cycling team after their victory in 2003.
The French language will follow Robin Williams to the end. His daughter, Zelda, chose to honor his memory with a quote from the Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery: “You, you will have the stars like no one else… When you will look at the sky at night, as I will live on one of them, because I will laugh on one of them, then it shall be to you as if all the stars were laughing. You will have stars that can laugh!”
Let us remember Robin Williams for what he did best: making people laugh. Especially with this sketch seen on the French. Hats down to the artist!
The Film Academy, where he received an Oscar for his role in “Good Will Hunting” (1997), tweeted a simple “Genie, you’re free” along with a thumbnail extracted from the animated Disney movie “Aladdin “.
Robin Williams, who provided the voice to the Genie, has revolutionized in the same time this genre. According to the Times, Disney left Williams improvise in front of a microphone and then created the animation of the Genie. The result made the film a success and drew in the biggest stars of the silver screen.
And now let’s watch a few of his best, from The New York Times:
…and his top 10 performances from WatchMojo:
Le Point
Robin Williams
Acteur, Humoriste
Robin Williams est un acteur et humoriste américain né le 21 juillet 1951 à Chicago, dans l’Illinois. Il s’est d’abord fait connaître avec Good Morning, Vietnam et Le Cercle des poètes disparus. Il s’est ensuite illustré aussi bien dans le comique avec Madame Doubtfire que dans le dramatique avec Will Hunting, qui lui a valu l’Oscar du meilleur acteur dans un second rôle.
Sources:
frenchmorning.com
lepoint.fr
Now it is your turn
Write in the comments below what is YOUR favorite Robin Williams performance?
With sadness and love,
J’Ouellette®
I will forever remember Robin Williams first and foremost from Mork & Mindy. One of the few shows we were allowed to stay up late to watch, this was the moment he became an important and ingrained part of my childhood. My dad’s belly laugh echoing through the house. And now…there have been countless more times he’s done the same for every one of my kids. So very sad.
Yes, Sara, this is what he leave us with – his laughter and ours.
So cool to watch him speaking French…he was so brilliant and talented, it’s such a great loss. I was most touched by his performance in Jack, and his role in Good Will Hunting is probably my all-time favorite. May he rest in peace.
Yes, I agree, Amanda, Good Will Hunting was one of his against the type roles which he created with genius.
I like all of Robin Williams’ performances that I’ve seen. I think my favorite is Dead Poet’s Society, but it’s hard to choose. This was a wonderful experience watching all the videos you included here. Thank you.
yup, so hard to choose, Leanne!!
His passing is such a tragedy. We have certainly lost a comic legend. Bless you for making this tribute. <3
It had to be done, Jennifer!
When I first saw Robin doing Barbara Streisand I laughed so hard I had tears streaming down my face…as they are now. I truly enjoyed your tribute.
Thank you, Mary, happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Wonderful tribute, Llyane. My wife and I loved the Birdcage, and my kids really liked Aladdin and Mrs. Doubtfire. Great man, Robin was. He will be missed!
Thanks for stopping by, Nolan, yes, great man!
Beautifully written! Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it, Elspeth!
Mrs. Doubtfire is one of the favourites, loved that movie very much and we see it over and over again. Thanks for sharing these awesome videos, Llyane!
I think too that Mrs. Doubtfire was a fantastic showcase of his talent, Delia.
My favorite French moment spoken by Robin Williams was his answer to a remark made by someone else, “Qu’est-ce que c’est, ‘Je ne sais quoi’ ?” I can’t remember the show or movie where that moment popped up, but it never fails to make me smile when I remember it. What a genius!
Thanks for stopping by, John!
Yes, indeed, what a genius 🙂