>> from our studios in new york city, this is "charlie rose." >> we remember robin williams this evening. he was my friend and he was a friend of this program.

he came to this table often. nobody on the planet could be so spontaneous, so improvisational, so smart as robin williams. simply stated, there was no one like him. in a league of giants like letterman and carson and so many more in television and stand-up and film, he was a unique giant. so talented it took your breath away. he was the guaranteed laugh, so smart and so quick, but impossible to define. if you are in journalism, your instinct is not to praise but simply to state he was brilliant. he was the brightest star who fell to earth and is now among the stars. officials will answer the question why he died and how he died. the rest of us simply say, "thanks for coming to the table. we will never forget you." the first time he came to this table was 16 years ago. 1998 was the year he would win the academy award for his performance in "good will hunting." do you look for this kind of role, because it gives some

balance to the kinds of things you are going to do? >> yeah, because it could -- i love being a supporting part. for me, a supporting role is extraordinary for me because it is two things. it takes the pressure off, but it is also being part of an ensemble. but a role like this, because it's -- i like to try and take a turn -- to do a movie like "flubber," which is a children's movie. and to do something like this, which is totally the other way. to also play a character that is slightly -- is tough, is slightly -- he has his own problems. it was a wonderfully complex character, and i love to do that. yeah, it balances it out. that's why i always keep trying to do as many different types of things as possible. not one particular type of role. >> take me to two places. one is what's going on with your character, because when this guy walks in the room. and then what happens in the relationship? what is it that shawn finally gives will that makes a difference? >> before the first time he walks in, it's like i said, my wife died a couple of years before. i'd been teaching at this place called bunker hill community

college. i teach all different types of psychology classes. you know, but i've kind of withdrawn. i did go to m.i.t. with stellin's character but i chose -- he was a vietnam vet. >> the professor, the genius who won the -- >> fields prize. fields medal winner. and basically, he chose a life of working in the neighborhood, working basically in boston and working back with the people he grew up with. in a weird way, he's kind of like matt's character. he wanted to work with the people he knew, the community he grew up in. but he has got it. he has been through a lot. what he gives matt's character is perspective. in the first time he presses the buttons, when he starts to attack the memory of my wife, it pushes a button. i cannot control myself. i violate the therapeutic relationship in that moment. it is no longer therapeutic.

the next session, that speaks about the swansong is essentially saying, ok, you know who i am and you messed with my life in a huge way. i want you to know i know you are, and i know you need some help. if you want to work with me, i would love to help you, but it is up to you. then it just begins, this process of the two of them just talking. first couple of times, they do not even talk. it is just standup where he will not even say anything. then it works to a point where finally, i have to tell him, i asked him a few questions and then i start sharing a little bit of myself for some reason with him. the reason probably is that in him you see yourself. he sees himself. i see the same mind. i see where could go. it is like that argument we have with stellin's character -- he does the einstein thing, what would einstein have done? he did not need anything.

he became a great mind. there was another great mind who lived in montana -- it is the idea that he needs work. i know he is a genius, that is a given. i am there to work on the other part of him. the other part is to reach -- at the end, i am just saying to him, what do you want to do? you can do anything. in the end, it is father-son. >> go ahead. >> he's saying what you have chosen to exploit in my character is not a flaw. this relationship i had with this woman is not a character flaw. this is an amazing relationship and because i have had it i have really lived. that is what he tells will. will's only comeback is why are you not doing that now? we felt the characters were parallels. they were stagnant when they meet each other and because of this interaction, they end up moving on in a healthy way.

>> when did you know that you wanted to at least entertain, if not the whatever you are? [laughs] >> during that time -- i think it was after high school. first year of college. my mother knew there were tendencies that way. "what are you doing?" "performing." "what is that about?" "nothing." it occurred in college when i took an improvisational theater class, and something that was so freeing about that that i flunked out of all of my political science courses. we did very well. lord, yes. it is that thing i do well now. [english accent] brought my mind hither. now, my friend, in the end, you must suppose that charlie rose knows. >> yes, he does. >> that was the beginning. it has been pretty much from

then on doing this. >> is there one great thing you want to do? do you get more satisfaction from this kind of thing, or do you in the end get the most satisfaction when you are out there with an audience? >> it's equal in different ways. it's like comparing hang gliding and spelunking. this one, the idea of how intimate this piece is. and when it works and reaches people at an intimate level, it is just as meaningful to me as performing live. it is different, but it gives me the same satisfaction. but performing live is this extraordinary -- it's cheaper than prozac. a great relief. it is an amazing fulfillment of -- the one caveat is that it is performing live. and when you are really creating. "it's an old line."

