# Robin Williams...



## DAKSY (Aug 11, 2014)

Just heard he passed away at 63 Damn. Funny, funny guy. Gonna miss him...


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## BrotherBart (Aug 11, 2014)

Yep. Suicide off of a long bout with depression. Brilliant and very funny guy.

RIP Mork


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## Dix (Aug 11, 2014)

He will always be the "Shiznit".


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## begreen (Aug 11, 2014)

Devastating news. He brought so much happiness to the world.


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## stayfitz (Aug 11, 2014)

Heard the terrible news... Very sad. Amazing person with a rare talent! He will be missed!


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## pen (Aug 11, 2014)




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## gzecc (Aug 11, 2014)

Amazing how someone can be so funny and unhappy.


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## Grisu (Aug 11, 2014)

I am floored... 

Not just a great comedian but also a very good actor. Did some very fine roles in several great movies. He will be missed...


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## bmblank (Aug 11, 2014)

gzecc said:


> Amazing how someone can be so funny and unhappy.


It's a way to mask it. People don't want others to know they're unhappy.  Some dive into work cause they don't know what else to do. There's allot of pretending and denying. Depression is a groan of a thing.


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## DAKSY (Aug 12, 2014)

He made everybody happy but himself...*sigh*


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## Ashful (Aug 12, 2014)

gzecc said:


> Amazing how someone can be so funny and unhappy.


You'd be surprised how many comedians suffer the same issue.

I never really appreciated his stand-up comedy or monologues, but I really enjoyed his movies.  Mrs. Doubtfire and The Birdcage are classics.  I grew up watching Mork & Mindy.

One of my favorite quotes from him is something to the tune of, "it doesn't matter if it makes sense, if you say it fast they'll laugh.  No one wants to think they're the only one left out of the joke."


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## stoveguy2esw (Aug 12, 2014)

my fav would have to be Good Morning Vietnam, OMFG he was sooo funny in that moving. from what i understand the "broadcasts" when he was filming were not scripted he just did them off the cuff.

a brilliant guy, shame his life ended the way it did


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## BrotherBart (Aug 12, 2014)

Him and Johnny Winters were good friends. I always imagined that if you could sit down and listen to the two of them together your head would explode in about ten minutes.


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## begreen (Aug 12, 2014)

I first appreciated the depth of his acting ability in Awakenings, with Robert DeNiro. There are so many times where he touched my funny bone, stretched my mind and heart. He will be greatly missed. 

Some special Robin Williams moments gathered here:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/8/12/5994485/some-of-our-favorite-robin-williams-moments-and-memories


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## begreen (Aug 12, 2014)

BrotherBart said:


> Him and Johnny Winters were good friends. I always imagined that if you could sit down and listen to the two of them together your head would explode in about ten minutes.



They were great together.


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## NE WOOD BURNER (Aug 12, 2014)

Ironic or foreshadowing?


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## chrispr1 (Aug 12, 2014)

Nobody deserves to feel like there is no way out but where is the outpouring of support for the 22 veterans who commit suicide everyday?


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## begreen (Aug 12, 2014)

There are so many stories of Robin spontaneously relieving another's misery. This one is from Christopher Reeves:

"When Christopher Reeve was in the hospital, awaiting a back surgery that had a fifty/fifty chance of killing him, a man burst into his room. He was wearing surgical scrubs, talking in a Russian accent, and said he was there to give a rectal exam. It was Robin Williams; the two men had been roommates together at Juilliard. Later Reeve said of his life-long friend:

“For the first time since the accident, I laughed. My old friend had helped me know that somehow I was going to be okay.”

That's sort of what Robin Williams did for all of us."


