Just learned he was a huge Nintendo fan, and named his daughter Zelda after the video game. Father and daughter even appeared in commercials for the title.
Hockeynut! wrote:I'm also dreading the inevitable barrage of posts on FB saying, "Why do we care about a stupid celebrity who killed himself? We lose real heroes every day and no one cares!!!!!!!"
Thankfully, I haven't encountered a single instance of that yet. Granted, the world has only known of his passing for a few hours, but that's still encouraging. I honestly get the feeling that this one's a little different. Look at how many posters here are saying this has hit them harder than would have thought. He was in so many great films, was such a great comedian, he's bound to have done something to please nearly everyone at some point in his career.
tifosi77 wrote:That's a great line, about Pagliacci. So apt.
Just learned he was a huge Nintendo fan, and named his daughter Zelda after the video game. Father and daughter even appeared in commercials for the title.
When G4 use to cover E3, he would sometimes be there browsing the showroom floor.
One of my favorite comedies of all time is 'The Birdcage'. But my absolute favorite scene in the film is after Al storms out, threatening suicide (taking his toothbrush.... how Egyptian....). Armand follows him and what follows is a totally non-ironic couple minutes of beautiful honesty.
(A few NSFW words)
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Mrs Tif and I talk about this scene often, how a movie of such absolute farce can be made whole by the three minutes of this clip. We even ape the 'never miss a laugh' line with each other all the time.
Mork and Mindy was one of my favorites when I was little. Birdcage, Fisher King, Alaadin, Hook, Doubtfire, Death to Smoochy, Patch Adams, GWH, Cadillac Man... the guy had so many movies that had such an impact on my life one way or another. RIP
DVE Morning Show spent a lot of time this morning talking about his death. They played a lot of clips from an interview he gave in 2010 where he spent a lot of time talking about his issues with depression and addiction, concerns about his career, occasions he had thought about suicide, using standup as therapy, going to rehab, etc. It was a very serious interview discussing several serious topics in his life and the entire interview was filled with jokes, impressions, and funny voices. The interview seemed like the perfect example of his life. Serious issues, a lot of darkness, but through it all he couldn't help but be kind, funny and make people laugh.
Dickie Dunn wrote:DVE Morning Show spent a lot of time this morning talking about his death.
Howard Stern spent a short time making it about himself. Said it was weird because he got the sudden urge to call RW yesterday morning and then his wife came in and gave him the news. A very Howard reaction to someone else having attention for a minute.
Many have already stated what most of us are feeling; that celebrity deaths usually don't affect us much past condolences for the family and reminiscing about their works, but the death of Robin Williams is hitting harder than usual.
For me I think it has to do with my age. I am 33 years old and was born in 1981. The beginning of my life was also the time that marked the beginning of his career. Mork and Mindy came on the air in 1978 and Popeye was released in 1980. My mom used to watch reruns of Mork and Mindy with me when I was a kid. His "An Evening With Robin Williams" aired in 1982 and is one of the greatest stand up performances of all time. I can't imagine the NHL before Gretzky. He was just always there and was breaking records. It's the same with Robin Williams to me. He was just always there in film and TV.
He was my generations Peter Pan. He was the voice of the Genie from Aladdin. He was Mrs. Doubtfire. He was the main character in Jumanji. He was the scientist in Flubber, the owner of a toy company in Toys, and the voice of the bat from Fern Gully.
He was the crazy guy from The Survivors and the club owner from Club Paradise.
As my tastes matured he became the doctor in Awakenings, Patch Adams, and The Fisher King. He was the professor in Good Will Hunting. He was a displaced Soviet in Moscow on the Hudson. He was 'oh captain my captain' from Dead Poet's Society and the DJ from Good Morning Vietnam (What's 3 up and 3 down mean to you!? ....end of an inning...).
As a fan of horror, suspense, and thrillers he was the creepy guy from One Hour Photo and Insomnia.
He starred in the only movie to touch me so emotionally that I can never watch the film again for fear of crying like a little girl...again: What Dreams May Come.
