Yahoo Lifestyle Yvette Nicole Brown Shares How Robin Williams' Advice Changed Her Life
Yvette Nicole Brown never knew Robin Williams. But 10 years after the legendary star’s death, she still adheres to one of his philosophies.
In an upcoming Parade cover story, the veteran comic actress—she can be heard as the hockey coach in the smash Inside Out 2 and on the upcoming new Lemonada Media podcast, Squeezed—referenced Williams when asked if she feels a responsibility to maintain her upbeat and funny onscreen persona in her day-to-day life.
The anecdote actually comes courtesy of Wilmer Valderrama, who worked with Brown when she guest-starred on his sitcom, That 70s Show, in 2005. Williams, she notes, told the young actor that he always “makes sure to take the time and give the best of himself” in public.
As she explains, “Robin Williams told him, ‘I may be meeting for five minutes of my life, but they will tell the story of meeting me for the rest of their lives. At dinner parties and at weddings, they’ll talk about the time they met me. I would like to leave a sweet aroma. They can tell a nice story of the kind man that was in Mrs. Doubtfire.’”
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Valderrama himself has talked about Williams’ influence in several interviews. (“Remember and never forget it’s supposed to be fun.”)
Williams, an Oscar-winning actor and live-wire comic, died by suicide on Aug. 11, 2014 at age 62. He had been diagnosed previously with anxiety, severe depression and Parkinson’s disease; an autopsy revealed he also had Lewy body dementia.
Brown adds that she remembers Williams’ advice every time she’s out and about. “That [advice] means I’m going to rally,” she tells Parade. “If I’m at a grocery store and someone wants to talk to me about Community or Drake & Josh or Inside Out 2, I will make the time to talk to them because that’s their moment with someone whose work they admire and appreciate. I’m going to give them that moment and be as sunny as I can be.”
And if she’s having a “crab-apple” kind of day? “I stay in the house.”
Read the full Parade cover story with Yvette Nicole Brown on August 16.
Next, 100 Best Robin Williams Quotes to Celebrate the Late Comedian
