Robin Williams Married His First Wife in Wallingford

Since Robin Williams’ death there have been stories with local connections of people that were able to meet him and what their experiences were like.

But one of the more interesting, and perhaps not well-known, is that Williams married his first wife Valerie Velardi in Wallingford — at The Farms Country Club on June 4, 1978.

Velardi was the daughter of Leonard Velardi, a club member and owner of several Hamden construction companies, according to the Meriden Record-Journal.

Mark Gagliardi recounted his story of working at Williams’ wedding as a 22-year-old busboy to the Meriden Record-Journal.

Gagliardi told the Journal it was a big wedding but, at the time, Williams was not yet a major celebrity.

“We didn’t know how big he was going to get,” Gagliardi said. “He was just getting started.”

Read the Record-Journal’s full story here.