NO LAUGHING MATTER: The Marin County sheriff's department is reporting that actor/comedian Robin Williams was found dead in his home earlier today, with early indications of "suicide due to asphyxia." Williams had struggled with addiction and depression for much of his life.
ETA: Williams' publicist has issued a statement confirming.
Too bad, of course. But I do not take back what I said about his career the other day.
ReplyDeleteI keep coming back to this commercial and it doubles as the sweetest and saddest thing imaginable at the moment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09wBn4ux3N0
ReplyDeleteHis first album, on Grooveshark: Reality - What a Concept".
ReplyDeleteHaven't listened to this in decades, it's an amazing slice of the late 1970s. I've always been fascinated by the moment where the audience starts to yell for him to do Mork and he fights back to do something different.
An interesting person who made a lot of crappy movies.
album link, http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/Reality+What+A+Concept/143528
ReplyDeleteWell, fuck.
ReplyDeleteAnd certainly, in Williams' case, fame and fortune may have helped encourage those demons, since they gave him the resources to get hooked on cocaine and self-medicate
ReplyDeleteYou know his quote, right? "Cocaine is God's way of telling you you are making too much money."
ReplyDeleteI don't even know what to say. We were out at dinner when the NY Times alert popped up on my phone, and I gasped out loud. I see that Marc Maron has reposted his interview with Williams from a few years back - I'll be listening to that tonight.
ReplyDeleteI listened to the Maron interviiew last night as well (though I found it on YouTube and thus didn't get the updated version with Maron's comments on Williams). Interesting, to say the least.
ReplyDeleteThis is so true. Getting help is -- first of all -- a hard thing to do for a lot of people where mental illness is concerned. There is still such a stigma associated with it, and such an overwhelming lack of understanding about what depression really is. Even the word "mental" implies that it's in someone's mind. I object to the word mind, in this situation. Depression, addiction, any other mental illness -- these are diseases of the BRAIN. Robin Williams lost his battle with depression, just as my husband did. I am devastated by this news.
ReplyDeleteMaron, in his intro and outro, really sounds choked up. Near the end of the interview, Williams talks about a time in around 2008 or so (I'm doing the math - the interview was from 2010) when he had suicidal thoughts and successfully tamped them down...he turns it into a quiet, contemplative bit, but it's just heartwrenching to hear it now.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant man, bright spirit, one of the reasons I perform. Dead Poets Society activated me in a big way.
ReplyDeleteFWIW, as a member of the UCB community here in New York, I can tell you that every comedian had a time dealing with this last night. Every single one. My entire twitter and facebook feeds are filled with some very heartfelt words from some very tongue-in-cheek people, and it's a sobering read.
No reason you should. I don;t think it takes away from anyone's memory to be honest about their career; nothing how bad one movie is doesn't take away from Good Will Hunting, One Hour Photo, Popeye and Final Cut.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about Moscow on the Hudson lately. That's a great movie. The coffee scene is just heart-breaking. A life of deprived of just about everything is so casually shown to have been so utterly unnecessary.
ReplyDeletehttps://myspace.com/yourememberthat/video/coffee-coffee-coffee-moscow-on-the-hudson/30092257
(This video cuts off a bit early, IIRC.)
My own family experiences with this tell me that's a good way to think about it: "Brain disease" I think would make it easier to accept that it's something that needs intervention. Yes, psychopharmocology is as much black art as science, but it can and does help.
ReplyDeleteAimee - I don't know how you came to find us, but I'm glad you did. I just spent a bit of time reading a few of your moving thoughts about your husband, Tony. I'm sorry, of course. But glad I could read a bit about a fellow I never knew and still share some mote of your loss. Do carry on.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I actually used to post on here quite frequently, before my husband died. I think I originally found you because I was looking for something about The Office. After Tony died I kind of tuned out of pop culture in general for a good year. Thank you for reading some of my blog. That means a lot to me.
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