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## NE WOOD BURNER (Aug 12, 2014)

No disrespect for the veterans sir! I grew up with Robin Williams and so has the world! Please look at the statistics of the suicide hotline for yesterday and today. When a celebrity commits suicide it spikes the suicide hotline calls. it is marketing for the sources of assistance and extremely affective!
I wish we could all know the names of veterans as we knew Mork!
The mental illnesses that cause one to commit suicide and the addictions that accompany them are a critical concern for all. Currently the suicide rate is 180 people per day more die of suicide then homicide!
I was born in 69 so I grew up with children of Vietnam veterans. several of these children of these veterans(my friends) committed suicide.
I think its important that people that are celebrities or not share and discuss there losses especially with Suicide. Suicide is 3-4 times more likely with addictions. Veterans are more likely to have addictions based on a higher probability of mental illness based on their service to our country. 
Suicide is something I do not tolerate based on my experiences and belief, but my experience with the surviving family and friends have led me to learn more and more about the issue so I can try to make sense why these incidents happen. I once thought suicide was cowardly, but I am leaning toward the fact that it is a symptom of a much larger issue and many where extremely strong individuals without coping skills.
Mental health issues are real veteran or not! We as a country need to embrace this epidemic and educate and fund mental health awareness and treatments.
I would like to know of the 180 per day how many of these deaths are veterans.
I have a friend who has carried his daughters(my friend) ashes for 17 years in his truck. This is how he copes with his loss and he now talks a little of his feelings with dear friends.
So we should celebrate lives of celebrities as we should for veterans and friends and family! With much discussion on the causes not the symptom.
Sorry for the length, but hits close to home.
Veterans and military keep us safe and celebrities and family make us laugh!


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## begreen (Aug 12, 2014)

The point is well taken, but maybe the veterans issue is better for it's own thread? Depression is a serious illness, regardless of cause.


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## begreen (Aug 12, 2014)

Marlon Brando told Dick Cavett after he wondered how he would deal with a bad interview. “Automatic pilot. We all get by on it when the clouds roll in. Too bad they roll back in when the performance ends and you get back under the bed.”


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## Bobbin (Aug 16, 2014)

Some thoughts on suicide:

Suicide is "messy" because it leaves way too many unanswered questions for way too many people.  Usually, everyone left behind wonders, "why?", "could I have done something to prevent it?".  None of those questions will ever be answered.  I know this because 2 of my very best friends took their own lives and the messages left on my answering machine still ring in my ears.  I never had the option to respond and that realization haunts me every day of my life.  But I've (I think) managed to reconcile it in the same way so many others have had to. 

What is rarely expressed, is this:  Each of us has a life and each of us has the option to end that life.  It's messy and uncomfortable to think that someone may wish to end their life _on their own terms and at their choosing!_  Life is a buffet, you guys!  We walk past the offerings, partake of some (sometimes too much and too often and sometimes not nearly in adequate portions), eschew others because _it's our choice._  And the thing that is rarely ever spoken about suicide is that it's just an _option_.  And probably the most deeply personal choice anyone can ever make.  When we hear "suicide" we are programmed to think that it was the act of a stricken, "troubled" person, someone with no "other options".  But never do we hear that it was, perhaps, a carefully considered _option.  _I'm not quite sure why, but religion seems to factor greatly in the equation.  I'm simply saying that suicide is very personal and for some it's an act of desperation/frustration but for others it's a comforting way to exit life without suffering loss of control  coupled with pain and frustration.  As a society, we need to "lose" the shame and embarrassment part of the suicide equation.  It's an item on the a la carte menu, nothing more.

My grandfather hanged himself in 1929, shortly before The Crash.  The stigma so affected my grandmother and was so shameful that the means of her husband's death was hidden for nearly 70 yrs..  Their son's name was changed to expunge his father's memory.  And I watched my late aunt suffer the anguish when she finally found the documents outlining her father's death upon her move from the family apartment (1998-ish). 

I preferred Robin Williams' dramatic roles to his comedy.  "Moscow on the Hudson", "The World According to Garp", "Dead Poets Society", and "Good Will Hunting".  But I will miss his bright, funny voice along with everyone else.


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## Ashful (Aug 17, 2014)

All very interesting thoughts, Bobbin.  However, what I found most interesting is the mention of, "the family apartment," occupied more than 60 years.  Had to check your location, thinking Europe...


