Good Morning, Vietnam is a 1987 American comedy-drama

Comedy-drama

Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...

 film set in Saigon

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...

 during the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

, based on the career of Adrian Cronauer

Adrian Cronauer

Adrian Cronauer is a former United States Air Force sergeant and radio personality best known as the inspiration for the 1987 film Good Morning, Vietnam in which he was portrayed by Robin Williams....

, a disc jockey

Disc jockey

A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...

 on Armed Forces Radio Service

American Forces Network

The American Forces Network is the brand name used by the United States Armed Forces American Forces Radio and Television Service for its entertainment and command internal information networks worldwide...

 (AFRS), who proves hugely popular with the troops serving in South Vietnam

South Vietnam

South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

, but infuriates his superiors with what they call his "irreverent tendency." The film was written by Mitch Markowitz

Mitch Markowitz

Mitch Markowitz is a Canadian television executive who began his work on The Hilarious House of Frightenstein as an associate producer as well as portraying the characters of Superhippie and Mosquito. He was also an executive story editor on Best of the West...

 and directed by Barry Levinson

Barry Levinson

Barry Levinson is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. His films include Good Morning, Vietnam, Sleepers and Rain Man.-Early life:...

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Most of Williams' humorous radio

Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 broadcasts were improvised. Williams was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role

Academy Award for Best Actor

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...

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