when you find a new piece, it is something wonderful, a creation. that is extraordinary. >> do you sit down and write the stuff at all? >> no, i basically -- >> you free associate. >> it sounds like a law firm. we are free associates. raise your right hand or your left. whatever you want to do. whatever your mother tells you to. [as groucho marx] if it is not one thing, it is your mother. stay with me. here we go. >> robin williams had appeared in 30 feature films. this conversation centered on improvisation and the challenge of acting. what you should do is combine shakespeare and stand up. >> is this not a chicken i have held? did not the two jews enter the bar? drink the scotch, i shall know thy name.

outside the day the dow jones crumbles, the nasdaq like bungee rises. doth bill gates open the windows of time and rome will be? we find ourselves waiting for this. kill bill. yet not knowing why the intern has done -- not knowing her name. gentle, monica. aye, until kenneth starr shall shine anon, we shall not hear this for the moon above. oh, vexed thing. charlie rose, the time is yours. for you, my lord. shakespeare's only play. that is the way you like it. >> shakespeare rules. >> california shakespeare. shakespeare rules!

dude! there was a great article in "los angeles magazine." the studio's notes to shakespeare. "who is this character york, and why do we need him? does his father have to die? can the ghost be less of a hallucination? can the ending have -- does he have to die? >> does he need a girlfriend? >> does she have to die, too? it is so bleak. >> that is why you are leaving this business temporarily. >> when i saw "popeye" again, i remember an agent called me and said, "can you not open your other eye?" "no, he only has one. it is called pop eye. no, pal, that is the way it has been for 50 years." "i can't see."

can we understand him? that part he mumbles. maybe that is why stand-up appeals. because there are no rules. >> is there any fear of failure when you're up there? >> yeah. you have to get over that and take a chance. you have to fail in order to find the new. sometimes -- >> you have to fail to find the new. >> you have to take the chance of -- even bomb. to really kind of like go and say, it peels away. it scares you and then you go back and work harder. it's the same way in anything. you kick it out. that does not work. then your mind says, try step two. go to phase two. don't fall back. stay with me. [southern accent] we are going ahead. we are going towards the comedy

wish list. [foreign accent] come with me. somehow it will kick in. >> 2002 was a year of change for robin williams and myself. he was directed in "one hour photo." i was recuperating from heart surgery. that would also become a topic of many of our conversations. >> come on, now, son. i've got a new heart. >> a new valve. right there. >> while you wait. >> we went down to the pig farm. >> [southern accent] i think we have another one for mr. rose. get me louise. give him the good one. she has got the biggest valve we've ever seen.

bring the big boy. >> make sure it is healthy because mr. rose wants to live a long time. he's not so good and he sleeps all the time. it's not the one we want. we want the young one, the big one, the right one. >> you made these three movies in which you play a bad guy. was there some reason you wanted to go out and tackle things you had not done before? >> [accent] i want people to understand, i never meant to hurt anybody. they should not have been there. >> i had these demons. >> my head is like a fish pole and the bobble was broken.

>> the therapist would go, ask him about that. >> as an actor, i wanted to play those characters because as anthony hopkins said, they are no longer bound by likability. you have a character that can be so hyper normal, that you no longer have to be charismatic. we went out of our way to take away all of that right off the bat. mark designed the makeup to be very much totally opposite of who i am. thinning the air. i would not want to keep a single item of clothing. >> do you -- are you the physically aware of the fact you do not want them to see robin williams? you wanted them to see the character. >> that is why it was great to have mark, because he would monitor it very much and say that is not sy. it's all the detailed, the minutia. it sets, it is all part of it.

as someone said, one day i was walking in the walmart and i disappeared. that is a great compliment. also, they didn't see sy. he disappeared and became part of it. that type of detail has been really lovely. it is the thing that you said, the more detailed you are in your work the more universal it is in the behavior and all those little things. people have come up to me and said, i love your shoes. thank you. in the movie. i love when they are walking, the squeaking is -- the sounds, the images. that is a great thing. >> do you have to put brakes on instincts to improvise? >> no. i would have moments that just blow the doors off. if i got method.

