r/todayilearned • u/DueNeedleworker5036 • 4h ago

TIL that the Civilizations games (and others) include creator Sid Meier's name in the title because Robin Williams joked that it would help sell more copies of 1987's Sid Meier's Pirates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sid_Meier#MicroProse
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u/GullibleRadiohead 4h ago

Imagine offhandedly making a joke at dinner in 1987 and accidentally inventing one of the most recognizable autor-branding prefixes in video game history. Robin Williams truly was ahead of his time.

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u/The_Hunster 4h ago

Other than this and Tom Clancy I can't even think of a single other one.

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u/Chrononi 4h ago

Madden 96, Madden 97, Madden 98, Madden 99, Madden 2000.. you get the idea. And yes, Madden 27 does exist.

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u/freebaseclams 4h ago

JOHN MADDEN JOHN MADDEN JOHN MADDEN

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u/Ich_Liegen 4h ago

aeiou

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u/n00bca1e99 1h ago

brbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbr

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u/GrabYourHammers 4h ago

Football!

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u/Qwqqwqq 4h ago

aeiou

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u/goodnames679 2h ago

holla holla get dolla

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u/officerdoot 2h ago

big amerikan tts

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u/GuiSim 2m ago

Here comes a Chinese earthquake

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u/CHEMO_ALIEN 4h ago

HOO HOO HOO BOY HOOOOO FUHBAWL

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u/Thomas_K_Brannigan 2h ago

Snake! SNAKE! SNOCK-EE!

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u/Vergenbuurg 2h ago

MARK!

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u/stumpychubbins 2h ago

9999999999999999999

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u/Deeevud 52m ago

It's not gay if it's on the moon

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u/DoctorCrook 19m ago

KEKKONEN KEKKONEN KEKKONEN ad infinitum

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u/shewy92 2h ago

Also there's two Madden 25s. One for the 25th anniversary of Madden and one for 2025.

The anniversary one is stylized as Madden NFL 1989 25 2014.

The 2025 one is just Madden NFL 25

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u/King_Tamino 3h ago

Fun fact, a few weeks ago I actually learned that Madden is a name and not a word/slang that’s just uncommon/unknown in my country. I always assumed it’s just a slang/term that’s makes 100% sense for US people and that’s it

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u/jovietjoe 3h ago

At this point it basically is

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u/JonatasA 1h ago

Maddening.

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u/nty 2h ago

Did it madden you when you found out?

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u/bopeepsheep 23m ago

It's one of my family surnames and confused my grandmother a good deal when she started seeing it in shops.

(I now wonder where John Madden's family are from.)

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u/MasterOfDerps 14m ago

Random words on a company is usually just a white guys name

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u/EmperorHans 4h ago

Madden 20 happened twice

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u/TheGoalkeeper 3h ago

TIL Madden is named after a person

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u/SuperkickParty 3h ago

You need to delete this before it makes a bunch of people feel really old.

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u/TeraTelnet 2h ago

Too late. I remember playing the first Madden game. On an Amiga.

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u/TheGoalkeeper 2h ago

Next you're telling me Amiga is another person's name

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u/JonatasA 1h ago

Wait, you're serious

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u/TheGoalkeeper 1h ago

Yes I am

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u/theBloodedge 2h ago

I don't think it has anything to do with age, people outside the states know literally nothing about american football or their personalities.

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u/MattieShoes 1h ago

Yeah, i get it... but if you are American, it's something that'd be hard to miss. He had an iconic voice, said iconic stupid things, and if you're old, was one of the best (American) football coaches in history. Every Thanksgiving, he was the announcer. Every Super Bowl. He died about 5 years ago, so nearly everybody experienced him growing up.

Kinda like Dick Clark on New Year's. He was the host from 1972 to 2011

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u/[deleted] 2h ago

[deleted]

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u/theBloodedge 2h ago

What does that have to do with this discussion?

