One of the greatest comedians of all time has died... RIP Robin Williams

[drift_g35]

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/11/showbiz/robin-williams-dead/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

Comedic actor Robin Williams died at his Northern California home Monday, law enforcement officials said. Williams was 63.
Coroner investigators suspect "the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia," according to a statement from the Marin County, California, Sheriff's office.
"Robin Williams passed away this morning," his media representative Mara Buxbaum told CNN.
"He has been battling severe depression of late. This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time."

[RblDiver]

Saw that, so sad.

[sniper7]

I always liked his movies. Too bad he decided to go out that way.

[SideShow Bob]

Just heard it on the news too, R.I.P. Robin.

[Great-Kazoo]

REALITY, WHAT A CONCEPT.

[Ridge]

RIP, Genie :(

[Dave_L]

Yup, all the social media is blowing up.

Sad but not tragic. Everyone has battles. He was lucky enough to be a successful actor which should have given him substantially less battles but of course, poor him.

His remaining family deserves thoughts and prayers though. They now get to deal with his battle.

[ruthabagah]

Thank you for the laugh sir. You will be missed.
48263

[lex137]

Just heard the news from the wife, suck to hear that. May you now find peace.

[Monky]

Thank you for the laugh sir. You will be missed.
48263

+3000

[GilpinGuy]

What a damn shame. He cracked my ass up. Lousy way to go.

[beast556]

That sucks, hopefully his family can find peace. What a poor decision.

[Ridge]

It was his decision to make.

[sabot_round]

R.I.P.

[wctriumph]

Robin Williams was not in favor of guns. He was funny when I was in high school, then he became more enlightened than the rest of us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joE9y9iYgJs

[Great-Kazoo]

Robin Williams was not in favor of guns. He was funny when I was in high school, then he became more enlightened than the rest of us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joE9y9iYgJs

If i boycotted every actor, musician, tv star etc. who didn't like guns, I'd be stuck listening to Alvin & the Chipmunks, watching Lone Wolf McQuade reruns and anything produced before 1950 something, if that. . That's how many elitist don't like guns.

[SouthPaw]

May he R.I.P. I enjoyed his movies, especially when growing up.

[Bailey Guns]

Sorry. Suicide is about the most self-centered and selfish thing a person can possibly do and it can cause great emotional harm to family and friends. Deal with your damn problems because if you don't, somebody that loved you will have to do it for you. I feel sorry for his family and those that loved him. I don't feel sorry for him for making that decision.

And, yes, I've had family and friends commit suicide and I've seen it as an outsider more times than I care to remember and that's exactly why I feel the way I do.

[roberth]

I have no sympathy for Mr. Williams, he was an enormous success, a multi-millionaire, and he made me laugh. Now...now he just pisses me off with his cowardly act, leaving his poor wife and family alone, they're probably trying to figure out what they did wrong. They did nothing wrong, Mr. Williams did them a grave disservice, and he also took away his only chance to work through whatever was bothering him.

[yz9890]

I thought he was a great comedic actor but a terrible stand-up comedian. It's a shame he's gone.

[TEAMRICO]

After re visiting that comedy routine all I can say is "Cocaine is a hellava drug".
i never cared for his stand up but enjoyed his serious roles.

[Gman]

It was his decision to make.
The most selfish thing someone can ever do.

I liked Robin, but sometimes he was just 'too much'. He was one hell of an actor. I loved the humanity of his role in Good Will Hunting.

[Graves]

It was his decision to make.

A very shitty one. RIP, Robin.

[SuperiorDG]

I'm sad to see him go, but I agree with both points.


It was his decision to make.


Sorry. Suicide is about the most self-centered and selfish thing a person can possibly do and it can cause great emotional harm to family and friends. Deal with your damn problems because if you don't, somebody that loved you will have to do it for you. I feel sorry for his family and those that loved him. I don't feel sorry for him for making that decision.

And, yes, I've had family and friends commit suicide and I've seen it as an outsider more times than I care to remember and that's exactly why I feel the way I do.

[osok-308]

Very sorry to hear about the loss of such a man.

