ROBIN WILLIAMS: The PAIN BEHIND The SMILE

IN NEW INTERVIEWS, FORMER FRIENDS OF re THE BELOVED STAR i REVEAL SHOCKING DETAILS OF HISEARLY 77 BATTLEWITHDRUG 7 AND ALCOHOL ADDICTION.

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ROBIN WILLIAMS could light up the screen like no other. In the late 1970s and early ’80s, the larger-than-life actor took Hollywood by storm with his career-making turn as the lovable extraterrestrial Mork on the hit sitcom Mork & Mindy. The role propelled him to superstardom and won him his first Golden Globe Award. He went on to charm critics and fans alike with spirited performances in films like Good Morning, Vietnam and Mrs. Doubtfire.

Behind the scenes, however, there was a darkness that few knew about. Robin — who tragically took his own life at age 63 in August 2014 — was battling a serious addiction to drugs and alcohol. In a new episode of Vice TV’s Dark Side of Comedy, former pals reveal things got so bad that the stand-up couldn’t go on stage without using cocaine. Fellow comedian Allan Stephan says a panicked Robin once asked him for drugs before getting on stage for a stand-up set. “He said, ‘Know anyone with any blow? I have to go on and I can’t go on without any blow.’” As an insider tells