In 2014, Robin Williams left us all too soon. He will always live on throughout his decades’ worth of movies, from wild comedies to heartbreaking dramas. One of his best, 1993’s Mrs. Doubtfire, is absolutely hilarious, but with its themes of divorce, it’s rather serious as well. There’s also another real-life issue of divorce going on that you might not know about. In one scene, Robin’s actual brother, Robert Williams, appears in his only acting role. Due to a divorce and a new family, Robin didn’t even know his half-brother existed for many years. They ended up becoming close, with Robert finding a career that, for some, made him even more popular than his Hollywood sibling.
Robert Williams Has a Small Role in ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’
If you ever need proof that Robin Williams could do anything, look no further than Chris Columbus‘ Mrs. Doubtfire, where he effortlessly plays an elderly British nanny. Rather than being a joke under the tremendous makeup, Williams becomes the character to the point that you nearly forget who is playing her.
Williams plays Daniel Hillard, a father of three young children going through a painful split with their mother, Miranda (Sally Field). Desperate to be near the kids he misses so much, Hillard applies for the nanny position Miranda is looking for by dressing up as an old woman named Euphegenia Doubtfire. Of course, hijinks will occur, along with lots of drama in the form of the hunky Stu Dunmeyer (Pierce Brosnan), who has eyes on the now single Miranda. This leads to Mrs. Doubtfire following them to an outdoor pool, where Daniel glares from the bar.
Tending that bar is a gray-bearded man in a white tuxedo. “Is everything alright, ma’am,” he asks Mrs. Doubtfire, before getting her another drink. The actor goes by Dr. Toad in the credits, but it’s actually Robin’s half-brother, Robert, in his only acting credit.
Williams Owned His Own Popular Vineyard
As funny as Mrs. Doubtfire is, there is also a constant level of pain. The theme of divorce is one so many of us can relate to. Robin Williams could as well, because he’d divorced his wife of a decade, Valeri Velardi, in 1988. This made him insist that Mrs. Doubtfire‘s original ending, with Daniel and Miranda getting back together, be changed to keep them apart. He didn’t want real-life children of divorce to be confused. After all, he was one himself.
Robin Williams was born in 1951, 13 years after Robert. Both had the same father, Robert Williams Sr., but they had different mothers due to a divorce. This led to Robin not even knowing he had an older brother for many years. Although one brother went on to become one of the most famous comedians on the planet, the other didn’t do too shabby either.
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Robert Williams was in the Air Force in his younger years, where he tended bar at an Oklahoma saloon. He became a bartender all over the world before starting his own San Francisco establishment in the 70s. Robert’s middle name of Todd resulted in him getting the nickname of Toad, so when he opened his own vineyard in 1993, he called it Toad’s Hollow. It’s also why he goes by Dr. Toad in the credits to Mrs. Doubtfire, where the wine expert fittingly plays a bartender giving the stressed-out nanny a drink.
Robin Williams Spoke Kindly of His Brother After He Passed Away
Sadly, Robert Williams died in August 2007. He left behind a huge company, with Toad’s Hollow having 120,000 bottles of wine! Robert also left behind his wife, another brother named McLaurin Smith, and his baby brother, Robin.
After his passing, Robert’s famous sibling made sure people knew how great he was. He remembered how popular and loved his brother was, telling The Press Democrat, “In a lot of places around America, I’m just Toad’s brother. That’s so cool.” In another interview with SFGate, Robin said he put his brother in Mrs. Doubtfire simply because he wanted to be around him. “Toad was outrageous, maybe even more than me. Hard to believe, but it’s true.”
Robin Williams was a ball of endless energy, so for him to say that someone else was even more outrageous speaks volumes. Robert Williams never acted again. Instead, he made people happy with his vineyard, leaving his own lasting impact. Seven years after his Robin’s death, Robin also passed. Here’s hoping they’re somewhere together making up for all the time they lost in their childhood.
Mrs. Doubtfire is available to stream on Disney+ and Netflix in the U.S.