Friday, June 13, 8:08 p.m.

Comedian Robin Williams will be the featured entertainer at this year’s Colonials Weekend, University officials announced Friday.

The Academy Award-winning actor will take the stage of the Smith Center Friday, Oct. 17 and Saturday Oct. 18 at 9:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. July 8, and cost between $57 and $150, according to a news release.

“We are excited to welcome one of America’s most versatile talents to campus for Colonials Weekend 2008,” said Robert A. Chernak, senior vice president for student and academic support services, in the release. “In addition to being a Hollywood humorist, Robin Williams also is an exceptional humanitarian, having performed in USO shows around the world, as well for numerous charity benefits at home, including Comic Relief, which he helped found over two decades ago. We look forward to a frantic, fast-paced evening of the hysterical humor that marks his unique style on stage.”

Peter Konwerski, assistant vice president for SASS, said Williams was the “first and top choice” for Colonials Weekend and the University has worked for the past several weeks to bring the comic to campus this fall.

“We always have a short list and we keep going back to the list to confirm and verify the interest among students and parents, but as we did that this year, from everyone we spoke to, Robin Williams was the name that kept coming up over and over again,” he wrote in an e-mail.

Konwerski said he thinks that William’s upcoming show is the first performance the comedian has done at GW.

Williams is famous for his roles in “Aladdin,” “Dead Poets Society,” “Good Morning Vietnam,” “Mork and Mindy” and “Mrs. Doubtfire.”