mark would say, you are getting too tense. he'd go, blow it out for a moment. i would come back and be very free and calm. there is a residual energy that exists afterwards. >> there is a lot of tension that is created because we know robin williams from talk shows and movies and stand-up. so we know he has this volcanic amount of energy. so when he is playing this very repressed, restrained character, we know he is repressing a volcano. if it was another actor, we may suspect he is repressing a hiccup. it is not as intense. >> he keeps going. you are charged up. it helps to have the kind of freedom to go off and then you come back and there's this thing where you're very much present and people would say that they are registering when you're just watching someone. that they pick up on a lot of

things. that is what we wanted. when you have a character most of the time it is just observing, which is a very interesting, delicate line to walk. you are looking at other people and you have to be with this mixed bag of envy, anger. all of these different things. not just one emotion but many as in life. lots of things are going on simultaneously. >> i am interested in the answer to this question. where are you and where do you want to go now in terms of this -- >> the same. i want to keep doing interesting movies like this. i am 51. getting towards walter brennan. i want to do interesting films, work with interesting people. that's, because you get to a certain point and say, what are you leaving behind? it is movies like this that say great. it is something that has an effect. has a half life. that is a wonderful thing. doing stand-up it is another thing that seems to, it affects people. to have access to both, it is like having passports to many countries.

i get the passport for hbo and get the passport to do this. it takes people by surprise. so people keep guessing. >> that year would be one of his most prolific, 2002 saw him star in three films and an hbo special. after 16 years, he had returned to stand-up. i would think that comedians have a certain brand of friendship because -- >> it is a tough love. >> tough luck business. in the beginning, everyone was hanging out at the clubs. >> you're there together. and then you go -- dead men walking. dead men talking. then you go your separate ways and you will see people and go, what's up? i saw richard pryor a month ago. he wanted to go see san quentin. he wanted to see alcatraz. and got him off, too. he wanted to go see it. >> did he call you and say? >> robin, get me to the island.

>> you know san francisco. >> you know willie. >> willie brown, hardest working man in show business! i want to say it's an honor. no, sister, please. and jonathan winters. he came up. for jonathan, his wedding anniversary of september 11. rough day. i took him to a giants day. he had a good day. for me, knowing him, meeting comedians like jonathan, don rickles. you are like a little kid. a brother, but more like uncle, the master, buddha. around jonathan is like being around a great one. a man was kissing a woman in front of us and he leaned over and said "you are sucking the ugliness out of her."

you hang out with those guys and you cannot help but feel -- i got to know rod steiger. for me, the stories. you want to get that stuff on tape sometimes. so people could hear all the stuff that these guys have gone through. walter matthau. meeting those people. once or twice i met billy wilder. there is such a gift. they give you the sense of history. like a knowledge born of great, great history, like walter being in the battle of the bulge. >> walter matthau was in the battle of the bulge? >> big time. he was on a destroyer. >> really? >> these guys will tell you those stories alone. then they will tell you being in plays. then it's amazing. all of those guys came out of world war ii. went into acting as this thing you do on the gi bill. steiger went to an acting class because he heard girls were there. they're crazy.

i don't know what to do. comics, too. what's that girl do? like the comic making love. what show did you see, first or second? old. bring it back. i remember that joke from 1929. >> do you ever -- i think about winters. somebody ought to be sitting with him and having that forever conversation about recording. i got a call last night from a friend saying -- this happens to me a little bit and i do not have time to do as much of it as i want to -- somebody said, i had the most amazing dinner. he named the guy he had dinner with. he has the most fabulous stories about the beginning of hollywood. you have got to talk to the guy. >> you have to get it down in some medium that will not go away. remember -- [mimics old victrola]

it is like hearing the audition tapes of jimmy stewart. "uh, line." they tell you stuff that it is hysterical, but also powerful, coming through the depression, making movies and being in movies where people like bogart talking with don rickles. there is this amazing interaction. and meeting brando. i got to meet him once. it was insane. it was wonderful. to see him. [mimics marlon brando] this man. robin. i don't know. it is crazy.