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u/TheGoalkeeper 2h ago

They're still getting soled outside of the US

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u/[deleted] 2h ago

[deleted]

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u/TheGoalkeeper 2h ago edited 1h ago

In my case it's both

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u/SuperkickParty 2h ago

And John Madden was on the cover of everyone of those games between 1988-2000.

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u/ArtistWithoutArt 2h ago

I felt old before I read it.

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u/nty 2h ago

did you think it was the verb

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u/zdy132 2h ago

I just thought it's some american foodball terms.

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u/GatoradeNipples 2h ago

Well, it sort of is? John Madden was a football coach (famously for the Oakland Raiders in the 70s).

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u/JonatasA 1h ago

And people literally call them Madden. To one day hear he was in the cover was crazy.

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u/TheGoalkeeper 2h ago

I didn't think about it at all. Just wondering about the weird name

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u/mongo5mash 2h ago

All that CTE Maddens a man, ya know?

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u/lycoloco 2h ago

I genuinely have to know what you thought A Madden was before today.

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u/Yorick257 1h ago

Just a made up word. Like Skyrim

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u/CitizenCue 2h ago

What else would it mean?

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u/AvocadoJealous5204 2h ago

The other sports games are named after leagues, i also thought Madden was some American sports league. Had no idea it was a name

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u/CitizenCue 1h ago

Ah, that makes sense.

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u/TheGoalkeeper 2h ago

I don't know. Could be a word I don't know.

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u/Heighte 2h ago

Legit thought that was some American nickname for egghand sport

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u/big_duo3674 2h ago

Don't forget Joe Montana's Sports Talk Football! I absolutely loved playing that on my Sega

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u/mtaw 31m ago

John Madden wasn't the auteur behind the games, that's just celebrity branding.

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u/Fluffcake 1h ago

Most people never knew this was named after a person, and just assumed it was some obscure football term they were too young to know.

Tony Hawk on the other hand...

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u/tostuo 4h ago edited 1h ago

Tony Hawk's in the Pro-skater and other series is certainly one of the highest and Collin McRae in Rally and DIRT series.

Tony Hawks is still in use, the Collin McRae's nameplate was retired since his death. (which I respect codemasters and publishers like immensely for doing so)

Outside of that I can recall American McGee's Alice in Wonderland, (the sequel dropped the name), and Richard Burns Rally, which while less popular than Collin McRae, was/is a giant in the driving simulation space. Both of these are one offs.

Edit: in the niche strategy space I just remembered Gary Grigsby recently started putting his names on games such as Gary Grigsby's World at War.

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u/WafflesofDestitution 4h ago

PUBG as well, even though it can probably be considered a one-off at this point, lol.

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u/tostuo 4h ago

Oh yeah, they renamed officially to PUBG: Battlegrounds, so its technically not there anymore but I should of included it. Highly important to the Arma/DayZ modding community, and of course for basically single handily jump-starting the Battle Royale genre with his mods, H1Z1 and PUBG.

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u/Hazzawoof 3h ago

Are there any ATM machines in PUBG: Battlegrounds?

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u/SandpaperTeddyBear 2h ago

No, but the vehicles all have VIN numbers.

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u/teeso 2h ago

I like to call them Vehicle VIN Numbers for clarity.

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u/JonatasA 1h ago

Oh son of a PIN Number I never realized that!!!

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u/Twilko 3h ago

Brian Lara Cricket. Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX. Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX. Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!

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u/Buggaton 3h ago

Jonah Lomu Rugby too

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u/Fritzkreig 2h ago

Matt Hayes Pro Fishing!

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u/SlowlySailing 1h ago

Kelly Slater pro surfer!

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u/Chris-CFK 2h ago

Colin MCrae Rally

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u/tostuo 3h ago

Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX

Dam I have that still on OG Xbox. I wish half wish the rivalries between different celebrity endorsed games continued beyond that and the previous generation.

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u/Spliff_Politics 1h ago

Greg Hastings Tournament Paintball

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u/Daiwon 48m ago

Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX

The music in that game was so good.

