_RTS
Wednesday, January 13, 1988

The Michigan Daily

Searching for the real Robin

-Poge7
William s

By John Shea
Special to the Daily
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -
"Who is Robin Williams?"
I'm serious. That was the
question one of the reporters asked
me as we sat at a table, waiting for
the actor to come over and talk to us
about his new film, Good Morning,
Vietnam. In the film, he plays real
life figure Adrian Cronauer, an
irreverent disc jockey who enter-
tained troupes through his radio
shows.
"Oh, come on," I told him. "He's
Mork.' He's 'Garp.' He's the
funniest stand-up comic in the
country."
He looked insulted. "Yeah, yeah,
I know that. But who is he."
When he came to the table, I
asked myself the same thing. He is
not the explosive, frazzled figure you
see on the talk show circuit. Instead,

he is a quieter figure - a sleeping
volcano of sorts that every once in a
while rumbles, making you think he
will erupt at any moment. He never
quite does.
Question: How do you enjoy
the picture?
Williams: I enjoy it very
much, thank you.
Q: Do you get a kick out of
people laughing at you?
W: Yeah, I do. It's very nice. It's
a lot better than seeing them go like
this (puts hands under chin and
slouches in his chair).
Q: Obviously, you're used to
doing stand-up. Is it harder for you
to do to work without an audience?
W: Yes. It's like having sex in a
wind tunnel. It's like being beaten to
death by your scrotum.
Sometimes it's harder because
you'll try something in rehearsal and
it'll be really funny and then you'll
try it again a second time and it
won't work.
Q: Have you ever done radio

before?
W: No, I've never done it before.
But whenever I do movies or stand-
up comedy tours, I'll do 50
"morning zoos." Hi! How are you!
(in a high, loud, obnoxious voice).
Guys with horns and buzzers and
whoopie cushions (he shakes his
head and laughs).
Q: Have you done the Howard
Stern show before?
W: Yeah.
Q: Was it fun?
W: Yeah, it was fun, but it was
like wearing fiberglass underwear.
It's this strange sensation, 'cause he
gets people calling in. One guy
called and asked, "Did you ever pork
Mindy?" Thank you, we'll be right
back.
Q: Do you ever get a script that
says "Here Robin does 10 minutes
of his stuff?"
W: No. I haven't had that stuff
since Mork and Mindy and even
then, it really wasn't written. See,
with Mork and Mindy we had a live
audience so we just went off (and

improvised). If we didn't have a live,
audience, they wouldn't let us go off
like that. They would've said, "Just
say the words. Just say, "Pick up the
bread and say 'isn't that nice.'
Q: How much of Good Morning,
Vietnam was scripted and how'
much of it was improvised? ,
W: The classes were open, the
radio obviously was freeform. The
classes were difficult because (thee
Vietnamese) didn't speak English'
and if we spoke all the lines on
paper, it would have sounded stilted.
Sometimes, with the scenes with the
girl (Williams' love interest in the
story), we would improvise a little
but not much. You don't want to
improvise much with someone who
doesn't understand the language.
Because if you do that, you're
basically using her as the brunt of
her jokes rather than playing with
her and working with her.
Q: Did you do some things that
the real Adrian Cronauer didn't do?
W: Well, the real Cronauer is
See LIFE Page 8

Robin Williams on his screen persona, ex-Vietnam disc jockey Adrian
Cronauer: 'The real Cronauer is nice... He didn't do anything really
outrageous - I think he'll say that, too.'

CLASSIFIED ADS 764-0557
HELP WANTED ROOMMATES ROOMMATES
NEEDED: FEMALE TO share 3 story 4
PERFECT FOR STUDENTS! LOOKING FOR A FEMALE ROOMMATE bdrm house. Laundr Own room. $200. Jan-
toar eCellC et1 bed room pt.. GRET Aug. neg. Call 747-8527.
LOCATIONI NEW FURNITUR fEl ONLY TWO IIDRMS. AVAILABLE in four bed-
Part time jobs with MAJOR $250/mo. Come look at it. You'll love iti Call room house. New very nice house on cam-
telemarketing company working 995-0831. pus. Large yard, garage. Call Scott 747-6915.
evenings. $5-$8/hour. Located 2
BLOCKS from Student Union.
Call 996.8890. Ask for Mr. Rush.
Maude's Restaurant
Is now hiring full-time CENTER FOR
evening cooks and W STERN EUROPEAN STUDIES
pantry people. Apply
in person Mon.-Fri.
2:30-5:00 p.m.
314 S. Fourth Ave. Announcing The University of Michigan
summer seminar at the monastery of
Novacella, Italy
ROOMMATES
4th FEMALE ROOMMATE NEEDED, May 10 - June 13, 1988
Great location-corner of Washtenaw & Ob-
servatory. Only $204/mo! Call 761-8026 Earn six UM credits studying medieval culture.
AVAILABLE NOW-One bdrm. in a 2 bdrm. All teaching is done in English.
apt. for clean frinl person. Near campus
dn~'dIiend"' lo"2sea0Zn $2,500 fee includes tuition, room,
and Med. Center. $31/mo. 662-8640.2,0feinldsttorom
CAMPUS: MALE ROOMMATE needed for board and excursions.
cool apt. Cable parking, dishwasher. $200boranexusn.
includes utils. VWill negot. 665-4317.
DO YOU NEED TO MORE ROOM- The application deadline is February 1.1988.
IN YOUR HOUSE FOR FALL/WINTER
IF SO CALL 665-3317 NOW! Applications and further information for this
FEMALE NEEDED to share apartment.Wiln and other UM programs are available at
have own room. Rent includes heat and wa- The Center for Western European Studies,
ter. Has parking & laundry. 994-3768.Th enrfrWstnEupanSdi,
FEMALE/MALE ROOMMATE needed to 5208 Angell Hall.
share Hidden Valley apt. Christopher 665-
8769. ____________________________________

.Ol

What makes a
JOB FUN?


OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGINEERS -
Join BP America
at the start
of a new era.
Exciting opportunities for career growth are developing at
BP America. We are seeking well qualified Engineers for
major divisions of the company: Refining, Transportation,
Marketing, and Chemicals.
BP AMERICA was formed recently by the combination of
two famous and complementary firms... Standard Oil and
BP North America.
Standard Oil, founded by John D. Rockefeller in 1870, is
recognized as an outstanding refiner and marketer as well
as a major holder of petroleum reserves. British Petroleum,
one of the most active oil producing companies in the
North Sea, the Middle East and Alaska, is known as a great
explorer and producer. Now, building on more than 100
years of experience, BP America is preparing for a new era
of growth.
We start from a sound base - $24 billion in assets, 4300
people worldwide, and sales volume that ranks us 13th
among American industrial companies. We are expanding
activities in both oil and diversified businesses - chemicals,
coal, minerals and precious metals, computer software,
structural ceramics, carbon fibers, and more.
We encourage students who are receiving a Bachelor's
degree in CHEMICAL, MECHANICAL, CIVIL, or ELECTRICAL
ENGINEERING to discuss opportunities with us. We will be
interviewing on campus soon - schedule an interview NOW
with your placement office. If you are unable to meet with
us on campus, send your resume to: University Relations;

"Working at Michigan Telefund!"

i

I