Robin Williams is dead at the age of 63?
Of an apparent suicide?
Williams’ publicist Mara Buxbaum told The Hollywood Reporter that Williams “has been battling severe depression of late. This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.”
I’m sorry. This will take a while to process.
Go here.
And where I first discovered Robin Williams, above.
Is comedy dead?
Is improv dead?
Is brilliance in improv comedy dead?
Long live Robin Williams, the true master of the comedic.
There was no one faster in comedy than Robin Williams. Absolutely no one.
And I think to myself: the world is completely diminished by his loss.
Robin, please — we need more laughter these days, not less.
BZ
Last photo of Robin Williams.
I’m devastated. I could never BELIEVE how quick he was particularly on late night TV, one HILARIOUS line after the other…………in a kind of comedy I don’t usually like; almost slapstick. But by HIM? Hilarious. God rest his soul. He sure had no rest on earth from what I’ve always read.
The newest information I received is that he was trying to regain his control by having his new show on TV
But like some other brilliant and tortured individuals, his torture apparently superseded his control.
BZ
I grew up with Robin Williams. Whilst his “Mork and Mindy” show was on TV, I was challenged in my role as deputy sheriff for a coastal Fornicalia County. Me and my training officer would stop at the local Soquel fire station to watch the show during our shift.
BZ
RIP, Robin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr1DSLoHni0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqdSagycCWc
Thank you, sir, for those.
BZ
Williams was talented, troubled, corrupt, and unable to seek the help he required to correct a life that had always been outside the norm. What a waste. This is all too typical of the Hollywood types.
At least he is now at peace… God rest his soul…
This is certainly sad, as I always enjoyed watching his work. I too enjoyed his portrayal of Mork as a kid, and his stand up when I got a little older.
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How fragile are we as a people when a man who has everything, is well loved by millions, is the envy of so many, yet feels so alone he solves his problems with the most definite of solutions?
I know I for one saw him as an incredible person. Of all of the celebrity deaths I have seen, none of them have even come close to as saddened as I feel about his. I admire so few celebrities, but his was a rare one.
I remember meeting him when I was a kid, in a video game arcade just shortly after Mork and Mindy had come out. I suppose this was a time where he could be in public and not get too mobbed. He was with a friend and they waited for the machine I was playing, and when I was done playing, I looked up and saw him as he asked if I was though, and then put several quarters into the machine. I asked him if he was Robin Williams, and he laughed and said that he gets that a lot, as if joking that he was not him. Of course, there was no mistaking as I knew what he looked like. He eventually stated he was and smiled that smile that made it unmistakable as who he was.
Watching Mork and Mindy as the highlight of the week, shadowed only my Happy Days (Before it jumped the shark). Watching a Robin Williams special, which I was allowed to do despite the language, was a treat to say the least. He was the first comic that actually made me want to watch stand up comedy. So, maybe I still retain some of that giddy teenage girl admiration for him.
I can only imagine his suffering. I now read he had money problems, although I am sure what he thought of as a money problem would be a windfall for me. His ex-wives taking so much, his having to take roles he did not want (One-Hour Photo must have been one of them), and of course, the ultimate rejection of any celebrity, the recent cancelling of his sitcom.
I find it odd with his latest marriage, that he slept in a different room from his wife, and that it appeared to not be uncommon for them to go most of the day without at least saying hello to the other. The torment and hell of what he thought his life had become. No money, no love, and rejection from the only thing you love and know, he must have thought of no other way to end the torment. I feel bad for how he must have felt. Did he not know of the millions and millions of those that loved him? Again, the human condition is fragile, and rejection and no love will takes its toll. How many times did he strap a noose around his neck, and them take it off? How many times did he give life a chance? What made him finally kick the chair?
So enough of my blubber, and all I will say is I will miss him. He was a star to me. Not many earn that title from me. I hope it’s better for him now.