Robin Williams has been described as a "shapeshifter" who took on many forms during a long and varied career. His fast-talking, funnyman roles were just as memorable as his more serious, creepy ones.
The list of Williams' achievements is long but here are 10 of his most famous roles:
1. Mork and Mindy (1978-1982)
This TV series, a spinoff of Happy Days, is how many of us first learned of Williams' nuttiness. He played Mork, an alien who comes to Earth from Ork. Pam Dawber co-starred as Mindy McConnell, his human friend and roommate. Mork's greeting "Nanu, nanu" became a popular catchphrase at the time.
2. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
Williams' fast-talking style was perfect for the role of a DJ on Armed Forces Radio during the Vietnam War. Most of Williams' radio broadcasts were improvised and he received his first Oscar nomination for the role.
3. Dead Poets Society (1989)
Williams played an unconventional poetry teacher who taught his Vermont boarding school students to stand on their desks, think on their own and "seize the day". He was also nominated for an Oscar for this role.
4. Mrs Doubtfire (1993)
The tale of a bumbling dad who dressed up as a portly nanny - with a latex mask, a wig and a Scottish accent - in order to spend time with his young kids as his wife, played by Sally Field, divorces him. A sequel to this film is believed to have been in the works.
5. The Fisher King (1991)
Williams' role as a half-mad homeless man, convinced that the Holy Grail was sitting in the Fifth Avenue abode of a billionaire, won him his third Oscar nomination.
6. Hook (1991)
Another of Williams' classic 1990s kids films, in which he played an adult Peter Pan who was forced to return to Neverland to do battle with Captain Hook after the evil pirate kidnaps his children. For many it is the role they remember Williams for from their childhood.
7. Aladdin (1992)
Will it ever be possible to see a cartoon genie and not think of Williams? Remember him shooting out of that bottle: "Ten thousand years will give you SUCH a crick in the neck!"
8. Good Will Hunting (1997)
A rare but welcome serious role for Williams, who played the stubborn yet empathetic therapist who was somehow able to help maths prodigy Will Hunting (Matt Damon) figure out how to handle his life. Williams won a best supporting actor Oscar for this role.
9. One Hour Photo (2002)
This was another serious role, and it was a creepy one: Williams played a photo counter worker at a huge suburban store who got a little too involved in the lives of his customers when he realised one of them was having an affair.
10. Insomnia (2002)
Williams played a murderous and manipulative crime novelist on the run from a sleep-deprived Los Angeles policeman, played by Al Pacino, in rural Alaska.
