100 Best Robin Williams Quotes to Celebrate the Late Comedian

Robin Williams has given us so many things throughout the years: movies, unforgettable impressions and funny memories. But also some incredibly wise quotes. Whether you remember the late actor most vividly as the voice of Genie in the Disney animated movie Aladdin, or you fell in love with him as the titular empathetic doctor in Patch Adams or if his character hugging Matt Damon saying, "It's not your fault" in Good Will Hunting is seared into your mind, most of us remember Williams as a beloved, brilliant comedian and actor.

Born on July 21, 1951, Williams gave us belly-laughter in the form of Mrs. Doubtfire and Flubber, challenged our imaginations in Jumanji and Hook, and doled out some serious wisdom as John Keating in Dead Poets Society. But Williams also delivered a whole lot of wisdom on the regular.

Whether it was his own thought or that of a character, there's a Williams-delivered quote for every big (and small) life moment. He would have turned 72 this year, so join us in celebrating his big life and passion with the 100 best Robin Williams quotes.

1. "I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy. Because they know what it feels like to feel absolutely worthless and they don't want anybody else to feel like that."

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

3. "Our job is improving the quality of life, not just delaying death."

4. "I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself." —Dead Poets Society

5. "No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world." —Dead Poets Society

6. "Stop being afraid of getting older. With age comes wisdom and confidence."

7. "The things we fear the most have already happened to us."

8. "I do believe in love; it’s wonderful—especially love third time around, it’s even more precious; it’s kind of amazing."

9. "There are no rules. Just follow your heart."

10. "Do you think God gets stoned? I think so…look at the platypus."

11. "Death–to blink for an exceptionally long period of time."

12. "A human life is just a heartbeat in heaven." —What Dreams May Come

13. "You know the difference between a tornado and divorce in the South? Nothing! Someone's losing a trailer, number one."

14. "Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party!'"

15. "In America, they really do mythologize people when they die."

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16. "I don't do well with snakes and I can't dance."

17. "Good people end up in Hell because they can’t forgive themselves."

18. "Most of all, I want to thank my father, up there, the man who when I said I wanted to be an actor, he said, 'Wonderful. Just have a backup profession like welding.'"

19. "For a while you get mad, then you get over it."

20. "Comedy is acting out optimism."

21. "You have this idea that you’d better keep working otherwise people will forget. And that was dangerous. And then you realize, no, actually if you take a break people might be more interested in you."

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22. "Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves?"

23. "Nobody takes a picture of something they want to forget."

24. "Seize the day. Because, believe it or not, each and every one of us in this room is one day going to stop breathing." —Dead Poets Society

25. "Ah, yes, divorce … from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man’s genitals through his wallet."

26. "You will have bad times, but they will always wake you up to the stuff you weren’t paying attention to." —Good Will Hunting

27. "Self-reliance is the key to a vigorous life. A man must look inward to find his own answers."

28. "Imagining something is better than remembering something."

29. "There is still a lot to learn and there is always great stuff out there. Even mistakes can be wonderful."

30. "I’m a very tolerant man, except when it comes to holding a grudge."

31. "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."

32. "You don’t know about real loss because it only occurs when you’ve loved something more than you love yourself." —Good Will Hunting

33. "There’s no shame in failing. The only shame is not giving things your best shot."

34. "When you have a great audience, you can just keep going and finding new things."

35. "Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always."

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

37. "On stage you’re free. You can say and do things that if you said and did any place else, you’d be arrested."

38. "I try to make sense of things. Which is why, I guess, I believe in destiny. There must be a reason that I am as I am. There must be." —Bicentennial Man

39. "You know what music is? God’s little reminder that there’s something else besides us in this universe; harmonic connection between all living beings, everywhere even the stars." —August Rush

40. "Sometimes you got to specifically go out of your way to get into trouble. It’s called fun."

41. "Terrible wars have been fought where millions have died for one idea–freedom. And it seems that something that means so much to so many people would be worth having."—Bicentennial Man

42. "Divorce is expensive. I used to joke they were going to call it ‘all the money’ but they changed it to alimony."

43. "If it’s the Psychic Network why do they need a phone number?"

44. "It’s hard when you read an article saying bad things about you. It is as if someone is sticking a knife on your heart. But I am the harshest critic of my work."

45. "There are three things in this world that you need: Respect for all kinds of life, a nice bowel movement on a regular basis, and a navy blazer."

46. "If heaven exists, to know that there are laughs, that would be a great thing."

47. "Don’t associate yourself with toxic people. It’s better to be alone and love yourself than surrounded by people that make you hate yourself."

48. "There’s a world out there. Open a window, and it’s there."

49. "Never pick a fight with an ugly person, they’ve got nothing to lose."

50. "The only weapon we have is the comedy."

52. "I love kids, but they are a tough audience."

53. "Change is not popular; we are creatures of habit as human beings. 'I want it to be the way it was.' But if you continue the way it was there will be no 'is.'"

