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Everyone today will be talking about the apparent suicide of Robin Williams.
By the way, the great thing about suicide is THAT YOU CAN ALWAYS DO IT TOMORROW.
The two first met when they were drama students and roommates at Julliard. A friendship was born…
Before they became famous, Robin and Christopher promised each other that whoever made it would take care of the less fortunate one.
But they both become successful in their careers, and remained close friends throughout…
Then, came Christopher's tragic accident.
Chris once wrote:
Then, at an especially bleak moment, the door flew open and in hurried a squat fellow with a blue scrub hat and a yellow surgical gown and glasses, speaking in a Russian accent."
The man announced that he was a proctologist and was going to perform a rectal exam on Reeve.
It was Robin Williams, reprising his character from the film Nine Months.
Reeve wrote:
“For the first time since the accident, I laughed. My old friend had helped me know that somehow I was going to be okay.”
Robin even vowed to cover any hospital costs that Reeve’s family couldn’t cover.
Robin refused to ever claim he had. But a source close to Reeve's family said he had.
The two remained great friends until Chris's death in 2004.
Zelda Williams, only daughter of Robin, tweeted from THE LITTLE PRINCE in honor of her father:
"You — you alone will have the stars as no one else has them," the quote read.
“In one of the stars I shall be living.
In one of them I shall be laughing.
And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night...
You — only you — will have stars that can laugh."
I'm absolutely stunned by this news. Tragic. Such a loss to the world, and of course, to his family.
ReplyDeleteMy heart breaks.
I'm also stunned. Now they are both gone. Such a touching friendship though.
ReplyDeleteWendy:
ReplyDeleteMy heart feels like lead. I grieve for his daughter and the rest of his family and friends. A long-term solution to a short-term problem. Sigh.
Alex:
Perhaps the two are together once more. We can hope. :-)
I wasn't aware of Robin Williams' death, nor of his friendship with Christopher Reeve. I feel numb.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Janie:
ReplyDeleteSo do I. Like a tweet said, it is like I have lost a favorite uncle I could always depend upon for laughs and wisdom.
He was a great man. I can't believe he's gone. :(
ReplyDeleteTrisha F:
ReplyDeleteIf only the world knew how close to the edge he was, the world would have rallied around him. Sometimes we do not know how much we are loved. :-(
Depression is such a soul sucker. Experience tells me that he probably thought that he, and the people he cared about, would be better off with him gone. And it is too late to convince him that he is wrong. So very wrong.
ReplyDeleteElephant's Child:
ReplyDeleteReason often doesn't cure depression ... especially if it stems from a chemical imbalance. I grieve over a golden soul lost before its time. :-(
I'm trying not to cry. What a loss, what a remarkable man, what heartbreak. Of course right about now he's making God and Christopher Reeve laugh till they pee.
ReplyDeleteDepression is a nasty thing that eats away at the fiber of one's soul. There are many undiagnosed cases.
ReplyDeleteI was so shocked when my daughter let me know about Robin Williams today. I saw details on the news in the afternoon. So very sad for one who made us laugh. RIP, Robin. . .I didn't know about his friendship with Christopher Reeves.
I heard the news 14 hours ago and I'm still stunned and saddened. What a gifted and amazing man. So so sad :(
ReplyDeleteSuch a tragic loss and so sad that both are now gone.
ReplyDeleteHelena:
ReplyDeleteLet us hope Robin is, indeed, with his old friend, making him laugh to tears with The Father looking on in love.
D.G.:
How many around us live lives of quiet desperation and depression? His laughter made Robin a healing force. May we take time to look deeper into the eyes of those about whom we care. :-)
Keith:
It is so very sad that somehow he did not get the attention and medicines he needed. I, too, am still rocked by the news.
Mason:
I like to think that they are now together where their bodies and psyches are whole and healthy -- once more basking in the light of their friendship.
If you love someone who suffers from depression, please don't let depression be the wedge that divides. Love the whole package.
ReplyDeleteWalter:
ReplyDeleteYes. We must not cut pie wedges out of our friends: accepting some parts of them and not ALL of them.
Touching post Roland. No one knows the pain he must have been living through, to come to this tragic end.
ReplyDeleteSome of the funniest men have the most tortured souls.
My heart cracks wide. I hope both of these fine men have found peace, and their spirits soar together. If indeed Robin's death is determined to be suicide, I hope everyone will remember that he was open about suffering from depression. He didn't go untreated, and his family undoubtedly was aware. Yes, the result was still tragic. While I'm not saying depression should go untreated or be dismissed as moodiness (God forbid!), let's not add to his family and friends' pain by making making them feel as if they could have done more "to save him." Ultimately it was Robin's decision.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm quoting Schopenhauer this week, I'll leave you with this: “They tell us that Suicide is the greatest piece of Cowardice... That Suicide is wrong; when it is quite obvious that there is nothing in this world to which every man has a more unassailable title than to his own life and person.”
VR Barkowski
Finding our place, where do we belong... even the most famous... the most richest people are still struck down by demons. Sadly one of the world's funniest people, was struck down by his personal demons... sadly they one. Robin Williams will be remembered for many things, we will laugh, we will cry and we will remember.
ReplyDeleteJeremy
Thank you for sharing yet another aspect of his life. We tend to think of actors as the sum total of their movies (Not true!). Just like everyone else, they are their friendships, their loves, the sum total of their experience. This was very nice to read.
ReplyDelete