In a heartfelt reflection, Sally Field shared a touching story about Robin Williams during the filming of the 1993 comedy Mrs. Doubtfire. Field recalled a moment when she received news of her father’s passing while on set. Overcome with grief but trying to continue working, she was approached by Williams, who intuitively sensed something was wrong. After learning about her loss, Williams immediately arranged for her to leave the set to mourn and make arrangements. This story highlights the often unseen, sensitive, and compassionate side of Williams, a trait many who knew him cherished.
Stories of Robin Williams” kindness and generosity to those he loved and worked with are seemingly endless, and even 10 years after his death new anecdotes about his decency and humanity are still surfacing from those who knew him.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Oscar winner Sally Field reflected on her time with Williams while filming the beloved 1993 comedy Mrs. Doubtfire, and shared a story she “never told before” about how he facilitated her getting the chance to mourn her father”s death as they were shooting the movie.
“I was in the camper outside of the courtroom where we were shooting the divorce scene. My father had a stroke a couple of years before, and was in a nursing facility. I got a phone call from the doctor saying my father had passed — a massive stroke,” Field explained. “He asked if I wanted them to put him on the resuscitator. I said, “No, he did not want that. Just let him go. And please lean down and say, ”Sally says goodbye.””
Field said she overcome with grief in that moment, but forced herself not to cry — instead she “came on the set trying with all my might to act.” Sally Field and Robin Williams in the 1993 comedy hit ”Mrs. Doubtfire.” – 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images
“I wasn”t crying [but] Robin came over, pulled me out of the set, and asked, ”Are you OK?”” she shared. When she eventually told Williams about her father dying, she said Williams responded, “Oh my God, we need to get you out here right now.”
According to Field, Williams “made it happen.” He talked with director Chris Columbus and they figured out how to shoot the scenes they needed without Field needing to be on set for the day. Field said that meant “I could go back to my house, call my brother and make arrangements.”
“It”s a side of Robin that people rarely knew: He was very sensitive and intuitive,” Field said. Sally Field and Robin Williams attend the Campaign for a New GI Bill hosted by the Student Veterans of America at the Beverly Hilton hotel on June 22, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. – Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Back in January, ET spoke with Williams” daughter, filmmaker Zelda Williams, at the premiere of her film Lisa Frankenstein, where she shared her earliest memories of visiting her dad on set.
“I was fascinated by it early,” Zelda said of Robin”s work in the arts. “When you”re that young, I don”t think you grasp that it”s a job, really — just like a fun thing you go and visit.”
She recalled visiting her father on the set of the 1999 sci-fi comedy-drama Bicentennial Man, directed by Columbus as well.
“That was when I was old enough to really understand that there was a whole bunch of jobs you could also do,” Zelda shared. “And that set was really beautiful. Chris Columbus runs a really wonderful set and he”s such a kind human that I think you weren”t walking into a space that felt tense as well.”
Williams tragically died by suicide on August 11, 2014. He was 63. Williams shared daughter Zelda, 34, and son Cody, 32, with ex-wife Marsha Garces. He was also dad to 41-year-old Zak Williams, whom he shared with his first wife, Valerie Velardi.