When Sally Field’s father died, Robin Williams reshuffled Mrs. Doubtfire’s filming schedule so that she could grieve his death.
Field, 77, recalled their interaction on the set of the 1993 film while speaking with Vanity Fair for a tribute to the late comic genius, who dressed up as an elderly nanny to play the title role. Field’s character hires “Mrs. Doubtfire” to look after her three kids, not knowing she is actually her estranged husband in disguise.
“I never shared this story before,” Field told the outlet. “I was in the camper outside of the courtroom where we were shooting the divorce scene. My father had a stroke a couple of years before, and was in a nursing facility. I got a phone call from the doctor saying my father had passed — a massive stroke. He asked if I wanted them to put him on the resuscitator. I said, ‘No, he did not want that. Just let him go. And please lean down and say, ‘Sally says goodbye.’”
She continued, “I was of course beside myself. I came on the set trying with all my might to act. I wasn’t crying. Robin came over, pulled me out of the set, and asked, ‘Are you OK?’”
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Field told Williams the news and he replied, “Oh my God, we need to get you out here right now.”
“And he made it happen — they shot around me the rest of the day,” Field said. “I could go back to my house, call my brother and make arrangements. It’s a side of Robin that people rarely knew: He was very sensitive and intuitive.”
Mrs. Doubtfire ranked second at the global box office in 1993, raking in $219 million in ticket sales. Williams won a Golden Globe Award in 1994 for his performance; four years later, he earned an Oscar for his supporting role in Good Will Hunting.
This Sunday, August 11, will mark 10 years since he died by suicide at the age of 63. His son, Zak Williams, celebrated his father in a post shared on X last month.
“Dad, on what would be your 73rd birthday, I remember you for all the hope and joy you brought to the world,” Zak, 41, wrote on July 21, attaching a black-and-white throwback photo of Williams smiling at the camera. “There’s not a week that goes by without someone sharing with me how you helped them through a dark time or a rough patch. I’m so grateful to be your son. Love you forever.”
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