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u/LarryCraigSmeg 2h ago

Custer’s Revenge

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u/JonatasA 1h ago

We need Lara Crocket.

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u/ChrisinNed 1h ago

Tony Hawks is a comedian and writer, Tony Hawk is a skateboarder.

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u/tostuo 1h ago

I fell victim to the classic blunder! Fixed

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u/Conspark 1h ago

Richard Garriott and Peter Molyneux come to mind as people who would have done this but between them I think Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa is the only example?

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u/Nickthenuker 3h ago

Recently? Gary Grigsby's War in the East, East 2, West, and Pacific are all quite old (well not Pacific but the others), as are Eagle Day to Bombing the Reich and War Between the States.

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u/tostuo 3h ago

Relative to the rest of his titles, I thought 05's World At War is recent, but I totally blanked on Pacific War and War in Russia, which are early 90's titles with his name

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u/Nickthenuker 3h ago

Oh not Pacific War, I meant War in the Pacific, which is a bit more recent, from 09. Also WitE2 was from 2021, which is very recent.

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u/NinjaN-SWE 1h ago

There's more than one war sim with name attached. Jane's was a pretty good series of war sims, mainly air force focused, in the late 90's. 

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u/mtaw 30m ago

Celebrity branding is not the same thing as naming it for the the auteur behind the games.

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u/Maurice_Lester 3h ago

Lee Carvellos Putting Challenge!!

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u/clancycoop 3h ago

You have chosen a three wood, may I suggest a putter?

POWER DRIVE

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u/rando1459 2h ago

Your ball is in the… parking lot.

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u/big_duo3674 2h ago

Would you like to play again?

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u/MiserableLie 1h ago

You have selected “no”.

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u/quadropheniac 4h ago

Tyler Perry and American McGee

What a selection of artists, lol

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u/DownstairsB 4h ago edited 2h ago

Bennett Foddy is a more recent one

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u/nat_r 2h ago

The fact you didn't get his name correct maybe belies your point. He also only put his name on the title of one of his games.

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u/DownstairsB 2h ago

Oops that was auto correct I just didn't notice. He also published a whole video talking about putting your name on products

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u/FukkingDeathMental 3h ago

I fucking hate golf (mini-golf and disc golf rule) but Tiger Woods EA games were amazing to play.  Then he had the whole "I'm addicted to hoors" meltdown and that gravy train stopped.

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u/BeefyQueefyCletus 3h ago

I really don't know how you have a meltdown over being a billionaire who gets laid constantly. On no, pity me, I can afford to fuck the hottest women on earth whenever I want.

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u/ashgs872tbhjs 46m ago

He abuses a number of substances, which is a pretty famous cause of meltdowns

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u/I_travel_ze_world 2h ago

Tiger Woods 09 - Walk on Water funniest game glitched turned into a commercial too

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u/Paldasan 4h ago

Garry.

As in Garry Newman, the creator of Garry's Mod.

Not that it was used to sell any games, but everyone with Steam will have HL2, and with it Garry's Mod.

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u/JonatasA 1h ago

Raises hand...

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u/EvilStan101 4h ago

A Hideo Kojima Game

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u/ODB_Dirt_Dog_ItsFTC 2h ago

A Spike Lee Joint

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u/mekamoari 24m ago

That's unnecessary because you can usually tell within a few minutes of opening them.

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u/n0respect_ 1h ago

Most of the other examples in this thread aren't autor-branding, it's just normal marketing.

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u/Canvaverbalist 33m ago edited 25m ago

Yeah I don't think the examples count, and to be fair even in other media it's a pretty unique situation.

I don't know a single writer who's books have their name in the title, even if we say and write "Stephen King's It" the title is still officially only "It"

I don't know of a single movie who has the director's name literally in the title either. Best I can think of are self-titled music album.

Tony Hawks or Tom Clancy or Madden didn't make those games, anymore than Caesar or Napoleon made Caesar IV or Total War: Napoleon.

The only other valid examples I could find is Getting Over It with Bennet Foddy, other than that all the famous names on titles are either just consultants, taken from adaptations or producers (like John Carpenter's Toxic Commando).

