Robin Williams attended Juilliard on a full scholarship and was one of only two students selected by legendary drama teacher John Houseman for the school’s Advanced Program, the other being Christopher Reeve.

His teachers considered him extraordinarily gifted, and by his junior year legendary drama teacher John Houseman reportedly told him the school had nothing more to teach him, encouraging him to leave early and begin working professionally. 

It was a rare recognition of the improvisational brilliance that would later make him one of the most beloved performers of his generation.