Fans marked what would have been Robin Williams' 75th birthday on July 21 by posting favorite films, quotes and personal memories; his daughter Zelda Williams shared photos with the message "Happy 75th womb evacuation anniversary Poppo!" in an Instagram story. Many posts recalled Williams' film work, including his Oscar-winning turn as Dr. Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting and interviews such as a 1988 Rolling Stone feature shared by outlets. A long-running rumor that Williams required productions to hire homeless people and thus helped more than 1,500 homeless people resurfaced alongside birthday tributes; Snopes says that claim is unsubstantiated, traces to a 2014 piece by Brian Lord, and has no verified contracts, production testimony or family confirmation. Snopes notes Williams died by suicide in 2014 and includes the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline as a resource for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis. The fact that Williams helped launch Comic Relief in the U.S. in 1986 with Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg and Harold Ramis is often cited as part of his real-world work on homelessness, but it does not verify the contract-rider claim. Snopes says it will update its assessment if new credible evidence appears.
