Even on the set of a movie, Williams’ improvisational skills became famous, and he was known for ad-libbing many a scene. Billed as Ray DiTutto, Williams turned in another funny performance in the somewhat bizarre The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), written and directed by Terry Gilliam.

Williams earned his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 1989, for his performance as John Keating, the inspirational prep-school teacher at the heart of Dead Poets Society. In 1990, he starred as a doctor who treats a catatonic patient (Robert De Niro) in the acclaimed drama Awakenings, directed by Penny Marshall. On a less serious (and less successful) note, he played Peter Pan in Steven Spielberg’s Hook (1991), a notorious big-budget flop which costarred Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts. Williams reunited with Terry Gilliam to score his third Best Actor nod from the Academy in 1991 for The Fisher King, also starring Jeff Bridges. He delighted children and adults alike by lending his unmistakable voice to an animated blue genie in Disney’s blockbuster hit Aladdin (1992). Although his second effort with Levinson, Toys (1992), received a mediocre welcome from critics and audiences, he had his biggest (live-action) commercial success yet with the 1993 comedy Mrs. Doubtfire, in which he played a divorced father who dresses up as a female housekeeper in order to spend time with his children. The film, which Williams coproduced, was directed by Chris Columbus and costarred Sally Field and Pierce Brosnan.

Williams’ next big hit came three years later with The Birdcage (1996), a remake of the classic 1978 La Cage aux Folles costarring Nathan Lane and Gene Hackman. In between, he had moderate success with the adventure film Jumanji (1995) and turned in a cameo as a befuddled doctor in Nine Months (1995), starring Hugh Grant and Julianne Moore. Also in 1996, he starred in the disappointing Jack, about a boy who ages physically at an unnatural rate, and turned in his first Shakespearean performance as Osric in Kenneth Branagh’s epic Hamlet. Though his teaming with Crystal in Father’s Day (1997) met with disappointing results, Williams scored a hit that year with Flubber, Disney’s remake of its 1961 hit The Absent Minded Professor.