I never met Robin Williams but I feel like we had been friends for a long time and I mourn his passing like I would for that of a good friend.
My first exposure to his not always controlled madness was seeing him on Happy Days playing an alien who wanted to take Richie back to Ork. This was soon followed by Mork and Mindy. During the run of the show he did a comedy special for HBO which to this day is one of the funniest stand up routines I’ve ever seen. I still have the vinyl record of “reality, what a concept” He started making feature films starting out with comedies but soon also showed us that he could do drama as well. The body of work he leaves behind is staggering. He wasn’t afraid to let go and be a lunatic or to flip it and be the heavy in the next film. What ever role he was playing it seemed to resonate with me.
I’ve known people who suffered from depression and who have had addiction problems and both. It’s hard to tell sometimes by someone’s outward behavior what is going on inside their head. It was pretty obvious that Robin William’s brain worked a little faster and a little different than the rest of ours do. It usually made for great entertainment for us. I’m sad that he’s gone and I feel sorry for his family. I hope he’s found the peace he had trouble finding in life.
I can’t pick one single thing I will remember him for as I have a lot of great memories of his performing. Hell, I even like him in Popeye.
Thank You Mr. Williams, you will be missed and will always be loved.