Editing Robin Williams (section)

===Influences===

Williams credited comedians, including [[Jonathan Winters]], [[Peter Sellers]], [[Nichols and May]], and [[Lenny Bruce]] as influences, admiring their ability to attract a more intellectual audience with a higher level of wit.<ref name="Nachman" />{{rp|43}} He also liked [[Jay Leno]] for his quickness in ad-libbing comedy routines, and [[Sid Caesar]], whose acts he felt were "precious".<ref name="Grobel" />

Jonathan Winters was his "idol" early in life; Williams, aged eight, first saw him on television and paid him homage in interviews throughout his career.<ref name="Nachman" />{{rp|259}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/12/jonathan-winters-dead_n_3070474.html|title=Jonathan Winters Dead: 'Mork and Mindy' Star Dies At Age 87|date=April 12, 2013|work=HuffPost|access-date=October 23, 2014|archive-date=November 10, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141110235521/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/12/jonathan-winters-dead_n_3070474.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Williams was inspired by Winters's ingenuity, saying "that anything is possible, that anything is funny{{nbsp}}... He gave me the idea that it can be free-form, that you can go in and out of things pretty easily."<ref name="Nachman" />{{rp|260}}

During an interview in London in 2002, Williams told [[Michael Parkinson]] that Peter Sellers was an important influence, especially his multi-character roles in ''[[Dr. Strangelove]]'', stating, "It doesn't get better than that." British comedy actors [[Dudley Moore]] and [[Peter Cook]] were also among his influences, Williams told Parkinson.<ref>video: {{cite interview|last=Williams|first=Robin|interviewer=[[Michael Parkinson]]|title=Robin Williams, Parkinson interview 2002|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LaJDOD5cJI|access-date=September 18, 2014|archive-date=September 17, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917135858/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LaJDOD5cJI|url-status=live}}</ref>

Williams was also influenced by [[Richard Pryor]]'s fearless ability to talk about his personal life onstage, with subjects that included his use of drugs and alcohol, and Williams added those kinds of topics during his own performances. By bringing up such personal matters as a form of comedy, Williams told Parkinson that it was "cheaper than therapy", and gave him a way to release his pent-up energy and emotions.<ref name="Nachman" />{{rp|121}}