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  • Locked thread
lizardman
Jun 30, 2007

by R. Guyovich

Finlands Sexiest posted:

What the hell? Yeah it's kinda bizarre thing to wish for

Gah... I mostly just meant I'd rather it be an accident than a suicide.

And now it just hit me there really can never be another Aladdin movie with him in it. Not that it was ever likely for there to be one, but the finality of it all... :(

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twerking on the railroad
Jun 23, 2007

Get on my level

Crackerman posted:

You know what the worst part is? When you go back and watch his stuff now, especially something like The Fisher King or Good Will Hunting, maybe even something darkly funny like Toys, you’re going to be able to see that expertly hidden but desperate sadness in his performance. Once you find out it’s there you notice it forever.

To be honest I wasn't super surprised when I heard about his death. Of course you don't see it coming, but he had demons for sure. He was a perfectionist too, and was probably super hurt by the rumors that he was a joke thief.

Timby
Dec 23, 2006

Your mother!

The sheriff's preliminary report is out.

quote:

Sheriff's officials say Robin Williams' personal assistant found him with a belt around his neck at his San Francisco Bay Area home.
Marin County Sheriff's Lt. Keith Boyd also said today that superficial cuts were found on Williams' wrist and a pocket knife was found nearby.

:smith:

Steve Yun
Aug 7, 2003
I'm a parasitic landlord that needs to get a job instead of stealing worker's money. Make sure to remind me when I post.
Soiled Meat
http://vimeo.com/8934342

Last thing I want to share about Robin Williams: I was able to attend the second to the last episode of Conan O'Brien's tenure on the Tonight Show thanks to Pierre Bernard Jr scoring me some tickets. The mood on the show for the last week was kind of like "gently caress it, who cares what we do anymore" and Robin Williams took that as license to gently caress around more than usual.

At 7:30 he sings an Irish jig to send Conan off NBC with class.

Neo Rasa
Mar 8, 2007
Everyone should play DUKE games.

:dukedog:

Stare-Out posted:

It's rarely as simple as having a friend around when it comes to depression. It really, really fucks with your mind so much so that no matter what others say it can very easily beat you down hard enough to come to the conclusion that suicide is the only answer. The whole time you can be fully aware of what you contribute to the world around you and how many people care about you, and it can still get you.

Totally true. It's always a shock when someone kills themselves due to depression because we get inundated with commercials telling us that depression is sad cartoons that you just take some pills and they get replaced by smiling clouds or whatever the gently caress. gently caress that poo poo.

Neo Rasa fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Aug 12, 2014

GonSmithe
Apr 25, 2010

Perhaps it's in the nature of television. Just waves in space.

Timby posted:

The sheriff's preliminary report is out.


:smith:

Aw, gently caress.

Wiggy Marie
Jan 16, 2006

Meep!
Today I woke up in a world where Robin Williams is gone because he hanged himself. I did not like it. I hope his family is getting all the support they need; hopefully they realize that if they are in need of anything, there is an army of peers and fans waiting in the wings to supply anything they could possibly ask for...except the one thing they presumably want.

This man was present throughout my entire life via film, stand-up and interviews. Despite knowing about his depression, I always assumed he'd die of old age and I'd read about it and be sad and then reflect on what a great career he had and the positive influences he had on other people through his work.

I would like to repeat what another poster wrote: If you or anyone you know is struggling and needs to talk to someone, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Life is super important.

mobby_6kl
Aug 9, 2009

Holy poo poo, was he shown the first cut of the new Night at the Museum or something?

I'm glad he's seen in overwhelmingly positive light, because I've met a couple of people IRL who didn't like him and so I thought I was the weird one. Many of the movies he was in are total poo poo, but he's clearly phenomenal in the good, serious roles that he's given, from those parts in Good Morning Vietnam, to Good Will Hunting, Final Cut or Insomnia. Not that this impacts the tragedy, of course.