54. "You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you, you’ll win, no matter what the outcome." —Patch Adams

55. "My children give me a great sense of wonder. Just to see them develop into these extraordinary human beings."

56. "Age makes you more confident. When you realize that it’s time now to just do things. When there’s not the pressure to perform on some level of expectations, there’s more to just explore."

57. "Make your life spectacular. I know I did." —Jack

58. "We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for." —Dead Poet's Society

59. "When I was growing up they used to say, 'Robin, drugs can kill you.' Now that I’m 58 my doctor’s telling me, 'Robin, you need drugs to live.' I realize now that my doctor is also a dealer…"

60. "What’s right is what’s left if you do everything else wrong."

61. "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."

62. "Time is the best teacher, unfortunately, it kills all of its students."

63. "I have not thought about it, but when I die, just dance on my grave and water the plants with what you are drinking. Please do not clone me, because after a while your clone is not as bright as you are."

64. "To be free. Such a thing would be greater than all the magic and all the treasures in all the world." —Aladdin

65. "All it takes is a beautiful fake smile to hide an injured soul."

66. "I’m sorry, if you were right, I’d agree with you."

67. "You know, some parents, when they're angry, they get along much better when they don't live together. They don't fight all the time, and they can become better people, and much better mummies and daddies for you. And sometimes they get back together. And sometimes they don't, dear. And if they don't, don't blame yourself. Just because they don't love each other anymore, doesn't mean that they don't love you. There are all sorts of different families."–Mrs. Doubtfire

68. "The world is open for play, everything and everybody is mockable in a wonderful way."

69. "Please, don’t worry so much. Because in the end none of us have very long on this earth. Life is fleeting. And if you’re ever distressed, cast your eyes to the summer sky." —Jack

70. "Goooood Morning, Vietnam!"–Good Morning, Vietnam

71. "Death is nature’s way of saying, 'Your table is ready.'"

72. "You must strive to find your own voice because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it at all." —Dead Poets Society

73. "Cricket is basically baseball on valium."

74. "Reality is just a crutch for people who can’t cope with drugs."

75. "We’ve had cloning in the South for years. It’s called cousins."

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76. "In England, if you commit a crime, the police don’t have a gun and you don’t have a gun. If you commit a crime, the police will say, 'Stop, or I’ll say stop again.'"

77. "Some are born great. Some achieve greatness. Some get it as a graduation gift."

78. "Comedy can be a cathartic way to deal with personal trauma."

79. "People say satire is dead. It's not dead; it's alive and living in the white house."

80. "Marriage is a triumph of imagination over intelligence."

81. "I don't have a college degree and my father didn't have a college degree, so when my son, Zachary, graduated from college, I said, 'My boy's got learnin'!'"

82. "It’s a wonderful feeling when your father becomes not a God but a man to you—when he comes down from the mountain and you see he’s this man with weaknesses. And you love him as this whole being, not as a figurehead."

83. "Reality: What a concept!"

84. "Carpe per diem–seize the check."

85. "What’s wrong with death, sir? What are we so mortally afraid of? Why can’t we treat death with a certain amount of humanity and dignity, and decency, and God forbid, maybe even humor? Death is not the enemy, gentlemen. If we’re going to fight a disease, let’s fight one of the most terrible diseases of all, indifference." —Patch Adams

86. "Cocaine is God's way of telling you you're making too much money."

87. "It’s great to play…Who wants to be deeply serious all the time? That would suck, I think. But I’m just now getting to the point where you realize, ‘Wait, you don’t have to play all the time.’ It’s exhausting, and you have to save something for when you come home. [My ex-wife] Marsha gets asked that all the time: ‘He must be really wild at home!’ The truth is that if I were, she wouldn’t be alive. That type of freneticism is insane."

88. "Being a famous print journalist is like being the best-dressed woman on the radio."

89. "I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way." —Dead Poets Society

90. "The world is your oyster. Never stop trying new things."

91. "The only reason Mickey Mouse has four fingers is that he can’t pick up a check."

92. "My childhood was really nice. My parents never forced me to do anything; it was always, 'If you want to do that, fine.' When I told my father I was going to be an actor, he said, 'Fine, but study welding just in case.'"

93. "What some folks call impossible is just stuff they haven’t seen before." —What Dreams May Come

94. "I think it’s great when stories are dark and strange and weirdly personal."

95. "We get to choose who we let in our weird little worlds." —Good Will Hunting

96. "Stand-up is the place where you can do tings that you could never do in public. Once you step on stage, you're licensed to do that. It's an understood relationship. You walk on stage, it's your job. Then it's a question of what can you get away with."

97. "A woman would never make a nuclear bomb. They would never make a weapon that kills, no, no. They’d make a weapon that makes you feel bad for a while."

98. "The human spirit is more powerful than any drug and that is what needs to be nourished: with work, play, friendship, family. These are the things that matter."

99. "Sometimes you can have a whole lifetime in a day and never notice that this is a beautiful as it gets."

100. "You’re only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."

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