Comedians Richard Lewis and Robert Wuhl have accused Robin Williams of stealing jokes in a book that chronicles the history of Gerson Friedman’s comedy clubs, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The late comedian has been repeatedly accused of plagiarism, and was also rumoured to pay authors who brought the jokes to him. “Some comics hated him for it. But I wasn’t one of them,” says Lewis in the book. Williams committed suicide in 2014 after a struggle with the medical condition Lewy body dementia.
Written by Friedman and Tripp Whitesell, The Improv: An Oral History of the Comedy Club that Revolutionized Stand-Up, documents the story of the titular comedy club franchise that is located in New York and Los Angeles. Apart from a foreword by night show host Jay Leno, the book also features interviews of Improv House emcee Bruce Smirnoff and comedian Jimmy Fallon and a chapter on the legendary Andy Kaufman.