Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Born in Chicago, Williams began performing stand-up comedy in San Francisco and Los Angeles in the mid-1970s.[1] He is credited with leading San Francisco's comedy renaissance.[1] After rising to fame playing the alien Mork in the sitcom Mork & Mindy (spun off from Happy Days), Williams established a career in both stand-up comedy and feature film acting. He was known for his improvisation skills[2][3] and the wide variety of memorable character voices he created.[4][5] Williams has been called the funniest person of all time.[6][7]