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Newly Published: The Films of Robin Williams

New on our bookshelf:

The Films of Robin Williams: Critical Essays
Edited by Johnson Cheu

From his first appearance as Mork from Ork on the 1970s sitcom Happy Days, Robin Williams was heralded as a singular talent. In the pre–cable television era, he was one of the few performers to successfully transition from TV to film. An Oscar-winning actor and preternaturally quick-witted comedian, Williams became a cultural icon, leaving behind a large and varied body of work when he unexpectedly took his own life in 2014.

This collection of new essays brings together a range of perspectives on Williams and his oeuvre, including beloved hits like Mrs. DoubtfireGood Morning, VietnamGood Will HuntingThe Fisher KingDead Poets Society and Aladdin. Contributors explore his earlier work (Mork and MindyThe World According to Garp) and his political and satirical films (Moscow on the HudsonToys). Williams’s darker, less well-known fare, such as Being HumanOne Hour PhotoFinal Cut and Boulevard, is also covered. Williams’s artistry has become woven into the fabric of our global media culture.