[Marlin]

Call me slightly jaded, somehow I believe he may have been the victim of "depression" the same way David Carradine was.

[kidicarus13]

Mork calling Orson, come in Orson.

[twitchyfinger]

Mork calling Orson, come in Orson.

Nano Nano Mr. Robin Williams may you now R.I.P.


http://youtu.be/eHWXAJhmvyU

Also enjoyed him Good Morning Vietnam Patch Adams and Awakenings with Robert De Niro. Now yet another celebrity to be tainted by fame. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem!

[Irving]

I don't think his fame caused his depression. I think his depression caused his overly outward personality.

[buffalobo]

Call me slightly jaded, somehow I believe he may have been the victim of "depression" the same way David Carradine was.


I don't think his fame caused his depression. I think he depression caused his overly outward personality.


Agree.

[theGinsue]

I shouldn't be, but I'm shocked by this news.

Yes, he was "just another celebrity", but through most of my life the comedic genius and dramatic artistry of Robin Williams that helped bring me through various ups and downs of my life.

I don't know what type of person he was in real life, but the characters he portrayed and the part of himself that the public got to see made me really like Robin Williams.

I haven't been this disturbed by the passing of a celebrity since John Wayne died in 1979.

Rest in Peace Mr. Williams.

Na-Nu Na-Nu Mork

[Aloha_Shooter]

I don't think his fame caused his depression. I think his depression caused his overly outward personality.

+1

Many of the zaniest comedians suffer from depression including the man who Robin Williams was most often compared to, Jonathan Winters. I suspect many of them are so outgoing and completely off the wall precisely because they are trying to fight their own demons. I doubt it was similar to Carradine's death because Robin Williams' depression was very well documented. I disapprove of suicide in most cases (I understood why Richard Farnsworth did it) but I still sympathize with him and his family because he brightened life for so many -- including lots and lots of vets -- but was unable to find it for himself.

This was a tragic waste of talent but as Patton said,

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.

[Chad4000]

it's a shame....

[stoner01]

I'll always remember the time he was on a USO tour and paused for retreat. In that moment I gained enormous respect for the man.

[stoner01]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=S-XYphrgRzU

[Big Wall]

Rest in peace.

He helped quite a few people. The one that comes to mind is that he paid all of Christopher Reeves' dr bills.

[speedysst]

Well, for some, maybe money cant buy happiness.
I have no sympathy for Mr. Williams, he was an enormous success, a multi-millionaire, and he made me laugh. Now...now he just pisses me off with his cowardly act, leaving his poor wife and family alone, they're probably trying to figure out what they did wrong. They did nothing wrong, Mr. Williams did them a grave disservice, and he also took away his only chance to work through whatever was bothering him.

[roberth]

Well, for some, maybe money cant buy happiness.

True, money just brings a different set of problems.

I have since learned that he was suffering from severe depression but that does not excuse him from taking the easy way out. Humans face and fight through myriad problems over the course of their lives, suicide is not a solution. Jonathon Winters had the some type of problems as Robin but Jonathon passed away of natural causes at 87 years of age.

Just sad that Robin gave up the fight.

[Delfuego]

Robin Williams on golf [Golf]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFVkD4Rvuag

[Zundfolge]

I'm really saddened by his death but can't wish him "rest in peace" ... not after what he just did to his family and friends.

I wouldn't wish the pain he's just put them through on my worst enemy.

[SouthPaw]

Bipolar perhaps? I wish him no ill will. We don't know the circumstances or what surrounded him. It is a very selfish move, but a personal choice. I wouldn't want to take someones right or ability to do it (flame on). Do I agree with it? No. But ya can't force someone to "be alive". This wasn't a cry for help and it probably wasn't a sudden decision, and he probably somewhat weighed the impact on his family - judging by some of the things he did before. It definitely causes damage, but ultimately, It is their choice what to do - people can triumph over tragedy whenever they make a personal choice to.

I think we forget too - someone in his position doesn't exactly have the kind of family ties that we do. With the amount of travel and other "costs" of his status, they probably felt more like good friends than family to each other... sad to say.

Could not have said it better. We do not know what kind of demons he was battling. We will never have another Mrs. Doubtfire like him.

