Robin Williams

“If women ran the world we wouldn't have wars, just intense negotiations every 28 days.”

“I basically started performing for my mother, going, 'Love me!' What drives you to perform is the need for that primal connection. When I was little, my mother was funny with me, and I started to be charming and funny for her, and I learned that by being entertaining, you make a connection with another person.”

“A lot of vets like 'Good Morning Vietnam' - I get great letters from guys.”

“For me, comedy starts as a spew, a kind of explosion, and then you sculpt it from there, if at all. It comes out of a deeper, darker side. Maybe it comes from anger, because I'm outraged by cruel absurdities, the hypocrisy that exists everywhere, even within yourself, where it's hardest to see.”

“Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves?”

“If Heaven exists, to know that there's laughter, that would be a great thing.”

“Okra is the closest thing to nylon I've ever eaten. It's like they bred cotton with a green bean. Okra, tastes like snot. The more you cook it, the more it turns into string.”

“I'm sorry, if you were right, I'd agree with you.”

“If it's the Psychic Network why do they need a phone number?”

“I'm much more open to being a supporting actor right now. At the age of 60, I'll be second fiddle. Fine. I'm happy to do it.”

“I do believe in love; it's wonderful - especially love third time around, it's even more precious; it's kind of amazing.”

“Canada is like a loft apartment over a really great party.”

“I write on big yellow legal pads - ideas in outline form when I'm doing stand-up and stuff. It's vivid that way. I can't type it into an iPad - I think that would put a filter into the process.”

“Being in the same room with people and creating something together is a good thing.”

“I think it's great when stories are dark and strange and weirdly personal.”

“I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up alone. It's not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel alone.”

“Sometimes over things that I did, movies that didn't turn out very well - you go, 'Why did you do that?' But in the end, I can't regret them because I met amazing people. There was always something that was worth it.”

“You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it.”

“I started doing comedy because that was the only stage that I could find. It was the pure idea of being on stage. That was the only thing that interested me, along with learning the craft and working, and just being in productions with people.”

“No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.”

“The bad thing about being a famous comedian is that every now and then someone approaches me to tell an old joke. Don't tell me jokes - I have that. People also say the weirdest things, sometimes sarcastic things, and even evil things. They like to provoke to get a reaction.”