Robin by David Itzkoff

A New York Times culture reporter, David Itzkoff is speaking Monday, November 12th at the Jewish Book Fair in West Bloomfield. In his fourth book he uses both straight reporting and insightful analysis in the first major biography of Robin Williams (1951-2014). The author portrays an artist who, though not necessarily tormented, was driven by his insecurities and addictive personality to seek constant and immediate validation through his performances. Through the perspectives of Robin’s family and friends, the author draws out the many different Robins the world has come to know – but as Itzkoff shows, there is much more.

From New York Timesculture reporter Dave Itzkoff, the definitive biography of Robin Williams – a compelling portrait of one of America’s most beloved and misunderstood entertainers.

From his rapid-fire stand-up comedy riffs to his breakout role in Mork & Mindy and his Academy Award-winning performance in Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams was a singularly innovative and beloved entertainer. He often came across as a man possessed, holding forth on culture and politics while mixing in personal revelations – all with mercurial, tongue-twisting intensity as he inhabited and shed one character after another with lightning speed.

But as Dave Itzkoff shows in this revelatory biography, Williams’s comic brilliance masked a deep well of conflicting emotions and self-doubt, which he drew upon in his comedy and in celebrated films like Dead Poets Society; Good Morning, Vietnam; The Fisher King; Aladdin; and Mrs. Doubtfire, where he showcased his limitless gift for improvisation to bring to life a wide range of characters. And in Good Will Hunting he gave an intense and controlled performance that revealed the true range of his talent.

Itzkoff also shows how Williams struggled mightily with addiction and depression – topics he discussed openly while performing and during interviews – and with a debilitating condition at the end of his life that affected him in ways his fans never knew. Drawing on more than a hundred original interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, as well as extensive archival research, Robin is a fresh and original look at a man whose work touched so many lives.

Dave Itzkoff is a culture reporter for The New York Times who writes frequently about film, television and comedy. He is the author of three books including, most recently, Mad As Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies.

The 67th annual Jewish book fair will run November 3-14. It is the oldest and largest Jewish book fair in the nation. Prominent and emerging writers – from our community and all over the world – in literature, the arts, philosophy, theology, history and current events are invited to engage, educate and entertain.

The Annual Jewish Book Fair is a community-wide open to the public and cultural and literary event, attracting a large and varied audience of more than 20,000 people of all ages. What you will notice is the over 60 authors bring a diversity of topics from history, to cooking, from fiction to non-fiction, music and comedy to the book fair.

Authors will entertain with comedy, teach history of the Holocaust and today’s politics and share the latest in health issues. All events are at the Jewish Community Center and the Berman Center for the Performing Arts, 6600 W. Maple Road in West Bloomfield. Most events are free for those that need tickets contact the box office at 248-661-1900. For a complete schedule of the bookfair refer to the official website and brochure on or jccdet.org/bookfair.