[Zundfolge]

We do not know what kind of demons he was battling.

I think one of the great flaws in our society is that we buy into this idea that "battling demons" is an excuse for doing evil. Whatever pain he was in doesn't excuse the pain he caused.

If humans are so weak that depression can excuse doing such harm (under the idea that our sanity is somehow so compromised we are no longer able to control our actions), well then none of us should be allowed liberty and we should just shut our free society down tomorrow and replace it with a harsh, totalitarian dictatorship.

[SuperiorDG]

I think one of the great flaws in our society is that we buy into this idea that "battling demons" is an excuse for doing evil. Whatever pain he was in doesn't excuse the pain he caused.

If humans are so weak that depression can excuse doing such harm (under the idea that our sanity is somehow so compromised we are no longer able to control our actions), well then none of us should be allowed liberty and we should just shut our free society down tomorrow and replace it with a harsh, totalitarian dictatorship.

When one no longer owns their "life" then we have totalitarianism.

[davsel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YkYGQ0HW3Y

[Gman]

Heard on the news today that Williams wife was saying that Robin was beginning to show symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but he wasn't prepared to announce it to the public.

[Duman]

A few items came to light, he had parkinsons (noted above), was $30M+ in debt, show was cancelled, and probably a littany of other issues we may never know about.

It's easy to pass judgement on his choice, but impossible to understand. Only the individual with his religion, beliefs, personal philosophy, and condition can judge what is the best course of action. Some commit suicide to avoid justice, that's cowardly. If someone punches out because of a terminal illness, and chooses not to bankrupt the family, that's a different classification all together.

[davsel]

Got the following from a TREA Email:


‘He Brought Them Light’: How Robin Williams Turned His USO Tours into Personal Experiences for Troops

Tuesday, August 12, 2014
By Eric Brandner USO News
Today, the audience gets to tell the story.

The photos of service members posing with Robin Williams flowing through social media feeds the past 24 hours say more than any condolence statement could.

There is Williams with a pair of female service members in Djibouti in 2004. Posing with a soldier after a long flight at Camp Speicher, Iraq, in 2007. Signing autographs during a holiday tour of Afghanistan in late 2010.

Those were hard times for people in uniform. But for a moment, Williams managed to make almost everyone he met in those conflict zones smile.

“There were these guys behind a fence, across a berm [and] a field, and they waved at him,” said USO Vice President of Entertainment Rachel Tischler, recalling her time with Williams during the 2007 USO Chairman’s Holiday Tour. “And he jumped across the berm and went running over to them. Obviously, our security team completely freaked out. Again – height of the war here. But he didn’t care. He just wanted to go over and shake their hands and thank them. And that is what he was like.”

A friend and entertainer to American service members around the globe, Williams was found dead in his Tiburon, California, home Monday afternoon in what the Marin County Sheriff’s Office characterized as a suspected suicide. He was 63.

Williams went on six USO tours from 2002 to 2013, including five overseas. He visited troops in 12 foreign countries, making three stops to both Iraq and Afghanistan.

“There’s nothing I enjoy more than traveling with the USO and giving back to our troops in whatever way I can,” Williams said during his 2007 USO tour led by then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen. “They work hard, sacrifice a lot and deserve to be treated like the heroes they are. The very least I can do is bring a smile to their faces.”

The connections didn’t end when he left the stage. One of Williams’ legacies will be the photos with men and women in various shades of camo squinting and smiling at camera phones in the middle of the desert. He openly discussed his struggles with them, too.

“He talked to [troops] who had gone through [Alcoholics Anonymous] backstage,” said USO Senior Vice President John Hanson, who also went on the 2007 tour. “That was the most remarkable thing. It happened in Kuwait, it happened in Iraq, it happened in Afghanistan. People would seek him out and he would take the time to talk to them.”

According to Tischler, Williams was always cognizant of playing to the military audience’s shared experiences.

“What was great about him on tour was that he always took the time to sit down and talk to people about what they were going through, what life on the base was like, about personal experiences,” Tischler said. “And then he’d get on stage and he’d be telling a joke about Mexican Night in the [dining facility].

“He already put on a great show, but now it was just for the people who were there and no one else would have gotten the jokes. … It made the moment even more amazing for them because he’s talking about what they went through.

“We’d land and we had a show in five minutes and in the course of … walking to a stage, he somehow found someone and got that information and put it in a routine. It was absolutely mind-blowing.”

His fellow entertainers were impressed, too.

“His generosity of spirit was as boundless as his comedy,” comedian Lewis Black wrote on Twitter on Monday night. Black also performed on the 2007 USO Chairman’s Holiday Tour. “I will miss him terribly.”

The USO’s Entertainment team estimates Williams performed for or visited with more than 89,000 service members during his 12-plus years of volunteering.

“When our service members had the opportunity to see him in person, they knew they were seeing an icon of comedy, but it was more than that,” said John Pray, the USO’s executive vice president and chief of staff. “It was someone who actually understood their own trials and tribulations and struggles as they dealt with loneliness, fear, uncertainty and a variety of negative emotions.

“He brought them light and took them away for a period of time from those challenges and gave them a chance to recharge.”

See more at:

http://www.uso.org/robin-williams-uso-tours/?utmsource=WM14RBNE01&utm
campaign=1408_RBN&sc=WM14RBNE01&utm
medium=email&ta=20#sthash.EhZj4Mdq.dpuf



Some Thoughts on the Passing of My Friend—Robin Williams

All,
I wanted to share this personal picture from December 2004 on board a C-17 over Iraq flying to Al Anbar province with Robin Williams to visit troops who were currently engaged in combat operations in the Sunni Triangle which included the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah. This was one of the many stops that we would make over the next several weeks traveling throughout Iraq and Afghanistan, out with the fleet in the Persian Gulf and to the Horn of Africa. I had the privilege to get to know Robin well during several trips like this while serving as the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Generals Myers and Pace) for Legislative Affairs. Robin would travel with us into the combat theater to entertain and visit with the troops. The more dangerous and remote the location was, the more interested and excited he was to get there and be with the troops!

On these trips, he gave all he had to the troops--staying with them until the last autograph had been signed and the last photo taken. When we visited with the wounded, he would do the many things that you would expect Robin Williams to do to brighten their day, but he would also just sit and talk with them about home and their families. When called before our departure on these trips--sometimes at the last minute, he would drop everything in his personal and professional life, to come with us to visit soldiers, sailors, airman and marines wherever they served in harm's way--he felt that it was an honor and a privilege to do so. He was truly passionate and driven to provide something worthwhile for the men and women serving far from home that would give them that needed break from the stress that they were serving under daily.

Robin's humor is well known, but he also had a gifted intellect and was interested in many things--we would discuss the history, people, culture and politics of the areas we were in or traveling to. He could make you laugh until you cried, but he could also think and talk deeply about what would be the best way ahead for the people of these places and would always ask how could we best help them.

Robin and I would continue to stay in contact over the years since with occasional correspondence and emails. He last sent me an autographed copy of one of his latest scripts. His passing yesterday is a great loss for all, but was especially hard on those of us who knew him well. He well deserves all of the tributes being put forth regarding his many contributions to the betterment and happiness of many. His presence on this earth will be missed...
Mike

Like Gary Sinise it was a movie role of Robin Williams that first led military members to focus on him ”Gooooood Morning Vietnam” In it he played radio DJ AF Sgt. Adrian Cronauer during the war in Vietnam. The movie meant a great deal to Vietnam vets most feeling its tone was just right. But the real Cronauer told WTOP-FM, that he did not even meet Robin Williams until the movie’s premier and that he was a much more laid back character. “ Barry Levinson, the director wouldn’t let me anywhere near [Williams]or even the set because he was worried if[Williams] and I met , he would start to do, subconsciously, an imitation of me,, which, of course, would change the characterization…..That was all Robin Williams… All Robin Williams.”

His friend and dedicated performer for the troops said:” R.i.P Robin Williams. His genius as artist & comedian will B missed & his support of R troops no doubt was much appreciated by all who serve.”

We are all grateful.

[Bitter Clinger]

Patriotic AND funny


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_L1vLv84vs

What a funny dude, but suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.