Yesterday (July 21), fans all over the world remembered Robin Williams on what would have been his 73rd birthday.
There have been very few celebrities that have been has widely adored and appreciated as Williams - with his roles in movies like Good Will Hunting, Jumanji, Jack, and Mrs. Doubtfire not just showcasing his acting range, but also making us laugh and pulling on our heartstrings in the process.
Quite simply, there was nobody quite like Robin Williams.
It's for this reason why Williams was often able to command such a high salary for his roles. However, in what is perhaps his most cherished role to fans, the actor actually accepted a much lower paycheck.
The late actor - who sadly died by suicide in 2014 at the age of 63 - famously played the role of Genie in the Disney family movie Aladdin.
Williams' paycheck was significantly lower than what he was used to - as it turns out he was paid just $75,000 of the usual $8 million rate he charged, per Business Insider.
However, there was a touching reason why he chose to forgo the big bucks for the role.
The father-of-three - who has been part of many childhood favorites, including the Night At The Museum trilogy, Happy Feet, and Flubber - revealed in a 1993 interview with New York Magazine that he had accepted the lower paycheck simply because he wanted to be part of the animation tradition and "leave something wonderful behind" for his children.
In addition to the lower paycheque, the actor also revealed that he left Disney with around 30 hours of additional material for them to play with.
The Good Morning Vietnam actor did, however, have one stipulation - he did not want his voice used as a marketing tool for Disney merchandise, per Screen Rant. "I don't want to sell stuff," Williams later told New York magazine, adding: "It's the one thing I don't do."
Williams doubled down on his comments in another interview, this time with the Today Show. He said: "The one thing I said was I will do the voice. I'm doing it basically because I want to be part of this animation tradition. I want something for my children. One deal is, I just don't want to sell anything — as in Burger King, as in toys, as in stuff."
However, fans of the franchise may remember that Williams chose not to return for the 1994 sequel - for that flick, Genie was voiced by Homer Simpson's voice actor, Dan Castellaneta.
Williams said during an interview following the release of Aladdin that Disney had used his voice to sell merchandise for the movie in advertisements - something he was unhappy with. In a 1996 interview with the Toronto Sun, Williams said the issue had been over "merchandising tie-ins, the whole thing."
"I don't mind if they make dolls," he said. "It's when they use my voice that it gets interesting."
Funnily enough, the production company sent Williams a $1 million Picasso painting as a gift (which some have viewed as an apology) - something Williams told the Toronto Sun strangely came before the violation of the agreement. "The thing is they didn't give me a Picasso as a payback for violating the agreement. The Picasso came first, then they violated the agreement, then we broke off the marriage. Then they apologized, and that was all I wanted.
"I wanted them to say, 'We violated the agreement and then we put out a press campaign that made it look as if you were sticking us up for money.' Studios do this all the time, but they just don't cop to it. (He adopts a voice): 'Shhh! You mean lie?' But they did and they admitted it and now we're back," he added. "It was tough for a while. How do you tell the kids, 'Daddy's fighting with Disney, so we won't be going to Orlando for a while? No more plush toys or Hunchback packs or merchandising.'"
Per the LA Times, a spokesperson for Disney stated: "Every single piece of marketing material involving Robin Williams was run by Marsha (the actor’s wife) and Robin Williams. We did not use his voice in any way that he did not contractually agree to.
"He agreed to the deal, and then when the movie turned out to be a big hit, he didn’t like the deal he had made."
Fortunately, Williams and Disney would make amends and he would go to star in the third Aladdin movie in 1996.
Soon after that was released Williams was interviewed by TV Guide USA about his role as Genie, with the actor saying: "I went into a room and started improvising, and these guys kept throwing ideas at me. It just got wild. They let me play.
"That's why I loved it - it was like carte blanche to go nuts. Of course, there were times when I'd go tasteless, when I knew the mouse was not going to approve: 'Oh, come on, boy. Rub the lamp, the big spout. Don't be afraid!'"
We miss you every day, Robin.
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