The Double Birth Order of Robin Williams

                                           

 

Few comedians or actors have had the impact that Robin Williams has had in his lifetime.  His acting roles have been both comedic and serious.  His humor was “off the wall” at times that only Robin could control. It was often manic and so fast that few could keep up with him. Now at age 63 he is gone.  His life has been somewhat an open book, he kept little private.  His drug and alcohol use was common knowledge. Understanding his Double birth order will give you a better insight into his personality.

 Early Years

Robin was born in Chicago July 21, 1951 to Laura McLaurin 

and Robert Williams. They moved to Bloomfield Hills 

Michigan where his father was an executive for Ford Motor 

Company. When he was 10 years old he met his two older 

brothers Todd Williams 13 yrs. older and McLaurin Smith 

4 yrs. older.  Todd was from his father’s first marriage and 

McLaurin Smith was from his mother’s first marriage. He was 

adopted by his mother’s family. Up until that time he had

no idea he had older siblings. None of the brothers lived

together but they did meet a family functions. Soon after 

that first meeting the family moved to California and 

Robin blossomed from a shy child to an outgoing high 

school student.

The Three/Only Birth Order

With the age difference between his brothers and himself Robin

now knew he was the third born but was being treated like an

Only child in his household. People who have #3 birth orders 

are very sensitive to others and the outside world. 
The phrase "Laughing on the outside crying on the
inside" is who they are. 

They can appear very shy and introspective but are really 

seeing and hearing life all around themselves.  They make 

very good actors and can be both religious and environmentally 

conscious. This sensitivity makes them vulnerable to addictions 

especially drugs and alcohol. When you add the Only 

characteristics to the #3 birth order you create an individual 

with very real conflicts.  There are two people talking to 

him. The Only child reminding him to behave and the #3 

enticing him to “give it a try”. It is the power of the Only

birth order added to the #3 birth order that gave Robin the 

power to project his brand and be successful.

Drugs and Alcohol

Throughout his life he has battled depression and substance

abuse. His three marriages and three children often found

themselves a part of his problems.  In the 70’s and 80’s it

was cocaine.  In August of 2006 he checked himself into a

substance-abuse center. He has been fighting depression

most of his adult life. In July of 2014 he entered rehab for the

second time but said it was to “fine tune his focus”. When

interviewed on Good Morning America he discussed his

addiction problem.  “It’s a little voice inside of you that says

“just one” when you can’t take just one.”  This is the

effect of his two birth orders.  The Only side says he can 

handle it, the #3 side says, “I want more.”

The High for the Three/Only

People with the Three/Only birth order want to be noticed.  

 Being on stage is a high for them and it might take the place 

of drugs and alcohol.  Maybe this is the reason Robin’s 

preforming career was so non-stop.  He shared all the 

problems in his life on stage. Was it therapy, a cry for help, 

or just another way to connect with his audience? He 

appeared shy and non-confrontational to his friends and the 

public, trying to balance his two very dissimilar birth orders 

any way he could. A tragic loss there can be no doubt.

Dr. Robert V.V. Hurst is the author of:

Life’s Fingerprint: How Birth Order Affects 

Your Path Throughout Life

You can find out more information on Birth Orders in his 

book or at his website www.mybirthorder.com

Double Birth Order Book Now Available as Audio File

 

 

Due to many requests my book, Life’s Fingerprint:

How Birth Order Affects Your Path Throughout 

Life, is now available to download as an audio book.   

I did the narration myself and added information that 

is not in the book as I brought it up to date with 

current events. You can download the book from

Audible.com, Amazon, or iTunes.  As a special offer 

to registered readers of this blog I will give you the 

code for a FREE download copy from Audible.com. 

All you have to do is send me an e-mail telling me how 

this blog and the understanding  of Double Birth Order 

has helped you in your life. I will then e-mail you the

code for your FREE download.   

This offer is limited to the first 25 people to send their 

comments.

Thanks for reading this blog.  I know it has made you 

aware of why people are different and their behaviors 

predictable.  www.mybirthorder.com

 

Dr. Robert V.V. Hurst

Putin and Obama a matter of Birth Order?