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u/Portbragger2 2h ago

Arnold Palmer Tournament Golf

Tommy Lasorda Baseball

Pat Riley Basketball

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u/CryptographerNo4147 3h ago

Colin McRae

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u/rando1459 2h ago

Mile Tyson’s Punch Out.

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u/UnholyDemigod 13 2h ago

Playerunknown

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u/Don_Frika_Del_Prima 2h ago

Geoff Crammond, if you like F1.

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u/Ataru13 2h ago

Kojima and Suda51?

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u/kakka_rot 1h ago

I think it has to be in the title to count, but we should really let Kojima in for how many times he slaps his own name on things in his games.

I wear one of the Metal Gear game shows his name like 5 times during the intro credits.

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u/bokmcdok 2h ago

Jimmy White back in the day. American McGee did something similar as well

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u/maninahat 2h ago

Nowhere in the same league, but Tom Barlow, and to a lesser extent Bennett Foddy.

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u/ZDogPharizle 2h ago

“National Lampoon’s… [X]”

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u/TheBeatGoesAnanas 2h ago

Chris Sawyer's name is pretty prominently featured on the Roller Coaster Tycoon games.

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u/BK_0000 1h ago

A Hideo Kojima Game

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u/Lark-Descending 1h ago

OG strategy gamers remember “A Kou Shibusawa Production”.

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u/Tigerballs07 41m ago

As others have said, Madden. And if were counting it id bet 2 or 3 editions of madden outsell games with Clancy and sid Meyers combined and its not even close. The sheer numbers those game moves is fucking insane.

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u/MrFeles 21m ago

Clive Barker's Clive Barkering, by Clive Barker. (also featuring Clive Barker)

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u/venus_shrimp 11m ago

Roberta Williams (Sierra games)?

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u/-DoctorSpaceman- 3h ago

You never played Mark Ecko’s Getting Up?!

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u/Ginormous_Ginosaur 2h ago

David Crane‘s A Boy and his Blob!

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u/12-34 4h ago

He was merely an incredibly talented human. It was the '80s cocaine that made him travel through time.

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u/NiceBeaver2018 3h ago

Robin Williams was already an energetic force of nature while sober, the cocaine made that man transcend dimensions lmao

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u/Pfandfreies_konto 3h ago

To bad all the coke fried his brain until he decided to end his life.

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u/tacitry 2h ago

That’s not only untrue but also stupid lol

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u/lycoloco 2h ago

What a shit take. And I don't mean mushroom.

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u/Dickgivins 4h ago

“Cocaine is God’s way of telling you that you have too much money.”

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u/Single-Pin-369 4h ago

Where Robbin williams and rodney Dangerfield ever together at the same time?

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u/Bluesynate 4h ago

They were

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u/Single-Pin-369 4h ago

My god. I can only imagine

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u/Tiny_Micro_Pencil 53m ago

He was a good improv comic but terrible at standup. There's a reason his nickname in that scene was "Robbin' Jokes Williams".

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u/AardvarkExcellent428 2m ago

you think Robin Williams, who was objectively an extremely successful stand-up comic, was a terrible stand-up comic? do you... do you understand what you said here

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u/ultradip 3h ago

A lot of people didn't know Robin Williams was an avid gamer. That's the reason his daughter is named Zelda.

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u/Adiin-Red 2h ago

He was also a Neon Genesis Evangelion fan.

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u/only_for_browsing 2h ago

Sadly, even legendary people still make mistakes

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u/ShittyDBZGuitarRiffs 40m ago

He also played the genie in Aladdin

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u/notsingsing 3h ago

It was because of robin williams I got into golf

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u/lycoloco 2h ago

ACH, NO! EIGHTEEN TIMES!

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u/Version_1 53m ago

Live how you got like a hundred replies using license names, not designer names used as prefix haha

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u/Tiny_Micro_Pencil 52m ago

You're overhyping this factoid to the point of embellishment