The thoughtful kindness of Robin Williams’ rider will leave you speechless

While many celebrities make bizarre and outrageous personal demands in their riders, the beloved star of countless movies and television series reportedly asked companies to hire homeless people if they wished to sign him.

Williams Always Asked Movie Studios To Hire Homeless People If They Wanted To Sign Him

Hollywood star Robin Williams is still missed by millions of fans around the world. — reports Upworthy. Shortly after Williams passed away in 2014, Brian Lord, a fan who came quite close to booking the star for an event, shared a heartwarming piece of information about him that has made fans everywhere love him even more. While many A-list celebrities have riders—a list of specific personal and technical needs for hosting them for an event—Lord was surprised to discover that Williams’ riders required the event organisers to employ homeless people.

When Lord got Robin Williams’ rider, he was very surprised by what he found

‘Years ago I learned a very cool thing about Robin Williams, and I couldn’t watch a movie of his afterward without thinking of it.’ — says Brian Lord on his blog. 

I never actually booked Robin Williams for an event, but I came close enough that his office sent over his rider.  For those outside of the entertainment industry, a rider lists out an artist’s specific personal and technical needs for hosting them for an event- anything from bottled water and their green room to sound and lighting requirements.  You can learn a lot about a person from their rider.  This is where rocks bands list their requirement for green M&Ms. This is also where a famous environmentalist requires a large gas-guzzling private jet to fly to the event city, but then requires an electric or hybrid car to take said environmentalist to the event venue when in view of the public.’

When Lord got Robin Williams’ rider, he was very surprised by what he found. ‘He actually had a requirement that for every single event or film he did, the company hiring him also had to hire a certain number of homeless people and put them to work. I never watched a Robin Williams movie the same way after that.  I’m sure that on his own time and with his own money, he was working with these people in need, but he’d also decided to use his clout as an entertainer to make sure that production companies and event planners also learned the value of giving people a chance to work their way back.’  

I wonder how many production companies continued the practice into their next non-Robin Williams project, as well as how many people got a chance at a job and the pride of earning an income, even temporarily, from his actions.  He was a great multiplier of his impact.  Let’s hope that impact lives on without him. Thanks, Robin Williams- not just for laughs, but also for a cool example.’

Source: BrianLord.org