"do you have any butter?" he's an amazing guy. all of these guys have so much to tell and teach. brando put together an acting class. >> didn't he get guys like you to help him? >> what he was doing was sharing what he sometimes he will ramble on. i don't know what that means. sometimes he will say something and you go whoa. there is that buddha moment. there's that zen -- show business in those days. there was no movies. we were doing this in front of the cave wall. how many cro-magnons does it take to light a fire? you have to get it on tape. it helps to have people being like a catalyst and they will let them go. they want to tell you stuff, and it is important because it is like a verbal and visual record. they light up because you see them talk about it and they remember it. it's like, yeah, baby. >> they have an audience again. >> it is the audience again combined with remembering it again.

>> science is an interest of yours. >> i was always kind of fascinated by it. my brother started off as an optical physicist. teaches science in memphis. what science? i'm always kind of fascinated by the potential for it, especially when they talk about the human genome or working on, send in the clones. what are you doing? nothing. i met a nobel prize physicist. i developed a therapy for a specific form of cancer. he said, what are you doing? i said, i'm having lunch. you meet them and they are very quiet. they've worked out the total nerve system. >> what do you do? >> i make noises. peter lorre said, "i made faces. i like to make faces. why won't they let me in? i never did anything wrong."

>> where was that from? >> it was in "m." he did a monologue on a television show where he talked about, "my head is like a fishbowl and everyone sees inside of it." i can't imagine ed sullivan going, "that was peter lorre. doing a wonderful monologue from "psycho." >> what musical instruments do you play? >> i tried to play the saxophone once. this great player said, "don't hurt it. you are hurting the fishermen. -- instrument.

you finger it like a woman." my favorite is you listen to those old blues records. you and bonnie raitt going out to find all these blues artist. [accent] >> i remember it was 1927. i got out of prison for the seventh time. i wrote this song called "stay away from me." this song was written after a lovely evening with a woman who i found out later on was a man. but we had ourselves a wonderful love. that night i looked in those eyes -- i didn't know. ♪

>> when robin returned to this table five years ago, the self-deprecating humor was still there. and now my friend became more reflective on both his career and his life. so what are you doing in weapons of destruction? >> self-destruction? talking about everything that has happened. the heart surgery. the idea of even the valves. they gave me the choice of the different valves. they gave me the porcine valve, which i said is wonderful because -- you can find truffles. the cow valve. college kids tip you over at night. i got so emotional.

i thought instead of a valve, i thought instead of a valve they gave me a tiny vagina. i thought it was an elton john song. >> when did you know you were not doing so well? >> i would finish shows and be burnt. this is more than exhaustion. something else is going on. you get that run down thing. then when they looked at the valve. did the angiogram. it was just [blows raspberry] look at you, charles rose, with your nice french valve. [french accent] charlie, these are the choices. cow, pig, chicken heart.

small but you lay fresh eggs. big horse. how proud will you be? look at charles. >> how do you feel today? >> wonderful. i am 98% there. letterman when i talked to him -- and he had the quintuple bypass. >> he almost really went down for the count. >> coming. >> he said, you are going to an operation in an hour. >> big time. i had a doctor in miami who wanted to operate the next day. then i had a wonderful italian surgeon who was standing there going, you may not want to go with a guy who wants to go on vacation. you get to pick. i had the luxury of being able to look for the best doctors. i finally found one who had done 4000 surgeries, and all of them amazing. >> all of them successful. >> you do not want to go with a guy who has done six. three did not go so well. like a dealer. let's try this.

>> how long were you in recuperation? >> about, i think it was three months, ready to go back out again. >> you feel better today? >> yeah. >> i do, too. >> that is the idea. >> i get oxygen to my brain now. i remember things. >> you appreciate the little things like breath. you do. i'm back. it's wonderful. >> you were here at this table when i had my first valve transplant. >> good luck with that thing. >> you know what happens to me, people look at me and they say, that's nice. >> better than seeing people go. you go like -- [laughs] what do you have? i had a penile transplant. from a pig?

nope. [burrs like a horse] come over here, robin. ever since he had this transplant, he has been pulling my carriage in the park. that's all right. >> doctor, could i get another appointment? >> what's happening? here's the deal. i need two horse shoes. and how is that mare? what do you mean a stud fee? how old am i? [taps on table] you eventually go, how is that? i feel good since i had that pig valve put in.