He brought to life Isaac Asimov's robot in Bicentennial Man and played the best damn gay nightclub owner in The Birdcage.
In perhaps the role that best mirrors his own life struggles he was Jakob in Jakob the Liar.
For a man that was apparently dealing with a lot of internal struggles, depression, and sadness he gave joy to the world. Earth is less funny today than it was yesterday.
That's exactly how I feel, PF. He was a lot of things in entertainment but when i think of Williams, I think of movies like DPS and Good Will Hunting. He was a mentor and a teacher in both of those roles. The mentor isn't supposed to meet an end like that.
I know it sounds weird but, from that perspective is why I'm having a hard time dealing with this.
Good post PFIDC. I am four years younger than you, but some of my favorite movies growing up were Aladdin, Mrs. Doubfire, Hook, and Jumanji. I think his death hits harder than most other celebrities because he had such broad appeal. He was on TV, kids movies, hit comedies, stand up comic, and memorable dramatic roles. No matter what your entertainment interests were, you knew Robin Williams and likely was a fan.
So sad he did this to himself when he was loved by many.
He was the only good part of "The Crazy Ones" and if it hadn't been canceled, I wonder if he would still be alive today. There are three movies that have yet be released that star him. Sad.
PFIDC's post really resonates with me as well, though like pens9192 I am younger so movies like Aladdin, Hook, Mrs. Doubtfire and Jumanji are a major part of my childhood and some of my earliest memories.
I thought Tim Grierson's goodbye to Robin Williams was pretty perfect. The good and bad of his career, the funny, the dramatic, his mass appeal, the energy and excitement he brought to his performances. It's a good read.
Bioshock wrote:That's exactly how I feel, PF. He was a lot of things in entertainment but when i think of Williams, I think of movies like DPS and Good Will Hunting. He was a mentor and a teacher in both of those roles. The mentor isn't supposed to meet an end like that.
I know it sounds weird but, from that perspective is why I'm having a hard time dealing with this.
I think I get it. Not realizing it until today, I suppose I expected him to be a George Burns type down the road.
I couldn't pick my favorite Robin Williams role if I tried. I never got the sense that he was acting or embodying a character. To me, he was just revealing (at times unleashing!) facets of himself; he, in essence, owned every role he played. When I read about how much he ad-libbed his parts, it makes sense.
I never knew people liked Robin Williams so much. I think I've only seen two or three movies he was in. Last night I browsed my library and only Aladdin came up. I can't name a single film he's done since the 90s off the top of my head.
Bioshock wrote:That's exactly how I feel, PF. He was a lot of things in entertainment but when i think of Williams, I think of movies like DPS and Good Will Hunting. He was a mentor and a teacher in both of those roles. The mentor isn't supposed to meet an end like that.
I know it sounds weird but, from that perspective is why I'm having a hard time dealing with this.
I think I get it. Not realizing it until today, I suppose I expected him to be a George Burns type down the road.
I couldn't pick my favorite Robin Williams role if I tried. I never got the sense that he was acting or embodying a character. To me, he was just revealing (at times unleashing!) facets of himself; he, in essence, owned every role he played. When I read about how much he ad-libbed his parts, it makes sense.
This morning on DVE they had mentioned that Aladdin was disqualified from Best Adapted Screenplay consideration because Williams had recorded over 14 hours of material for them to use, the majority of which was ad-libbed.
pittsoccer33 wrote:I never knew people liked Robin Williams so much. I think I've only seen two or three movies he was in. Last night I browsed my library and only Aladdin came up. I can't name a single film he's done since the 90s off the top of my head.
RV (ok it was bad), Robots, Happy Feet, Night at the Museum 1/2
Yeah, the WGA refused to allow 'Aladdin' to be nominated for a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar because about 70% of Genie's dialog in the final cut was improvised.
The final line in 'Good Will Hunting' was ad libbed after numerous takes of the scripted scene that just had Sean reading Will's note, smiling and walking away. Williams took another go, read the note, and said "Son of b|tch. He stole my line," and it was just about the greatest moment in the movie.
