Robin Williams: HBO pays him loving tribute

The documentary “Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind” offers a loving but clear-eyed look at a singular talent.

The HBO program, debuting Monday, is packed with clips of Williams astonishing audiences with his bravura stand-up act and quick thinking. He upstages Elmo, turns the Comic Relief event zany and channels Elmer Fudd singing Bruce Springsteen.

Williams electrified an awards show where, in a three-way race, he lost to both Jack Nicholson and Daniel Day-Lewis — and made a classic speech. “I’m just a hairy actor,” Williams said.

Yet the quiet, reflective moments deepen this profile produced by Alex Gibney and Shirel Kozak and directed by Marina Zenovich. Told with empathy, it’s a richer-than-usual Hollywood saga. The film shares intimate details about Williams’ marriages, addic-

tions and setbacks without turning sensational.

“Mork & Mindy” co-star Pam Dawber recalls that she had to tell Williams that John Belushi had died of an overdose. Williams, who had been partying with Belushi the night before in 1982, decided to sober up and vowed it would never happen to him.

Home movies and Williams’ words provide crucial insights. He shows off in the back seat of a car going down an expressway, but the look of loneliness on his face is haunting. His vulnerability and capacity to understand others enriched his acting in “Awakenings,” “The Fisher King” and “Good Will Hunting.”

Speakers including Steve Martin, Whoopi Goldberg and David Letterman reflect the film’s humane, personal style. Billy Crystal offers zany phone messages Williams left and tells how the comedian called during Ronald Reagan’s funeral, pretending to be the former president.

Lewis Black describes Williams as “the light that never knew how to turn itself off.” Eric Idle is admiring yet frank about pal Williams.

The film concludes with a powerful passage about Williams’ taking his own life in 2014. Bobcat Goldthwait says Williams, who was suffering from Lewy body dementia, was getting misinformation from his brain and processing reality differently.

A clip from “Dead Poets Society” addresses legacy, a lesson that Williams’ teacher imparted forcefully: