When The Funny Comes To An End. We Say Goodbye To Robin Williams.
I first remember him as "Mork From Ork." He was so much more than that, but that's how a lot of people were introduced to Robin Williams. He did television, he did stand-up, he did movies, he did voice-overs. As my wife and I were eating dinner last night and the news broke of his death she looked at me and said, "is this a joke?" I replied, "I hope so." We sat and watched the news as their coverage (albeit minimal) continued to expand. I think we were waiting for someone to come on and tell us it WAS a joke. Then, we just started naming films Robin Williams was in. We were still naming them off the top of our heads this morning.
Of course, bring in radio, I LOVE the movie "Good Morning Vietnam." My other favorite Robin Williams movies include: "Dead Poets Society", "Mrs Doubtfire", and "The Birdcage." That being said, most all of his work added something to the film. If it wasn't comedy, it was a darkness ("Insomnia") or just plain creepiness ("One Hour Photo".)
For me, probably one of his greatest performances wasn't on the big screen. Several years ago Robin did a an episode of "Inside The Actors Studio" with James Lipton. This was PURE ROBIN WILLIAMS. He was up. He was down. He was teaching. He was laughing. If you ever have a chance to see that episode, I seriously encourage you do to so.
For a guy who brought so much joy and happiness to the lives of so many, he has brought sadness to even more today.