Skeesix posted:

To be honest I wasn't super surprised when I heard about his death. Of course you don't see it coming, but he had demons for sure. He was a perfectionist too, and was probably super hurt by the rumors that he was a joke thief.

Yeah, that's how I took it too - not surprising, but unexpected, if that makes sense.

Crackerman posted:

You know what the worst part is? When you go back and watch his stuff now, especially something like The Fisher King or Good Will Hunting, maybe even something darkly funny like Toys, you’re going to be able to see that expertly hidden but desperate sadness in his performance. Once you find out it’s there you notice it forever.

Speaking of The Fisher King, the whole thing about him running away from the black knight is going to take on another layer of significance now.

Somehow I think I've always seen this part in his acting, even before I knew anything about him personally. It's something I can't describe, but just comes off through his eyes and expressions, I guess.

Stare-Out
Mar 11, 2010

Neo Rasa posted:

Totally true. It's always a shock when someone kills themselves due to depression because we get inundated with commercials telling us that depression is sad cartoons that you just take some pills and they get replaced by smiling clouds or whatever the gently caress. gently caress that poo poo.
That's not to say it doesn't help to have someone to talk to or anything, obviously. It's always worth doing what one can to help others struggling with depression. Always. But yeah, it's never as simple as popping pills or getting a hug once in a while to stop it and be rid of it forever. That poo poo haunts people throughout their lives.

Stephen Fry made a pretty harrowing and fascinating documentary about bipolar disorder and depression (of which he suffers himself) and described the "lows" as just feeling like total worthless poo poo and nothing anyone says can convince you otherwise and at worst even contributes to how low you feel because you can easily interpret all the praise and love you get as criticisms when you're in that state of mind. It's terrifying.

Crackerman
Jun 23, 2005

mobby_6kl posted:

Somehow I think I've always seen this part in his acting, even before I knew anything about him personally. It's something I can't describe, but just comes off through his eyes and expressions, I guess.

The perfect example for me, as bizarre as it sounds, is a scene early Mrs.Doubtfire when his wife firsts asks for the divorce and he says about packing up and moving away from their troubles so they can’t follow them. If I remember right he uses one of his cartoon voices or something and she calls him on always hiding behind jokes.

That’s the impression I always got from him - when he was ‘on’ he was so loud and fast because he was trying to drown out his negativity screaming away inside his head.

I don’t know if anyone else saw recent, fully-bearded pictures of him after shooting finished on that sitcom with Sarah Michele Gellar but even while smiling he looked depressed as gently caress.

Basebf555
Feb 29, 2008

The greatest sensual pleasure there is is to know the desires of another!

Fun Shoe

Stare-Out posted:

That's not to say it doesn't help to have someone to talk to or anything, obviously. It's always worth doing what one can to help others struggling with depression. Always. But yeah, it's never as simple as popping pills or getting a hug once in a while to stop it and be rid of it forever. That poo poo haunts people throughout their lives.

Stephen Fry made a pretty harrowing and fascinating documentary about bipolar disorder and depression (of which he suffers himself) and described the "lows" as just feeling like total worthless poo poo and nothing anyone says can convince you otherwise and at worst even contributes to how low you feel because you can easily interpret all the praise and love you get as criticisms when you're in that state of mind. It's terrifying.

Yea if I'm have a particularly bad day someone could say "You look drat good today!", and I will interpret it as a criticism of how I usually look. Or if I'm feeling really down on myself, somebody(could even be my own mother) would tell me they love me and all I'm thinking is "Really? Why? Your love is wasted on me, I'm a worthless loser."

Depression can turn any positive into a negative.

Vermain
Sep 5, 2006



Topically for Williams, Neon Genesis Evangelion (of which he was a fan) contains a bunch of scenes that perfectly expound what it's like to be depressed. I think Shinji's internal confrontation with Leliel is one of the best to show to someone who doesn't understand what it's like. Imagine having this kind of internal monologue happening almost every minute of every day, with a hostile, alien voice that nonetheless sounds and looks exactly like you ruthlessly critiquing you. That's depression in a nutshell.

Crackerman posted:

That’s the impression I always got from him - when he was ‘on’ he was so loud and fast because he was trying to drown out his negativity screaming away inside his head.

This is an incredibly common defense mechanism for depression - I'm basically the same way, though considerably less funny than Williams. It's part of the reason why suicides tend to be so shocking to friends and family members. The truly depressed are some of the greatest living actors out there, and they can convince you that everything's perfectly fine, or that they're just feeling "a bit tired," right up until the bullet exits the chamber.

mr. mephistopheles
Dec 2, 2009

Goddammit depression sucks.

Crackerman
Jun 23, 2005

Vermain posted:

This is an incredibly common defense mechanism for depression - I'm basically the same way, though considerably less funny than Williams. It's part of the reason why suicides tend to be so shocking to friends and family members. The truly depressed are some of the greatest living actors out there, and they can convince you that everything's perfectly fine, or that they're just feeling "a bit tired," right up until the bullet exits the chamber.

As horrible as it sounds it also seemed to give him incredible insight and depth that made some of his darker characters incredibly relatable and engaging.

The story of the Fisher King.

Man.

cat_herder
Mar 17, 2010

BE GAY
DO CRIME


Basebf555 posted:

Yea if I'm have a particularly bad day someone could say "You look drat good today!", and I will interpret it as a criticism of how I usually look. Or if I'm feeling really down on myself, somebody(could even be my own mother) would tell me they love me and all I'm thinking is "Really? Why? Your love is wasted on me, I'm a worthless loser."

Depression can turn any positive into a negative.

This is just about my experience too. From strangers it sounds like lies, and from people I love, it sounds like they're just trying to make me feel better so they don't have to deal with me when I'm a wreck. I still think my husband only sticks by me out of obligation, or to make me happy, even though he swears he loves me and doesn't want to leave. loving depression twists everything; it's like a filter on all of my senses, numbing me from hugs, blocking my ears and eyes from any comforting words, dulling my taste and smell, while leaving me open to pain, grief, criticism and rejection, and the ugliness of the world.

Of course, everyone's experience is unique to them, but, yeah. gently caress depression. gently caress malfunctioning neurons. This poo poo is horrible and not to be taken lightly.

bows1
May 16, 2004

Chill, whale, chill
This clickhole is particularly amazing

http://www.clickhole.com/article/7-...source=facebook

Blue Star
Feb 18, 2013

by FactsAreUseless
If loving Robin Williams succumbed to depression, what chance does someone like me have?

Anyway, I've always felt Jumanji was underrated.

TheBigBudgetSequel
Nov 25, 2008

It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.
Apart from all the movies I watched countless times, I have one prevaling memory of Robin Williams. In high school I worked with a kid who was a cancer survivor, but there had been a point a year or two prior where it looked like he wouldn't win the battle. Make A Wish got involved and asked him what he wanted, and he said he wanted to meet Robin Williams.

Robin invited him to stay at his house for an entire week.

They watched movies, played video games, talked about comedy, and all sorts of things. To me, this sums up Robin Williams more than any quote from his films will. He was a man with a heart of gold, and it really rips me up that depression tore away at his soul and lead to this. Depression is the worst.

gently caress, man. :smith:

Senf
Nov 12, 2006

TheBigBudgetSequel posted:

Apart from all the movies I watched countless times, I have one prevaling memory of Robin Williams. In high school I worked with a kid who was a cancer survivor, but there had been a point a year or two prior where it looked like he wouldn't win the battle. Make A Wish got involved and asked him what he wanted, and he said he wanted to meet Robin Williams.

Robin invited him to stay at his house for an entire week.

They watched movies, played video games, talked about comedy, and all sorts of things. To me, this sums up Robin Williams more than any quote from his films will. He was a man with a heart of gold, and it really rips me up that depression tore away at his soul and lead to this. Depression is the worst.

gently caress, man. :smith:

gently caress :smith:

kaworu
Jul 23, 2004

I still can't believe this. I found out about this late because I went to bed early last night and have been out of touch today. I heard some jerks on the radio talking glibly talking about Robin Williams' career and it seemed to allude to something, but I honestly didn't think it meant anything till I got home and actually caught up with the news...

It's really strange to think just how many generations of people he reached. I always, always loved him dramatic roles the most, but I mean, even so - I have no clue how many times my brother and I watched our VHS copy of Aladdin in the early '90s when I was like 8. The roles that stuck with me of course were the ones he did for films like The Fisher King, Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets' Society... I always loved the role he played in Awakenings, subtly out-acting Robert de Niro which is *not* easy, having that awkwardly adorable romance with a rarely-seen Julie Kavner... It's a bit of an 'emotionally manipulative' film in that it makes you weep and knows it will make you weep if you have a shred of empathy in you, but still. I also always thought he played a great villain, but I think Insomnia was his best, most complex role as a villain - One Hour Photo is too much a 'scary movie' and doesn't have as subtlety or depth, whereas Insomnia is fascinating because the character is never seen through the first half and is built up in our minds as a 'presence', and it's not until we indirectly see his photo on a book jacket and then shortly hear his disconnected voice on a telephone that we realize who the actor is. It's just great.

But, I'm rambling, and it's all really sad. People are going to say things like, "Who knows why these things happen," and the usual things people say about suicides. But as someone who suffers from mental illness in a very real and physical way, I know exactly why these things happen. I feel as if I can understand and empathize to some degree with anyone who has those thoughts, it's not... alien to me, or strange to me. I think the most absolutely painful thing I've read about his death was the wounds on his inner-left wrist, and the pocket knife found nearby. Meaning he was trying to slit his wrists, but just couldn't quite do it that way. And thinking about that - what someone's mindset is in a moment like that - is just really painful. I could read that about any halfway-decent human being and tears would come to my eyes.

Desperado Bones
Aug 29, 2009

Cute, adorable, and creepy at the same time!


meteloides posted:


Of course, everyone's experience is unique to them, but, yeah. gently caress depression. gently caress malfunctioning neurons. This poo poo is horrible and not to be taken lightly.

gently caress it really hard.

I had to deal with a very depressive mother, who tried to hang herself but was stopped by my father and sister. She's sort of fine now, still gets sad, but hasn't had a low that bad like that one time. Then a depressive ex-, who confessed me he once thought of drinking insecticide. He was the one that acted the way you described, any word of support I gave was always taken with terrible negativity (Mom would drink,and cry, lost weight and didn't want to leave her room. My ex- would get very aggressive,sad,then believe everyone was being hurtful, and many times would try to hide it by being just funny). Then I had to deal with myself.

Once in a while I still get that little funny idea of suicide, it's tempting. Specially in the moments I'm feeling really down. I would go, and wouldn't have to deal with anything, and probably nobody would notice I'm gone until a few days later,because once in a while I think no one cares about me. Which is completely false,I have several friends and family around me,even a goddam silly cat,but it's just my brain being an idiot.

SO, I must say,Robin's death made me cry,hit me hard...because it's awful, and I can only imagine what he was going through in that exact moment.

Snowman_McK
Jan 31, 2010
This has hit my girlfriend pretty hard, so we watched Hook last night. There's a throwaway line that captures his attention to detail. If you haven't seen it, he's playing Peter Pan as a joyless middle aged man. At one point his daughter makes him a 'parachute' for the next time they fly in a plane, and he responds with "thank you, that's very clever." It's such a subtle distinction. Not "that's very sweet" but "clever." It's one word, but it's the right one. He interacts with his daughter's idea, not the sentiment behind it. A tiny detail that reinforces who he is.
I always felt his best roles were the ones that subdued his usual craziness. He needed a good director to channel him the right way, but when he got it, goddamn.

hemale in pain
Jun 5, 2010




Desperado Bones posted:

gently caress it really hard.

I had to deal with a very depressive mother, who tried to hang herself but was stopped by my father and sister. She's sort of fine now, still gets sad, but hasn't had a low that bad like that one time. Then a depressive ex-, who confessed me he once thought of drinking insecticide. He was the one that acted the way you described, any word of support I gave was always taken with terrible negativity (Mom would drink,and cry, lost weight and didn't want to leave her room. My ex- would get very aggressive,sad,then believe everyone was being hurtful, and many times would try to hide it by being just funny). Then I had to deal with myself.

Once in a while I still get that little funny idea of suicide, it's tempting. Specially in the moments I'm feeling really down. I would go, and wouldn't have to deal with anything, and probably nobody would notice I'm gone until a few days later,because once in a while I think no one cares about me. Which is completely false,I have several friends and family around me,even a goddam silly cat,but it's just my brain being an idiot.

SO, I must say,Robin's death made me cry,hit me hard...because it's awful, and I can only imagine what he was going through in that exact moment.

Go to a therapist

e: like seriously, i'm not trolling. If you aren't on medication and haven't talked to a doctor then go do it right now.

hemale in pain fucked around with this message at 23:49 on Aug 12, 2014

Compendium
Jun 18, 2013

M-E-J-E-D
RIP Robin. Aladdin was my first exposure to him like many other people who watched a lot of stuff in the 90s. There's no other actor who will ever match the energy he had and made all his own at least in my perspective. One of my fondest memories of his work is when he had a guest appearance on Whose Line Is It Anyways. His improvisation was great of course, but I think what made it great was how you could tell the other regulars on the show really, REALLY enjoyed improving with him and actually having a good time. Robin Williams brought joy into people's lives one way or the other and at least the knowledge of that can live on.

everyone wear hats now
Jul 29, 2010

Now Billy Crystal doesn't have anyone to play warhammer 40k with...


Robin Williams was an incredible actor, whether as wonderfully creepy villains or a hairy ball of manic energy. if will be very difficult to watch The Fisher King again.

M42
Nov 12, 2012


mobby_6kl posted:

Somehow I think I've always seen this part in his acting, even before I knew anything about him personally. It's something I can't describe, but just comes off through his eyes and expressions, I guess.

gently caress, I thought I was the only one that noticed that.

Vermain posted:

This is an incredibly common defense mechanism for depression - I'm basically the same way, though considerably less funny than Williams. It's part of the reason why suicides tend to be so shocking to friends and family members. The truly depressed are some of the greatest living actors out there, and they can convince you that everything's perfectly fine, or that they're just feeling "a bit tired," right up until the bullet exits the chamber.

In addition to the motormouth thing, wrt how funny he was - I've dealt with suicidal depression for a large part of my life, and I know some other people with the same issues - and we're all pretty funny folks according to others. Best way I can describe it, is that making other people laugh or smile is a momentary balm on the fiery maelstrom of seething writhing hatred and despair in your own head. :smith:

RIP Nanu Nanu. Hope you find peace in death that you couldn't in life.

Alteisen
Jun 4, 2007

by FactsAreUseless
I've never contemplated suicide but I've had depressive thoughts through out most of my life, excessive bullying as a kid/teen let to a gamut of issues that even now at 30 years old still haunt me, the way I locked myself away from others was incredibly self destructive, I feel if I didn't have such a tight knit family I have become a statistic.

It doesn't help that when I finally opened up for lack of a better term, I got hit with a lot of tragedies from things that meant the world to me, worst of all my best friend who had muscular dystrophy died at age 30.

I had periods where I'd just spend the day browsing aimlessly, I couldn't enjoy anything because I felt I didn't deserve to, hell last week I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy, that was my first theater visit in 5 years, I still have some of those lingering thoughts of not deserving anything good, mostly related to issues copping with loss, I've made peace with a lot of things that I lost, but my best friend and a little cat I became obsessed over, a year since both passed and I still can barely handle it, I mean I acknowledge they passed, they're gone but not forgotten but I still can't cope.

And through all this people tell me about my caring nature, how I'm always trying to help others, hell even in games I gravitate toward medic or support roles cause I want to help constantly, but the one I had trouble helping the most was myself.

I'm sorry folks, I'm just babbling at this point with all this depression talk, I grew up watching Robin's kid stuff, Hook, Jumanji, Ms. Doubtifre, saw his comedy specials as a kid, his death hit me quite hard and made think of all this poo poo I've been through.

Mister Kingdom
Dec 14, 2005

And the tears that fall
On the city wall
Will fade away
With the rays of morning light
He was great to watch on Carson. Usually, guests on Johnny's Tonight Show tended to be a bit too formal even through the late 80s. When Robin went on, that rule went out the window and Johnny knew he had to let Robin go nuts and upstage him.

TheBigBudgetSequel
Nov 25, 2008

It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.
I work at Disney World, so last night there were some makeshift tributes at the various parks. At Magic Kingdom (where I work) we paid our respects during Genie's segment in the fireworks show, but the one I like most is at the Studios show Fantasmic. At the end a river boat filled with all sorts of Disney characters shows up. Genie has been a staple of the show since it's inception. Last night, all the other characters were taking turns hugging him as the boat made it's rounds.

:unsmith:

Its simple but it made me smile to hear about it.

Datasmurf
Jan 19, 2009

Carpe Noctem
I've spent the day watching movies with Robin in them. Started with "Good Will Hunting", then "Popeye", "Aladdin", "Jumanji", "The Aristocrats", "The World According to Garp", "Flubber", "Mrs. Doubtfire", "Hook", "Dead Poets Society" and "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen". I've choked up too drat many times today, while rewatching some of my favourite movies from my youth, and I'm not ashamed to tell the world (or at least goons) that the tears have been flowing freely. So many great movies, so many fantastic memories.

Didn't really get better when I decided to read tweets about people's - celebrities and people I have no idea who is - reaction to his death. Damnit, it feels like he left us way too soon. It'll be a long night, and I doubt the hurting will go away anytime soon, but I'll guess we just have to live with it. There's not much else to do.

Datasmurf fucked around with this message at 02:17 on Aug 13, 2014

El Gallinero Gros
Mar 17, 2010

Datasmurf posted:

I've spent the day watching movies with Robin in them. Started with "Good Will Hunting", then "Popeye", "Aladdin", "Jumanji", "The Aristocrats", "The World According to Garp", "Flubber", "Mrs. Doubtfire", "Hook", "Dead Poets Society" and "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen". I've choked up too drat many times today, while rewatching some of my favourite movies from my youth, and I'm not ashamed to tell the world (or at least goons) that the tears have been flowing freely. So many great movies, so many fantastic memories.

Didn't really get better when I decided to read tweets about people's - celebrities and people I have no idea who is - reaction to his death. Damnit, it feels like he left us way too soon. It'll be a long night, and I doubt the hurting will go away anytime soon, but I'll guess we just have to live with it. There's not much else to do.

Norm McDonald's tweeted story was beautiful, though.

incoherent
Apr 24, 2004

01010100011010000111001
00110100101101100011011
000110010101110010
Here is a particularly grim telling of a manic session that everyone conveniently ignore the signs of

http://www.laweekly.com/publicspectacle/2014/08/12/misused-by-hollywood-robin-williams-found-joy-on-stage?page=2

Captain Mog
Jun 17, 2011

Blue Star posted:

If loving Robin Williams succumbed to depression, what chance does someone like me have?


A big chance. Nobody is beyond or above or below help and this can happen to anyone. This isn't "Happy and amazing guy Robin Williams succumbed to his suicidal thoughts and feelings so oh gently caress I can't be helped", this is "literally anyone can become depressed but literally anyone can be helped, too". It doesn't discriminate based on personality or success and it is a disease no different from the flu or cancer. This is a disease that manifests itself in your mind and emotions and makes you feel lovely.

I implore anyone suffering from depression or suicidal feelings to get help- and Williams would've said the exact same thing.

Stare-Out
Mar 11, 2010

El Gallinero Gros posted:

Norm McDonald's tweeted story was beautiful, though.
Thought I'd go have a look at this and yeah, it's pretty great:

Norm MacDonald posted:

It was my first stand-up appearance on Letterman and I had to follow the funniest man in the world. I was a punk kid from rural Ontario and I was in my dressing room, terrified. I was on the phone to a friend back home when the funniest man in the world ambled by. There was no one else on the floor.

In shock, I told my friend who just walked by. Only the funniest man in the world. I guess he heard me say his name, cause in an instant he was at my side. He was a jewish tailor, taking my measurements. He went down on his knees, asked which way I dressed. I told my friend on the phone that the funniest man in the world was on his knees before me, measuring my inseam. My friend didn’t believe me so I said, ”Could you talk to my friend, sir.”

The funniest man in the world took the phone and for ten minutes took my friend’s chinese food order. I laughed and laughed and it was like I was in a dream because no one else was there. No one. The place was out of Moo Shoo Pork, and there was nothing he could do about it. He angrily hung up on my friend and I was about to thank him when he said I hadn’t even tried the jacket on.

Then the funniest man on earth dressed me, a complete stranger, and I remember he ended with a windsor knot. He spoke mostly yiddish, but when he finished he was happy with his job and turned me to a mirror to present myself to myself. No one witnessed any of this. No one. The funniest man alive was in my dressing room a good half-hour and was far funnier than the set I had to do soon. When he left my dressing room, I felt alone. As alone as I ever remember feeling.

Until today. Unacceptable. #RIPRobinWilliams

Tornhelm
Jul 26, 2008

Zelda has released a statement.

Zelda Williams posted:

My family has always been private about our time spent together. It was our way of keeping one thing that was ours, with a man we shared with an entire world. But now that’s gone, and I feel stripped bare. My last day with him was his birthday, and I will be forever grateful that my brothers and I got to spend that time alone with him, sharing gifts and laughter. He was always warm, even in his darkest moments. While I’ll never, ever understand how he could be loved so deeply and not find it in his heart to stay, there’s minor comfort in knowing our grief and loss, in some small way, is shared with millions. It doesn’t help the pain, but at least it’s a burden countless others now know we carry, and so many have offered to help lighten the load. Thank you for that.

To those he touched who are sending kind words, know that one of his favorite things in the world was to make you all laugh. As for those who are sending negativity, know that some small, giggling part of him is sending a flock of pigeons to your house to poop on your car. Right after you’ve had it washed. After all, he loved to laugh too…

Dad was, is and always will be one of the kindest, most generous, gentlest souls I’ve ever known, and while there are few things I know for certain right now, one of them is that not just my world, but the entire world is forever a little darker, less colorful and less full of laughter in his absence. We’ll just have to work twice as hard to fill it back up again.

—My only statement. My brothers’ are also online. Thank you for all your kindness, and goodbye for awhile guys. xo

Critical
Aug 23, 2007

I am fortunate to have met this wonderful man, possibly during one of his bad days. And on one of his bad days he was a better person than most on their best of days.

I worked at a Barnes and Noble in Colorado Springs for the back half of 2003. He walked in as incognito as possible without wearing a full out disguise. Baseball hat pulled really low, coat with the collar up, unshaven. Except he was Robin loving Williams and you would have to be blind to not notice him if you took a good look. I was working the info desk and when he looked up briefly my eyes bugged out of my head. Before I could nudge my co-worker and start spinning in a circle and screaming he put a finger gently to his lips and lowered his head.

I somehow managed to ask him if he needed help finding anything as he walked by. You know the over the top rich and snooty voice he used to do all the time? Imagine that but much more subtle and realistic. That's how he said "No thank you, just going to browse quietly."

I took the hint and kind of ran interference for him, keeping other employees from bothering him as much as possible. A few minutes later he is at my right, softly excusing himself and asking if I would ring him up. I assume he wanted to avoid a cashier going bugfuck and fawning over him.

I still had a few minutes at info but asked a co-worker if I could ring up a customer I had been helping, since that happened once in a while. I rang him up quickly, not bugging him about our stupid loving discount card, but couldn't help myself. I told him I had just bought his Live on Broadway DVD and nearly pissed myself laughing, as well as my wife laughing so hard she had an asthma attack. His eyes lit up and he smiled genuinely, asked if my wife was now ok, and handed me me cash for his book.

After I gave him his change he asked "Do you need me to sign for my credit card?" I gave him the receipt, he took a moment to sign it, and handed it back by shaking my hand. I thanked him, and he replied "No, thank you, Critical" and left. Notice he actually, you know, bothered to use my name after reading my name tag. I looked at the receipt and this was the inscription:

Critical,
Next time just pee and send me the cleaning bill.
[Signature]

In my move back across country I misplaced the autograph. I was annoyed at the time but now I really wish I had it.

Having struggled with depression myself (I was actually in a locked mental ward for a couple weeks due to SI, I admitted myself) the fact that such a kind and gentle and genuinely good person losing the battle to that disease is heartbreaking.

I hope that, for an instant in his life, he knew how much he was loved.

Steve Yun
Aug 7, 2003
I'm a parasitic landlord that needs to get a job instead of stealing worker's money. Make sure to remind me when I post.
Soiled Meat
I've read more stories about Robin Williams in the last two days than I've ever heard about Bill Murray.

Robin Williams bought Conan O'Brien a bicycle to cheer him up! Robin Williams let a kid with cancer stay at his house for a week! Robin Williams saw my family coming out of a funeral and cheered us up! Robin Williams spent $30,000 of his own money to charter a private plane to visit my terminally illl daughter because she couldn't travel to see him! Robin Williams became a fan of the Roots because of his son and memorized all our names! I was an unknown comedian and Robin Williams spent half an hour joking around with me out of nowhere! Robin Williams delayed his standup to make sure I could do mine first!

DangerDummy!
Jul 7, 2009

Whenever I think of depression and suicide, whenever I need to understand how it makes even a lick of sense, I think of the comedian Richard Jeni, and how his life came to such a sad end.

He was a longtime sufferer of depression, and the weeks and months leading up to his suicide were particularly bad. Then, for a brief time, he'd seemed so happy to everyone, like he'd finally figured out the secret to his affliction. Minutes before he took his own life, he had a pleasant conversation with his wife, gave her a kiss, and excused himself to go take a shower, and ended it all.

People who loved him came to the conclusion that he'd seemed so upbeat because he finally figured out a way to end his depression, and that his happiness was actually the relief he felt for knowing that his suffering was about to come to an end. And it makes sense, in a horrific, awful kind of way.

Depression is a terrible, terrible thing. It is, at its worst, nothing but anguish and hopelessness. I hope all the people in this thread that spoke of their stories and situations and experiences with it can remain strong, and remember that there's nothing more important than living life, even when it feels like one savage kick in the dick after another. You guys and gals are important.

PS That's a great story, Critical, and it speaks so highly of the man that your Brush with Fame with him seems to be consistent with so many stories about people's random encounters with him.

DangerDummy! fucked around with this message at 07:24 on Aug 13, 2014

Pillory Soft
Mar 9, 2004
Comedian Jamie Kilstein was supported by Robin Williams throughout his career (emotionally and, at times, financially), and used to contact him whenever he was having problems in his own life.

Jamie holds it together fairly well, but breaks down in the end. He lost his rock. :smith:

http://wearecitizenradio.com/20140813-remembering-our-friend-robin-williams-updates-on-ferguson-and-mike-brown/

Edit - A related article from today's People which goes into a little more detail:
http://www.people.com/article/jamie-kilstein-remembers-robin-williams

Pillory Soft fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Aug 14, 2014

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Ensign_Ricky
Jan 4, 2008

Daddy Warlord
of the
Children of the Corn


or something...

Steve Yun posted:

I've read more stories about Robin Williams in the last two days than I've ever heard about Bill Murray.

Is that a problem?

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