Making the headlines this year has been the Soviet

President Vladimir Putin.  Is it his desire to annex more

of the Ukraine and restore the territory lost to the Soviet

Union after the collapse of Communism in 1991?

Can we predict the response by President Barak 

Obama to Putin’s actions? Who has the stronger 

personality? How these two men operate is a 

function of their birth orders. Those of you that have 

been reading this blog understand the difference 

between the various types of Double Birth orders. 

For those who don’t here is a brief review.

Double Birth Orders

Double Birth orders occur when there is a gap in sibling

births of at least 4 years.  The greater the gap, the more

the person acts like an Only birth order and less like his

ordinal number at birth.  The addition of the Only birth

order amplifies, intensifies, and magnifies all the

personality characteristics of their ordinal birth number.

Finding the True Birth Order

Just knowing your number in the line of children at

birth is not enough to find your birth order. Spacing 

of siblings, the death of older siblings and living

arrangements are just a few factors you must consider

to find your “True” or functional birth order.

Who is Vladimir Putin

Born October 7, 1952 the third birth to his father

Vladimir (1911-1999) who served in the submarine

fleet and later the NKVD or secret police and his

mother Maria (1911-1998) a factory worker.  His

older brothers were born in the 30’s, 15 to 20

years before young Vladimir.  His first brother

died within a few months of birth but the next

brother died from diphtheria maybe during the

siege of Leningrad in WWII.  Much of Putin’s family

history has been erased or is unavailable.  His years

in the KGB or secret service may be the reason.

This death of his older brothers and the stress

on the family during the almost 3 years of the siege

must have been overwhelming. Over 641,000

people starved to death while Hitler’s Army

surrounded the town. Vladimir was born 8 years

after the siege when his mother was 41yrs old.  This

child would be treasured and given everything they

wanted. He may have been raised as a spoiled Only

child. The information about him being a bully and  

a troublesome student fits with this assessment.

Team sports would not hold much interest to an

Only child. The sport of Judo took his interest and

his coach Anatoly Rakhin trained him for 15yrs.  

Putin an Only/Three Birth Order  

Because of the 15 to 20 year age difference between

Putin and his deceased two older brothers make him

a Only/Three Double birth order.  95% an Only and 5%

a Three. This person feels that he deserves things. 

Maybe that is why when his parents won a car in a

lottery while Putin was in college, they gave him the car.

This made him the only student at Leningrad University

who owned his own car. This Only/Three would see the

world revolving around him not others. Only’s like to

make their own rules. His handpicked President Dmitry

Medvedev had the legislature increase the term of

President from 4 to 6 yrs before Putin ran for a second

term as President. Only’s are the adult in the room

and show little fear of others.  His Three characteristics

make him feel like he understands people. He worked

in the KGB section on human relations.  He really thinks

he knows how people react. There is a certain level of

“look at me” with this double birth order and it may

explain why we have seen him in videos always with

an athletic macho scenario.

 Obama The One/Only

This double birth order occurs when after the firstborn

there is a gap of four or more years until the next 

sibling. This is the case for Barack Obama, who has 

a half-sister five years younger. This would give him 

a 50% Only and 50% One Double birth order. People 

with this double birth order have great difficulty 

admitting they are wrong. That’s the One side telling 

them they have to be right all the time.  Because of 

this trait they may postpone making a firm decision 

just in case it may be wrong. Some say his leadership 

style is “Leading from behind”. The Only side of this 

birth order gives him the power to hold fast to his 

position and finds it extremely difficult to ever admit 

a mistake. This double birth order can be a leader if 

they can get over the difficulty of trying not to be 

perfect and accept making an error a time or two.

Who is Stronger and the Obama Response

The answer to our question is that Putin is stronger

than Obama. 95% Only to 50% Only. Putin is not afraid

to make a mistake whereas Obama can be paralyzed

with inaction.  Look to the future with Putin doing all he

can to gain back territory that was lost after the collapse

of the USSR. Only’s don’t like to share and he watched

as a KGB officer the brake up of the USSR.  He may

want his country “whole” again. He will also confuse

the message using the Three characteristics of his birth

order to manipulate where he can’t win by force.