charlie said to get a pig valve. he would go, michael on line two. what are you doing? no one knows. this is my boy gill. i don't know. ever since that genetic research has come through. the botox is working. you feel better with the elephant hormone? [trumpets] what are you doing? what's the next step? you see people get those contact lenses with the goat eyes. great party. [hisses] thanks, charlie. >> that was good. >> that was fun. that was a wild riff. that was free range. charlie gives you open field. >> how much of this is simply natural comedic talent? >> lenny bruce said it best. you start off trying to win the

attention of your mother just for one of these. is this thing on? then you work from there. >> so thirsty. >> that was funny. as it goes along to become something you learn and you work on. then the moments where you get the open field, like you saw. sometimes you get a gift and you go with it. >> but that is a gift. >> some would say touch. some would say it is voluntary tourette's. that's why when you look at joe biden and joe says things like even people with tourette's say, no, joe. joe. i think sometimes it is both. it is a nice combination of the two. >> there are few people who can do what you do. >> you mean that are out of institutions. there are a few. there are older ones like jonathan winters. and people who are just free.

you just, they can go anywhere with it which is wonderful. >> jonathan was your hero. >> big-time. still is. he lives in santa barbara. it is great because you will see him and he will talk to people. >> in character? >> in character once. many characters. he once parked in the handicapped parking. she said, "you are not handicapped." he went, "madam, can you see inside my mind?" >> is he ever on television? >> he does a lot of different things. he would prefer to do more. seeing him is always the best. for me, he's the buddha. >> when you need a recharge.

>> or call him. he'll go, i am sitting in a hot tub full of indianhead nichols. hello mr. wilson. robert wilson. send me money. ah, cool. i got to hang out recently with saul. >> when you went into television and went into film with "good morning, vietnam" and all of that, was it a sense of coming home? because that is what you were trained to do a juilliard. you were not trained to do stand-up at juilliard. >> no. doing television, i mean, television was more acting. when i finally did movies, that was like, that is what i was trained. >> that came easy too? >> no, not easily. at first when you're doing film, example, i was doing "the world according to garp," and i improvised the first day of shooting. he made a face like this. i went, not good. he went, "no." just say the lines. and commit.

i went, ok. and that was the first great lesson. the second great lesson came from peter weir who said, you have great power listening. really? yes, that is the second part of the equation. when you listen to someone it's quite fascinating. and stillness is very partial. second great lesson. third great lesson is always find out where catering is. these guys were giving me these great lessons. the idea of really listening and the idea of what it means to be engaged in listening. the other great gift was jeff bridges who said, whenever there's an accident in terms of filming -- not in terms of anything falling -- a line may get flubbed, that's a gift, because that forces you to be in the moment rather than trying to improvise and create that. it is something that happens -- >> respond.

>> respond to what is going on immediately. another kind of, oh, cool. do not be afraid to try those things, and it forces everybody to engage as in life. >> i think he has a very good movie out that is getting enormous attention. >> he is one of the great american actors. he's underappreciated because he is so natural. that is just him. each and every one of his performances is different and iconic. "the dude" is one of the great stoner characters of all-time. in california, it is a documentary. >> what does iconic mean? >> for me, if someone is doing an impression, that becomes iconic. chris walken is iconic and beyond. it is something that stands on its own. it is so distinct. >> i love talking to him. >> because punctuation. is. gone. a friend saw him standing in a puddle with his socks. a friend said, what are you doing? he said, today, i'm an alligator.

chris, if you could have anything, what would you want? he said, a tail. because then you would know if i was happy. my tail would be up. edit would always move according to your motion -- your emotions. i'm surprised. question mark. punctuation. >> who else do you do that you love? >> nicholson is the best because he is so out there. i love the fact that everyone in "the departed" is doing a hard core boston accent. [mimics jack nicholson] "i am not going there. this is who i am!" when he won his third academy award, "i just want mine." he was standing next to me and he went, robbo, i have got one for every decade. good for you. what a great night for me." >> have you ever bought that there is some connection between

