A woman’s outrageously infectious laugh once left Robin Williams mesmerized during his own interview |
Comedian Robin Williams never seemed to stop his lifelong quest to make people laugh. He succeeded so often that it must have simply felt like second nature to him. It was almost as if all he had to do was just wave a magic wand and poof! Laughter.
This gift seemed to appear to Williams as a child, and he carried it with him most of his life. So when he heard the uproarious chuckles of one woman in the audience of an interview with James Lipton on Inside the Actors Studio, he couldn’t help but become the conductor of his own little laughter orchestra.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by History Clips Only (@historyclipsonly)
A post shared by History Clips Only (@historyclipsonly)
On the History Clips Only Instagram page, a Reel is captioned, “Robin Williams paused his interview after hearing a woman laugh – only to make her laugh harder.” In the clip, Lipton brings up the phrase “legalized insanity” as a term he says Williams has used in order to help people “understand” him. This is followed by a loud giggle in the audience that immediately captures Williams’ attention.
Lipton asks, “What is legalized insanity?” Williams leans in, and just as he’s about to answer, he seems to hear the woman in the audience scream-laughing. He leans back in his chair as though he’s being possessed by a demon. He then gets up and shimmies toward the laughter with a silly dance, while exclaiming, “You know you want it!”
The woman, in a sea of laughter, stands out even more. She is now screeching. And the louder she gets, the more infectious it seems for the rest of the audience. He sits back down and says to Lipton, “I think that’s one example.”
Her laugh becomes like staccato little yelps of joy. Williams gets up again and asks, “Are you okay?” We now see the face of the woman laughing in the audience, her cheeks glowing bright red. She covers her mouth as we see her eyes shut tighter with every guffaw. Williams can’t help himself. He too begins to laugh and tells her, “It’s okay. It’s alright.”
But now the entire audience is in the palm of his hand, as they so often were. He switches gears and pretends to be a preacher with a southern accent. “Baby Jesus loves you,” he yells twice, to an applause break. “I know you believe! I’m gonna lay my hands on you, but first I’m gonna do this!”
Now the woman decides to take part. “I believe,” she yells back. “I believe in the power!” He continues, “I’d lay my hands on you, but first, first, I’ve got to do THIS. A lot of times, people know the reverend will do that!” He then returns to his seat as the crowd continues going wild.
We get a shot of the woman again, now wiping away tears of pure joy from her bright face.
As was so often the case with Williams, people responded to the joy he brought much of the world with accolades. The clip has nearly a quarter of a million likes and over a thousand comments.
One Instagrammer writes, “Laughing so good that you get a personal Robin Williams monologue is a life win.”
Another shares a similar sentiment: “The best kinds of people are those who strive to make people happy and laugh. Robin did exactly that, making others happy before himself. RIP to a legend.”
Someone who claims to have done the makeup for Williams in that particular segment shared, “Okay, so I was very lucky on that day since I had the honor of doing Robin Williams’ makeup on that particular segment. I had worked inside the Actors Studio for approximately 12 years. He was by far one of the most talented and the most humble. We lost a beautiful gift. RIP.”
A single door can open up a world of endless possibilities. For homeowners, the front door of their house is a gateway to financial stability, job security, and better health. Yet for many, that door remains closed. Due to the rising costs of housing, 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe, affordable housing.
Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has made it their mission to unlock and open the door to opportunity for families everywhere, and their efforts have paid off in a big way. Through their work over the past 50 years, more than 65 million people have gained access to new or improved housing, and the movement continues to gain momentum. Since 2011 alone, Habitat for Humanity has expanded access to affordable housing by a hundredfold.
A world where everyone has access to a decent home is becoming a reality, but there’s still much to do. As they celebrate 50 years of building, Habitat for Humanity is inviting people of all backgrounds and talents to be part of what comes next through Let’s Open the Door, a global campaign that builds on this momentum and encourages people everywhere to help expand access to safe, affordable housing for those who need it most. Here’s how the foundation to a better world starts with housing, and how everyone can pitch in to make it happen.
Globally, almost 3 billion people, including 1 in 6 U.S. families, struggle with high costs and other challenges related to housing. A crisis in itself, this also creates larger problems that affect families and communities in unexpected ways. People who lack affordable, stable housing are also more likely to experience financial hardship in other areas of their lives, since a larger share of their income often goes toward rent, utilities, and frequent moves. They are also more likely to experience health problems due to chronic stress or environmental factors, such as mold. Housing insecurity also goes hand-in-hand with unstable employment, since people may need to move further from their jobs or switch jobs altogether to offset the cost of housing.
Affordable homeownership creates a stable foundation for families to thrive, reducing stress and increasing the likelihood for good health and stable employment. Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs homes with individual families, but it also strengthens entire communities as well. The MicroBuild® Initiative, for example, strengthens communities by increasing access to loans for low-income families seeking to build or repair their homes. Habitat ReStore locations provide affordable appliances and building materials to local communities, in addition to creating job and volunteer opportunities that support neighborhood growth.
Everyone can play a part in the fight for housing equity and the pursuit of a better world. Over the past 50 years, Habitat for Humanity has become a leader in global housing thanks to an engaged network of volunteers—but you don’t need to be skilled with a hammer to make a meaningful impact. Building an equitable future means calling on a wide range of people and talents.Here’s how you can get involved in the global housing movement:
Speaking up on social media about the growing housing crisis
Volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build in your local community
Travel and build with Habitat in the U.S. or in one of 60 countries where we work around the globe
Join the Let’s Open the Door movement and, when you donate, you can create your own personalized door
Shop or donate at your local Habitat ReStore
Every action, big and small, drives a global movement toward a better future. A safe home unlocks opportunity for families and communities alike, but it’s volunteers and other supporters, working together with a shared vision, who can open the door for everyone.
Visit habitat.org/open-door to learn more and get involved today.
When Los Angeles-based actor and singer Beavan Zulu found out his grandfather in Zambia was in urgent need of expensive medical treatment, he knew he’d do whatever he could to help…including singing emo covers of decidedly not-emo songs.
As Zulu explained, his grandfather, Mr. Rebby Malekani Chanda, required a type of surgery for his heart condition that isn’t provided in Zambia. The closest available area that could provide such treatment was in India, over 4,000 miles away. But Zulu’s family was already financially tapped out from Mr. Chanda’s previous medical care costs.
However, Zulu was determined to get his grandfather the help he needed.
@beavanzulu Please help in any way you can and INTERACT!!! https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mr-malekani-get-lifesaving-heart-surgery #gofundme ♬ original sound – user16850017189
Please help in any way you can and INTERACT!!! https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-mr-malekani-get-lifesaving-heart-surgery #gofundme
“I love my grandpa so much, and he deserves this care.”
Faced with this daunting financial hurdle, Zulu could have simply shared the GoFundMe created by his family. Instead, he leaned into something a little more personal, with a lot more attitude. Not to mention makeshift sideswept bangs.
Rather than simply ask for donations, Zulu wanted to get creative with his fundraising and put his singing skills to good use. That’s when he remembered entertaining his high school with an emo rendition of “Let it Go” from Disney’s Frozen. It worked once…it could work again, right?
“I took a leap of faith and posted the first video not thinking anything crazy would come from it,” Zulu recalled with Upworthy.
@beavanzulu Let’s save my grandpa!! Comment your fav Disney movie and tag @Idina Menzel so she can give me........