Robin Williams Was “Fixture” in Bay Area Comedy Scene

By Jodi Hernandez • •

Robin Williams’ roots were in the City’s standup comedy scene. Jodi Hernandez reports and gets reaction from his peers. [Photo credit: Alex Stack]

Robin Williams entertained people across the world, but the Bay Area was his home. He was often spotted around town, at Giants games and at local comedy clubs. He popped in often and made people laugh.

His roots were in the City’s standup comedy scene. Comedian Debi Durst first met Williams in the 1970s. “Never ever in our wildest craziest dreams did we ever think we'd lose him so soon,” Durst said Tuesday. She said those who knew Robin Williams are at a loss for words as they try to wrap their heads around the star's death.

Durst has known Williams for more than three decades. She saw him just two weeks ago at friend’s barbeque where she said nothing seemed amiss. “He was hanging around looking forward to more work. There was talk of a ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ 2 in the works."

Comic Bob Sarlatte has also known Williams since the early days, performing standup at the old Holy City Zoo in San Francisco. “He was a fixture – even though he wasn't here all the time, he was a fixture,” Sarlatte said. “He sort of made us proud. He was better than anybody else was.”

AP
Flowers are placed in memory of actor/comedian Robin Williams on his Walk of Fame star in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. Williams, a brilliant shapeshifter who could channel his frenetic energy into delightful comic characters like "Mrs. Doubtfire" or harness it into richly nuanced work like his Oscar-winning turn in "Good Will Hunting," died Monday in an apparent suicide. He was 63. Williams was pronounced dead at his San Francisco Bay Area home Monday, according to the sheriff's office in Marin County, north of San Francisco. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
AP
Flowers are placed in memory of actor/comedian Robin Williams on his Walk of Fame star in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. Williams, a brilliant shapeshifter who could channel his frenetic energy into delightful comic characters like "Mrs. Doubtfire" or harness it into richly nuanced work like his Oscar-winning turn in "Good Will Hunting," died Monday in an apparent suicide. He was 63. Williams was pronounced dead at his San Francisco Bay Area home Monday, according to the sheriff's office in Marin County, north of San Francisco.
KNBC-TV
Robin Williams' Star on the Walk of Fame was flooded with flowers and remembrances to the Oscar-winning actor and comedian who died on Monday, August 11, 2014 at the age of 63.
KNBC-TV
Robin Williams Star on the Walk of Fame was flooded with flowers and remembrances to the Oscar-winning actor and comedian who died on Monday, August 11, 2014 at the age of 63.
KNBC-TV
Hand-written notes and memorabilia were placed alongside flowers, candles and photographs of the comedy star.
AP
A man takes a photo of a the marquee of the Laugh Factory with a message in memory of actor Robin Williams displayed, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles Monday, Aug. 11, 2014.
KNBC-TV
A memorial to the late comic legend Robin Williams was posted on the marquee of Los Angeles comedy venue, the Laugh Factory after the actor died on Monday, August 11, 2014.
KNBC-TV
Robin Williams Star on the Walk of Fame was flooded with flowers and remembrances to the Oscar-winning actor and comedian who died on Monday, August 11, 2014 at the age of 63.
Getty Images
Passersby take in the makeshift memorial for Robin Williams on August 11, 2014 in Boulder, Colorado. The exterior of the house was used in the opening credits for "Mork & Mindy," the comedy based in Boulder that catapulted Williams' career.
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Heather Devlin of Falls Church, Va. places flowers at a makeshift memorial for Robin Williams on August 11, 2014 in Boulder, Colorado. The exterior of the house was used in the opening credits for "Mork & Mindy," the comedy based in Boulder that catapulted Williams' career.
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Flowers and pictures that are part of a growing memorial sit on the steps in front of the home where actor and comedian Robin Williams filmed the movie Mrs. Doubtfire on August 12, 2014 in San Francisco, California.
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People gather near a makeshift memorial for Robin Williams in front of Carolines on Broadway comedy club on August 12, 2014 in New York City. Williams died after hanging himslef on August 11, 2014 at his home in Tiburon, California.
Getty Images
People gather near a makeshift memorial for Robin Williams in front of Carolines on Broadway comedy club on August 12, 2014 in New York City. Williams died after hanging himslef on August 11, 2014 at his home in Tiburon, California.
AP
Flowers, notes, and a Mork & Mindy commemorative lunchbox are among the things left at a makeshift memorial in Boulder, Colo., Tuesday Aug. 12, 2014, outside the home where the 80s TV series Mork & Mindy, starring the late Robin Williams, was set.
AP
Brandon Scales places flowers on the star of actor-comedian Robin Williams at a makeshift memorial along the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014.
AP
A photo of the late actor Robin Williams playing Mork from Ork hangs with flowers and notes left by people paying their respects, at a makeshift memorial in Boulder, Colo., Tuesday Aug. 12, 2014, outside the home where the 80s TV series Mork & Mindy, starring Williams, was set. The Academy Award winner and comic supernova whose explosions of pop culture riffs and impressions dazzled audiences for decades and made him a gleamy-eyed laureate for the Information Age.

As Durst and others prepare for next month’s San Francisco's annual Comedy Day at Golden Gate Park, they're left to wonder what it will be like without Williams. “There's no words to describe when he would show up at Comedy Day,” Durst said. “You would feel the electricity coming from the audience. The minute he hit stage was magic – and to think it's just gone. “

“If you know somebody who suffers from depression,” Durst said, “make sure they know you love them and they can reach out to you at any time before it's too late.”

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SUICIDE PREVENTION: If you know someone who needs help, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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