With the way the world goes round, this kind of news no longer surprises me. It’s more amazing to me that we’re not all severely depressed. And because of the way the world goes round, I suspect the suicide rate will only continue to escalate with each passing day. But still... OMFG! This man was a genius. G-E-N-U-I-S! I first got to know him in 1978 when, like most people at that time, I was watching him as a newcomer on television playing Mork, a completely lovable alien who came to earth to try and learn more about human behaviour, greeted everyone with “Na-Nu Na-Nu, and became room mates with the equally-adorable Mindy. Just the other day I was remembering him when he played the title role in Popeye (1980).... and when Shelley Duvall who played Popeye’s love interest Olive Oyl, sang: “And all at once I knew, I knew at once, I knew he needed me! Until the day I die, I won’t know why, I knew he needed me!” But I really became convinced of the man’s genius when I saw his stand-up routine in that great video called An Evening with Robin Williams, released in 1982. I watched it several times and now own a copy of it on dvd. Genius, pure genius. Oh, and how great was he in Good Morning, Vietnam?! Goooooood morning, Vietnaaaaaam! Yes. And Good Will Hunting? That one really got to me. Ironically, in that he played a therapist to another genius with behavioural problems. And Patch Adams? Patch Adams! Where again he plays a man who admits himself into a mental institution and once there, finds that using humor to help his fellow inmates gives him purpose in life. Later, he enrolls himself in medical college so he can learn how to really help people, and I musta cried a thousand times when he lost the girl that he met there. An emotional wallop! That film also instilled in me the importance of remembering people’s names. But I highly doubt anyone will ever forget his. I know I wont. May Robin Williams now rest in peace.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:17:42 +0000