Sally Field: Robin Williams Never Made Me Laugh
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- Sally Field said on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" that she never laughed at Robin Williams' improvising while shooting the 1993 comedy "Mrs. Doubtfire," even as everyone else on set was "laughing and carrying on."
- Williams, who prided himself on making scene partners laugh, grew frustrated that Field was immune to his jokes — "It drove him mad, actually" — and kept trying new things to crack her up without success.
- The one gag that finally broke Field was Pierce Brosnan making a fart noise on his arm while the two sat at a restaurant table; she recalled, "And I was gone. That was it."
- "Mrs. Doubtfire" is considered a classic early-'90s comedy and one of the best in Williams' filmography, in which he played a divorcing actor who disguises himself as a British nanny to spend time with his kids.
- Williams was found dead at his home in Tiburon, California, in August 2014 at age 63, with the cause of death ruled suicide by asphyxiation, according to the Tiburon coroner's office.
- Williams won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for 1997's "Good Will Hunting" and was also known for "Popeye," "Good Morning, Vietnam," "Dead Poets Society," and "Aladdin."
Why it matters: The anecdote reframes Williams' well-earned reputation as the scene partner who could break anyone — Field says none of his material landed with her across the shoot. The Brosnan detail also reveals that the cast's off-camera comic chemistry came from an unexpected source, not Williams' legendary improv.