-- tragedy and life? comedic talent? >> survival mechanism. i buy into that. it becomes that, because, they went through it, and it was part of how they went through it. richard pryor had to be the funniest guy around just to not get the crap kicked out of him. it was also him dealing with the childhood of his mother being, working in a whorehouse. and comedy. when he really found characters, because richard pryor when he was starting out, was doing college campuses. one night he found the other side of him. he tapped into the anger. i used to see him performing at the comedy store getting ready for his stand-up. it was the most amazing thing because people want him to do mud bone. [mimics richard pryor] you do it! [normal voice] he would do characters. you would see him become possessed by these characters. and go free range with it. when it was over, i could see him. you could see the catharsis of

it. he was free on stage. he could get out the demons. >> did you have to get out demons? >> where are you? you know where we are, robbo. we live with you, boy! >> seen it on your back. >> hey, charlie, where are we going? going to a strip club on valentine's day. robin, it'll will be fun. it will play well with the wife. ha ha! the demons. no, they are more like spirits and they are in a glass. spirits. where are you? possessed. dr. jekyll, mr. jack daniels. an optimist sees the glass half-full. a pessimist sees it half empty. an alcoholic goes, where is the bottle? can an alcholic think?

>> you ok, totally today? >> ok? i'm better. and also i feel better. >> did you go through a certain kind of whatever? >> yes, i went through a certain kind of whatever. three years of heavy drinking. welcome to the whatever center. hi, i have a problem with whatever. hi, my name is robin. >> is that the way you do it? you have to stand up and say, my name is robin. i have a problem with whatever. you are at whatever. i am whatever. >> did you do a lot of whatever? yeah. i used to do a lot of whatever. wake up in a field. what's your name? [bleats] >> that's my valve. >> i love you, baby. there was a problem with that, and then i went to rehab in wine country just to keep my options open.

>> how are you different? >> dry. a lot drier. sober, and also able to experience life. it's kind of, before the heart surgery one of the more sobering moments going, life is extraordinary. i do not want to miss it. it's a gift. and to be spending most of the time -- [slurring] where were you? i don't remember. oh, look. then you realize that you have family, friends. and people go, i can remember what you are talking about. how cool is that? that is a gift. things, gratitude. the simple gratitude of life, yeah. it's good. as one guy said, every day above ground is much nicer. but it's all those things. >> does stand-up make you a better actor? >> yeah. stand-ups are fearless because you have got to put it out there.

and the acting gives you the concentration. we will see a lot of stand-ups when they act, they are not afraid to be, warts and all, which is what comedy is. that is what is interesting. that is the same thing like when pat oswald was in a movie called "big fan." he played this awkward guy. as a stand-up, he is not afraid to talk about anything. for me, the stand-up gives you this outlet. and you do not have to worry about it. you do not have to be likable. this character is not likable. he is a nebbish. when i saw the movie, "a serious man." that's such a nebbishy character. by the end, you feel sympathy, but you want to go, wake up! then you want to go, get out! it is pretty crazy that way. but stand-up, i like both.

>> are you struck by the fact that jerry seinfeld wanted to go back? you want to go back. >> i do not think it is economics. it is more personal. with jerry it is certainly not economics. you get joy from it. if there's a drug, there is a fix you get. chris rock said it best. it is like being a boxer. you have to have enough material to go the distance, especially if you're going more than 30 minutes. you have got to be ready. it really helps. >> some who have written about this tour have said it is more confessional. >> almost. i mean, it is confessional, yeah. i think the main thing i came away from the operation with his -- i can say the same thing again, gratitude. it's gratitude and appreciating life, warts and all. and whatever. coming out the other side of whatever and be able to go, yeah, man, i got all this. and looking at it all. in a weird way, in the country we are going through this transition.

are we going to make it? i think we are. i think it is going to be a tightening period. i think we will come through it. that is when we deal with it. weirdly, we bitch about it and come through it, but when it comes down to it, we do work together. we sometimes do not play well with others. and other times we can. we are in the process. for me? confessional. a little bit. it is as close as i can be, as confessional as a 58-year-old wasp. [affected voice] your mother and i. i didn't grow up with that. my mother was a christian scientist. who had plastic surgery. how confessional is that? she was a christian dior scientist. it works for her.

darling, i believe in mary baker eddy. yes, baby. show it, baby. >> god will take care of it. >> but for wrinkles i need help. >> god has a good surgeon. you will be fine, mom. [affected accent] >> merry christmas, darling. i wish i could stress how happy i am. merry, merry christmas. ♪ it is a wonderful botox christmas almost smiling now ♪ gathering around with friends and family that's all i can feel ♪ >> is zach funny? >> big time. cody does a great chris walken. >> like yours? >> much better. he has not really uncorked it. i think he has been hanging back waiting for the right moment. zelda's funny. she has done a lot of movies. >> how old are they? >> cody is 18, zach's 20, zelda is 25. >> are they all going to be in show business? >> no! zelda is an actress.