 

Update  2-24-2022 

Today the Russian army invaded Ukraine but this time 

Biden is President and not Obama. Biden's birth order

is a Firstborn far weaker than Obama's. In 2014 Putin 

annexed Crimea under the Obama administration.  It 

would appear he will have an even more tepid response from Biden 

 If you would like find out the birth order of other leaders

and those that carry the 3/0 or 0/3 birth orders look no

further than my book: Life’s Fingerprint: How Birth 

Order Affects Your Path Throughout Life by Dr. Robert 

V.V. Hurst.  www.mybirthorder.com

Shirley Temple Black: An Only/Three Double Birth Order

Shirley Temple passed away February

 12, 2014. From child actress to US

 Diplomat, was this a life of contrasts

or could we predict it by looking at 

her birth order?

Conception and Birth

Her mother Gertrude wanted a girl

and was told by a fortune teller that 

if her husband had his tonsils out

she would conceive a girl.  Shirley’s 

father was a bank branch manager 

and he did agree to have his tonsils 

removed.  Once removed they grew 

back and Gertrude persuaded him to have them removed a second time. 

Just like the fortune teller had predicted, mom conceived Shirley, born 

April 23, 1928. Shirley had two older brothers, John 12 yrs. older and

George Jr. 8 years older. This gave Shirley the double birth order of an 

Only/Three.

What is a Double Birth Order?

When four years or more separate one sibling from all others

they receive the Only birth order characteristics along with their

number at birth.  The Only birth order can amplify, intensify and

magnify the characteristics of their birth number. In Shirley’s case

the birth order number three.

The Only and Three Birth Orders

The 3 birth order gave Shirley her sensitivity and sweetness,

one of its characteristics.  Three’s are the dreamers

and those that try to hide their vulnerability. They desire to

help mankind in some way. The cause is always a cause bigger than

themselves. The Only side of the birth order is the adult in the room. 

Because of the large age gap between siblings, Shirley spent many

years with her mother. As the only girl she got special attention and 

developed the self-esteem of an Only child. The Only characteristic 

gives a child the ability to talk like an adult.  Most child stars have 

this Only birth order either singularly or with another number. When 

you combine an Only with a  number  3  you get the ”Drama Queen, ” 

they like being on stage and in the public eye.

The Only/Three Birth Order

Shirley was known as “little miss one take”. She did her lines

flawlessly and spoke like an adult.  Her audience fell in love with her.

She showed the adorable side of the 3 personality.

One director called her a “50 year old dwarf.” Unfortunately,

she could not parlay her career into adulthood.  What made

her so unique as a child acting like an adult would not carry

over into an adult acting career.

Love at First Sight

Having 8 years between herself and her next sibling gave her

a birth order that was 80% and Only and 20% a Three.  Her

second husband Charles Alden Black was an Only child and

Shirley said it was love at first sight.  I say it was the link with

the Only side of her birth order.  They were married until

his death in 2005

Adult Career

Shirley’s double birth order would not let her hide her

unique talents.  After her movie career was over she

went into politics and served as the Chief of White

House Protocol working behind the scene arranging itineraries

for dignitaries, organizing ceremonies and treaty signings.

She was on stage with all these diplomats and the President.

She took center stage again as ambassador to Czechoslovakia

and Ghana.

Breast Cancer

In 1972 she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a

mastectomy.  Following the operation she announced it to the

world to help increase awareness of the problem.  In 1973

she did an article for McCall’s and became one of the first

prominent women to speak openly about breast cancer.

This is the “Drama Queen” not afraid to be on stage but also

showing her need to help others.  Her life demonstrates

how her birth order influenced her actions. She will always

be remembered as a life well lived and as the little girl

on the Good Ship Lollipop.

You can learn more about Double Birth Orders in my book

Life’s Fingerprint: How Birth Order Affects Your Path Throughout

Life. By Dr. Robert V.V. Hurst or visit our website

www.mybirthorder.com