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## Dix (Aug 17, 2014)

We could  do this forever


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## Bobbin (Aug 18, 2014)

Rent control, Joful.  Boston.  My late aunt passed on several opportunities to purchase the building (brick 3 decker) they moved into in 1929/30.  I don't think she had any idea how much real estate could appreciate upon the first opportunity; _but_ I suspect existing tenants were guaranteed existing rents (as was she) when other opportunities to buy arose.  My aunt was a very savvy woman.  Maintenance and rent control prolly convinced her that ownership (with attendant responsibilities) was not a good choice for her.  Earnings wane, maintenance income rarely rivals earnings unless you're very lucky/wealthy. 

She was an amazing woman.  Artistic (several accolades by independent guilds) and she earned her Bachelor's  degree while in the employ of the university for whom she worked (one class every semester, baby!).  She cared for my grandmother and the "spinster" aunts that supported my grandmother in the chaos/Depression that followed my grandfather's suicide.  She lovingly returned the generosity her "spinster" aunts showed her mother because _it was the right thing to do.  S_he was a 50 yr. employee at her company and reaped all the benefits of loyal employment.  Savvy to the end, she left her tidily reduced estate to my brother and me.  Her attorney summed it up by saying, "I wish I had a secretary 1/8th. as capable.". 

I never enter my beautiful shop without thinking of her hard work and careful stewardship.  I'm proud that I was named for her.


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## Dune (Aug 26, 2014)

Sucks. 
One of my favorite humans, and hugely influential over me. I grew up with Mork and Mindy was a luscious doll. 
Never mind the rest of his vast contributions to humanity.


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## stoveguy2esw (Aug 26, 2014)

agreed i remember mork and mindy as well was hilarious. and yeah Pam Dawber was really cute


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## Dune (Aug 26, 2014)

Hi Mike. I hope life is good for you.


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## stoveguy2esw (Aug 26, 2014)

hi back Dune my friend, yeah life has been pretty  decent , had some "peaks and valleys" this year but overall ive been fine. back in my office for the CS season so i will be hanging out with you guys during my workday


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## webbie (Aug 27, 2014)

My Dad loved mork......I mean really loved him.

One of my best friends up here (a former member of the hearth industry) is best friends, from childhood, with Billy Crystal (yep, even took me to meet him) and always hangs with Billy and Robin Williams at various events. He said Robin is/was the funniest human on earth and really really the nicest guy of the entire crowd (of celebs and all the hangers-on) he's hung with.

It's really mind boggling that he took his life this way. I mean - realistically, I'm in favor of "choice" in these matters, but being civilized I always imagined buying a one-way ticket to Switzerland where I could have it all done legally and cleanly. Of course, then the desperation sets in, it's unlikely any of us have the sense to call Swissair and book that ticket.


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## Brew (Aug 28, 2014)

Suicide's a choice made while in an emotionally vulnerable state and rather unlike booking a plane ticket and hotel.  It's an act of desperation, not reason.

A deeply respected friend of mine had a son who committed suicide back in 2005.  The son had previously been under observation after unsuccessful attempts.  This friend explained that there were periods of deep, deep darkness his son would feel and he would need to be talked down from making those rash decisions.  The son was always grateful afterward that someone had stopped him but, on this one occasion, no one was there to help him through.



Bobbin said:


> As a society, we need to "lose" the shame and embarrassment part of the suicide equation. It's an item on the a la carte menu, nothing more.



With all respect, you're confusing self-actualization and self-destruction.  Seriously, rosy affirmation has gone WAY too far when we dismiss suicide as an alternative life choice, like a career path.  You do a great injustice to the grieving family members by saying so.  It implies that Robin's parents, children, or wife don't have a tragedy on their hands.  In fact, they would be obligated to load the gun or tie the noose for him because he chose that path and his choice is sacred.  The truth is that they shouldn't be shamed but their loss should be recognized as a loss.

Everyone is fighting some battle.  Some are struggling with such deep depression that they sometimes see nowhere else to go but an end.  They need unconditional loving support, someone to combat the dark loneliness and confusion with truth and hope, not someone cheering them on to go for it.


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## BrotherBart (Aug 28, 2014)

Time to close this one out.


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