Divorces Force Robin Williams to Get a Job

Robin Williams returns to TV next week for the first time since Mork & Mindy, and if you're excited about that, you can thank his two ex-wives. "Divorce is expensive," he tells Parade, although he says he didn't lose "all" his money, just "enough." That's why "the idea of having a steady job is appealing," he says. "I have two [other] choices: Go on the road doing stand-up, or do small, independent movies working almost for scale [minimum union pay]. The movies are good, but a lot of times they don't even have distribution. There are bills to pay. My life has downsized, in a good way. I'm selling the ranch up in Napa. I just can't afford it anymore."

On the subject of divorce, he adds, "I used to joke they were going to call it 'all the money,' but they changed it to 'alimony.' It's ripping your heart out through your wallet. Are things good with my exes? Yes. But do I need that lifestyle? No." So that's why, 31 years later, you can catch him on CBS in The Crazy Ones. He plays an ad agency owner working with his daughter, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. "It’s fun. I’m having such a blast doing it with Sarah," Williams says. The series, created by David E. Kelley of Ally McBeal fame, premieres Sept. 26. (More Robin Williams stories.)