Robin Williams' Pets

Robin Williams had one rescue dog at the time of his death in 2014, a pug named Leonard Bean (or Lenny for short). Williams adopted Lenny from the Curly Tail Pug Rescue in March 2010. Williams also claimed Lenny was gay, had a boyfriend, and they planned to adopt a Siamese kitten together. Williams was known to kids around his neighbor as “the funny man” who walked a pug. Williams often donated photos to rescues to help support them. For example, Williams and Lenny are seen here in the 2014 calendar for Tony LaRussa’s Animal Rescue Foundation.

Miss Verna Pearl is a Boston Terrier that was often mistaken for one of Robin Williams’ dogs. Miss Verna Pearl was actually Williams’ assistant (and owned by Williams’ human assistant). Williams’ said while she was his assistant’s dog, she was his road dog and his trailer dog.

Robin Williams had a Standard Poodle named Kiwi, as seen here at his home in San Francisco in 2002. This photo is by Arthur Grace, from his book Robin Williams: A Singular Portrait 1986-2002. Williams had several Standard Poodles over the years. Actor John Leguizamo got his Poodle named Chewbacca from the same breeder that Robin Williams got his from, after visiting Williams at his house and meeting his Poodles.

While not a pet, Robin Williams had a special friendship with Koko the gorilla, who was famous for understanding English and being able to communicate in sign language. WIlliams and Koko met in 2001 and instantly hit it off and stayed friends afterward. When Koko was told the news of her good friend passing away, she signed the words for “woman” and “crying”, which was understood as she was sad to find out. Koko passed away in 2018. Make sure to watch the video below on their first meeting.

In the Night at the Museum trilogy, a capuchin monkey actor named Crystal plays the iconic role of Dexter, playing opposite Ben Stiller. As you can imagine, Crystal and her costar Robin Williams became good friends during filming. But this resulted in a viral photo of them making many believe Williams had a pet monkey, which his daughter Zelda refuted on the 10th anniversary of his death.