zach, i don't know. >> he might? what do you think he is going to do? >> he wants to go to harvard business school. >> he wants to run things. there you go. he wants to run google. >> oh, please. netanyahu. cody i think will be a writer. ever since he has been 10, he has been writing interesting fiction. >> do you see yourself in each of them? >> totally. but i also see somebody totally different. i see a little myself and i see a combination of marcia and myself and something that is just them. they all turned out really wonderfully. there have been rough periods, but they have all turned out to be really great human beings. zelda acting. it is more than just acting. someone said she is a very sweet and kind woman. i went, that is as great a compliment as great a compliment than saying she is a great actress.

your kids are wonderful people. you go, i have done something right. >> robin williams did many things right. he made us laugh and cry and think and feel. he lives on, especially in the hearts of his survivors -- his wife, his brother, three children and two stepchildren. a giant among us. robin williams dead at 63. ♪ >> the great thing about having robin williams at the table is because you never knew what was going to happen. take a look. robin williams is here. the only child of a ford executive, he grew up -- with his imagination to keep him company. he later found an audience for his comedic talents and frenetic injury. >> frenetic injury? when i was 12. >> start over.

>> take two, charlie rose. >> robin williams is here. the only child of a ford motor company executive, he grew up with mostly his imagination to keep him company. he later found an audience for his comedic talents and frenetic energy as a standup comedian in the late 1970's. he first came to national attention in "mork & mindy." he went on to a feature film career. >> thank you, sir. >> and produced a string of critical and commercial successes. >> thank you, sir. once again. [imitates auctioneer] >> what happens to me as i walk on the street, people look at it and say, -- >> people go. they go. you go like. [laughs] charlie!

what do you have? what do i have? i had a penile transplant. what did you do? from a pig? [burrs like a horse] what are you doing? come over here, robin. you gotta pull my carriage through the park. i told him ever since he had that transplant, it has -- he pulled my carriage apart. it's been great. >> doctor, can i maybe get another appointment? >> what is happened? here's the deal. i need two horse shoes. and how is that mare. what do you mean a stud fee? how old am i? [taps table] >> four. >> four. how you doing? you eventually go, i feel good since i had that pig valve put in. a lot of people thought i had a

vasectomy. people go, michael on line two. what are you doing? no one knows. this is my boy gill. bob? ever since that genetic research has come through. the botox is working. the kids are happy. do you feel better since the elephant hormone? [trumpets] what are you doing? that's the next step. people now -- you see people get those contact lens with the goat eyes. how are you doing? great party. [hisses] thanks, charlie. >> i am pleased to have robin williams back at this table. welcome back. here's my question. my god. >> eight inches. oh!

no, that's -- what i like to do for a fishing pole. lead out eight inches when you are fly fishing. extend it out there and let the bass hook it. or a piece of c4. how do you? you see the bass fisherman, i do not have that thing where you put it out there and the bass are like, a little c4. >> robin williams for the hour. thank you. >> charlie rose, that is my man. i remember charlie rose. gentle charlie with the two valves. i said, charlie, where'd you get that parisian valve? charlie can come and sing. [la vie en rose] ♪ [singing in french] that's all for today, ladies and

gentlemen. >> thank you and good night - >> we'll let the camera keep rolling. >> charlie rose. i remember young charlie rose. i said, charlie. charlie as a child was doing interviews with his bear. he would line up all the the animals at a table and he had a tiny table. what are you up to, teddy? he had a picture. even then he looked at the questions. teddy, how long have you been stuffed? then he would turn, and the other animals would look at him and he would turn. as a rabbit, do you feel fear? near this small stuffed animal? we'll be right back. [laughter] ♪

>> live from pier 3 in san francisco, welcome to "bloomberg west," where we cover innovation, technology, and the future of business. i'm cory johnson, in for emily chang. after 34 years, steve ballmer is ending his direct association with microsoft. ballmer has resigned from the microsoft board just days after paying an nba record $2 billion for the los angeles clippers. "street smart" anchor trish regan spoke to him talking about his life after microsoft. >> when you think about what you're going to be doing over the next 12 to 24 months a