Williams began telling jokes to impress his parents and was inspired by legendary comedian Jonathan Winters.
Williams grew up in a very reserved household. He was an only child with step-siblings that weren't particularly close to one another and was primarily raised by nannies. However, Williams found that telling jokes was a way to catch the interest of both his mother and father. While he got his sense of humour from his mother — and often used it to gain her attention — it wasn't until he saw his father watching The Tonight Show that he made a similar connection. "I saw my father watching The Tonight Show with Jonathan Winters," he recounts. "My dad was a sweet man but not an easy laugh. My dad lost it, and I went, 'Who is this guy who made the great white father laugh?'"