i wasnt a robin williams fan. i hated that he was always on. id watch him on talk shows and he was manic and crazy and fast and off the rails. he was on. always on. why couldnt i see him just speak and tell a story and be more real? then in 1985 (i think) while on a trip to california with a friend we happened to be at the Improv on a night when robin would show up to do a set in preparation for Comic Relief. we knew something was up when Milton Berle was escorted in. and then, there he was. and i was literally a few rows away from him as he went through a set that left me stunned. when i sensed he was wrapping up i left my seat and went out to the hallway to hopefully meet him and tell him how amazing he was that night. he came out and walked right to me. i said hello and he stopped and said hello. i let him know how great it was to see him perform and that it made my drive down from vancouver so worth while. and in that moment as he shook my hand i got it. who he was by how he looked me in the eye as we spoke. i felt like he listened to every word i said. he said thank you and something else i dont remember now. and then he was gone. years later i would work on two different films he was in - RV and Night at the museum 3 - the latter ending just months ago. he seemed quiet and thoughtful when i saw him on set. the night i took my girlfriend, her daughter and friend eve to set to give them a tour he came out, while we were waiting to go in, and he saw the two young girls and stopped to say hello to them. it was just a few minutes but i think they may have felt what i had felt so many years earlier. they were smiling like they had had a private meeting with santa. while i only had a few encounters with him he left an amazing impression on me. professional, kind and gracious. he always seemed to have time to talk and say hello and see how you were. many i know who had much closer dealings than i did with him all have nothing but great things to say about him. today while cutting grass i realized i couldnt stop thinking about his death. i am not one to dwell on hollywood deaths as i dont know them and frankly a lot of those that i have met over my time in film have been assholes - sad to say. but robin somehow was different. and were all the better for it. the one thing i thought today was that you often hear people say, and its a cliche, when someone kills themself, i just saw him the other day and he seemed fine i feel like i just saw him the other day and he seemed fine. thanks pal. g.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 03:17:06 +0000
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