California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 1

Introduced by Assembly Member Levine

December 1, 2014

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 1—Relative to the Robin Williams Tunnel.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 1, as introduced, Levine. Robin Williams Tunnel.

This measure would designate the tunnel on State Highway Routes 1 and 101 at postmile .89 in the County of Marin as the Robin Williams Tunnel. The measure would request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost for appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.

Fiscal committee: yes.

WHEREAS, Robin McLaurin Williams was born in Chicago,
Illinois, on July 21, 1951, to his mother Laurie McLaurin and father
Robert Fitzgerald Williams. At 16 years of age Robin Williams
moved with his family to Tiburon, California; and

WHEREAS, Robin Williams attended Redwood High School
in Larkspur, California, and studied theater at the College of Marin
in Kentfield, California. Robin Williams received a full scholarship
to the Juilliard School in New York City where he pursued his gift
as an actor and comedian; and

WHEREAS, Robin Williams began his career as a comedian
doing stand-up comedy shows in the San Francisco Bay area and
continued his work in Los Angeles where he developed his
improvisational style as an actor and a stand-up comedian; and

WHEREAS, Robin Williams then appeared on several television
programs and starred in “Mork and Mindy” in the late 1970s to
early 1980s. Many successful film roles followed, including his
role as radio disc jockey Adrian Cronauer in “Good Morning,
Vietnam” in 1987, and teacher John Keating in “Dead Poets
Society” in 1989. Both roles earned him lead actor Academy
Award recognition; and

WHEREAS, In 1997, Robin Williams was voted funniest man
alive by Entertainment. The next year, in 1998, Entertainment
Weekly listed him as one of the 25 Best Actors of all time. In 2003,
he won the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album; and

WHEREAS, In 2005, Robin Williams received the Cecil B.
DeMille Award at the Golden Globe Awards. He dedicated that
lifetime achievement award to the memory of his good friend,
fellow actor, and roommate at Juilliard, Christopher Reeve; and

WHEREAS, Along with his talent to make people laugh, Robin
Williams raised funds for various causes. Robin Williams’ charity
work included health care, human rights, education, environmental
protection, the arts, and much more. In 2010, he gave 100 percent
of the proceeds from his shows in New Zealand to victims of the
devastating earthquake in Christchurch; and

WHEREAS, Robin Williams supported the following
foundations and their work: Aid Still Required, American
Foundation for AIDS Research, Amnesty International, Andre
Agassi Foundation for Education, Augie’s Quest, Bob Woodruff
Foundation, Celebrity Fight Night Foundation, Christopher &
Dana Reeve Foundation, Comic Relief, David Foster Foundation,
Doctors Without Borders, Dogs Deserve Better, Dream Foundation,
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, International Medical
Corps, Keep Memory Alive, LIVESTRONG, Love Our Children
USA, Luke Neuhedel Foundation, Muhammad Ali Parkinson
Center, MusiCares, Prince’s Rainforests Project, Prince’s Trust,
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, Smile Train, St. Jude Children’s
Research Hospital, and UNICEF; and

WHEREAS, One of Robin Williams’ strongest affiliations with
philanthropy was working with Comic Relief, a nonprofit
organization with a mission to raise money for housing, health
care, and the homeless. Robin Williams would help by hosting
events and shows and performing to help raise funds; and

WHEREAS, Robin Williams also was an active volunteer
through the United Service Organizations where he went on at
total of six tours and visited about 89,000 troops in 12 countries,
including Iraq and Afghanistan. Regardless of the challenging
circumstances, comedian Robin Williams made troops in conflict
zones smile and laugh. Robin Williams also listened to their
personal experiences; and

WHEREAS, He also funded the Robin Williams Scholarship
at his alma mater, the Juilliard School in New York City. Each
year Robin Williams provided a scholarship to cover the tuition
cost for one theater student; and

WHEREAS, Robin Williams was a local friend to the North
Bay community of the San Francisco Bay area. He would often
drop in unannounced at comedy nights at the 142 Throckmorton
Theatre in Mill Valley. There he would encourage young, budding
comedians. He did so with kindness and humility and many
comedians aspired to perform with the same level of wit and insight
as Robin Williams; and

WHEREAS, Robin Williams died on August 11, 2014, in his
home in Paradise Cay, Tiburon, California, as a result of suicide.
Though he bravely battled addiction and mental illness, his death
was a consequence of those diseases; and

WHEREAS, Robin Williams will be remembered for making
us laugh and for his generosity to others. It is altogether fitting to
officially name what is commonly known as the Waldo Tunnel
after Robin Williams; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the
tunnel on State Highway Routes 1 and 101, located at postmile
.89 in the County of Marin, as the Robin Williams Tunnel; and be
it further

Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested
to determine the cost of erecting the appropriate signs, consistent
with the signing requirements for the state highway system,
showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations
from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs; and
be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the Department of Transportation and to the
author for appropriate distribution.