Area man to hold talk about Robin Williams

By Linda Ellingsworth

It’s been almost a year since the untimely passing of comic great Robin Williams, and a local man who had many interactions with the comedian/actor will share a bit of his private side at a special event at the Pawlet Library at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 4. Following the talk, Garry DuFour will show the movie “Patch Adams.”

DuFour, who now resides in the Dorset area, is a Lake George, N.Y. native who first worked in Congress and ended up living in San Francisco in the 1980s while working on a national political campaign.

In the late 1980s, a friend informed DuFour that Robin Williams lived in their San Francisco neighborhood.

“I got to know him from being in the neighborhood,” said DuFour. “He was very friendly, very kind, and had a very soft voice.”

DuFour recalled how Williams would frequently hire a limousine on a Saturday night and drop in unexpectedly at local comedy clubs, to the surprise of the club owners and the comedians.

“He would come home around 8 a.m., and I’d be headed out to the gym,” DuFour said.

Although many people learned that Williams lived in the area, when anyone inquired, DuFour said, all the neighbors would protect his privacy by denying any knowledge of his residence.

When DuFour first moved to San Francisco, a chance encounter with a movie producer led to his getting a Screen Actors Guild card and getting small parts in movies. In 1998, he found himself working on the set of the film “Patch Adams,” which starred Williams.

His part in the film took place in a convention hall in San Francisco.

“I was next to Robin, who was on the speaker stand,” he recalled. “He recognized me from the neighborhood, and we chatted between takes.”

DuFour said that most people were unaware of Robin Williams’ many humanitarian works.

“He would serve the homeless in the San Francisco area,” he said.

He noted that Williams also raised funds for veterans’ organizations, and entertained troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with the USO.

“He did so much for others, he kind of forgot about himself,” said DuFour. “I strongly feel he was at his best when he was performing for people.”

DuFour will share many other insightful anecdotes about the actor at the event. It is free and open to the public.