Robin Williams Gift
I have never before felt grief and great sadness over the death of a celebrity. I was sad of course, but nothing like Robin Williams passing. Even when James Garner passed not too long ago, and he had been one of my favorite actors since childhood, this was different. Robin Williams was different. His acting was stellar but for me it was his stand up. I remember as a kid watching Johnny Carson with my older brother. Robin, as usual was on a roll and could not be stopped. Johnny was laughing so hard he quite literally was falling out of his chair. My brother and I were in the same shape. Enjoying every moment of this frantic and manic seeming man who touched on everything from current events to random thoughts on the few words Johnny could get out between laughter. I almost felt bad for the other guest, Bob Hope. Robin gave him openings to join in but Bob was out of his league and seemed to know it. He did not look happy about it either. Bob had been a reigning comedian for many years previously and now it was Robins turn and he took it.
His stand up was the same way. His older “Live at the Met” or his more recent “Weapons of Self Destruction” Tour. He helped me laugh at the world around us as well as myself. No one is spared the jokes of Robins stand up, including himself. Yet there was nothing mean spirited about it. To me he saw something funny and went for it. He was not a vicious man, just a funny one. Perhaps the funniest comedian we will see. Right up there with Richard Pryor.
I have read many tributes and seen many videos from his friends and colleagues who actually knew the man. He really was the nice guy I always suspected he was. I recommend the video of him meeting Koko the Gorilla, if you want to see a heartfelt piece. He helped everyone he could, anytime he could, and seemed to appreciate and enjoy being in a position to do so. It is an inspiration to me to always do what I can for others, that is a mighty gift. H
is comedy was for me a gift. Think about this. I have been sad and depressed at the passing of this great man and the one thing that pulled me out and made me smile was…the stand up and late night interviews of this great man. That is a mighty gift, one that we can enjoy for the rest of our lives.
Thank you Robin Williams for sharing your gifts.
Thoughts?
Writing with Wolves 
I, too, feel like we have blazed through everything good in the Sci-fi scene. We were about to start BSG all over again but then we discovered Fringe and it is like a modern X-files, but with better digital effects. Really good–the crazy scientist, Dr. Bishop, is my favorite character. We rent our stuff from the library or Movie Madness b/c we don’t have Netflix or normal TV. 🙂
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Fringe was great. Thanks for the reminder. Bishop was certainly the most entertaining as well as the character I most empathized with. He was very sweet and likable, not to mention funny.
I do movie madness as well for my movie needs when I can. The selection there boggles the mind and the museum set up is fantastic too.
Thanks for visiting the site and the post. Come back again!
I will keep it worth your time,
David
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He had a huge heart but sadly, his depression did not allow him to feel compassion for himself. I hope he is at peace now.
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I hope so too. Billy Crystal spoke about him at th Emmy’s. It was well done. So was the clip of his stand up, talking about his son. Thanks for the post Peggy.
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