[Filed with Secretary of State July 1, 2015.]
ACR 1, Levine. Robin Williams Tunnel.
This measure would designate the Waldo Tunnel on State Highway Route 101 between postmile 0.885 and postmile 1.074 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.
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 Weekly. 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 a 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 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 Waldo Tunnel (#27-40) on State Highway Route 101, located between postmile 0.885 and postmile 1.074 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.
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