I feel as if I've lost a dear old friend.

[WilliamPitt]

And that's weird, because I never met Robin Williams. Never saw him in person, anywhere, ever. He existed on screens for me completely. When he was alive, he couldn't have picked me out of a line-up.

I'm also not a celebrity-worshiper in any way, shape or form. The last actor I felt gut-punched at their passing was Jerry Orbach, "Lenny" from Law & Order, because I've been watching that show obsessively since 1991.

This is different, though. I feel like I've lost a friend who always made me laugh, and who taught me a few very important lessons along the way. I decided to be a teacher many, many years ago, and one of the seedcorns of that decision was when I saw "Dead Poet's Society" for the first time. Coming from Boston, I don't have to tell you how much "Good Will Hunting" touched me; I actually worked at the "Do you like apples?" Baskin & Robins next door to the old Bow & Arrow. The bench in the Public Garden where Williams and Damon filmed the "Your move, chief" scene has become a makeshift shrine, so I'm not the only one.

I'm just really, really sad today.

[Ichingcarpenter]

1. The Bench

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. My dear Will...

He was part of the fabric of your life......

And now his death has torn a huge, ragged hole where his personality once lived...

You will heal. But until you do, there will be pain where there once was joy.

[Dawgs]

3. Ugh!! n/t

[PoutrageFatigue]

10. ???

n/t

[Gothmog]

4. I saw him once in person at a concert

He was great. He will be missed

[MustBeTheBooz]

5. My text to friends last night...

Robin Williams died Monday. He was 63. Early reports are that he took his own life. Depression was a big factor throughout his life.

I met Robin when I was very young (no shit), as well as many of his friends in the sitcoms that defined much of the early 80's. I also listened to his earliest stand-up with my father - a huge fan in the early days.

Given what I was going through with my family in my formidable years, Robin had a huge influence on my life and how I handled its obstacles.

Hell, if it wasn't for my sense of humor and irony (thanks Robin), I may have turned out as a whole other person. Just saying.

This evening I cried.

RIP Robin

[GliderGuider]

6. It's the same for me. The same for a lot of us, I think.

Robin's death has hit me the hardest of any recently, including the suicide of Mike Ruppert. I spent last night drowning in waves of anguish. You hit the nail on the head: "I feel like I've lost a friend who always made me laugh, and who taught me a few very important lessons along the way."

Although I liked a lot of his movies and was flat-out blown away by some like GWH and DPS, the one that went the deepest for me, oddly enough, was "What Dreams May Come". The reasons are entirely personal - it is a touchstone in my relationship with my soulmate Kath, who is my very own Annie Collins.

I share your sadness today - some of the light has gone out of the world.

[nolabear]

7. I think it's because he touched a place in us that is very much at our heart.

It's the intimacy of those whom you might not know, but you DO know, because they have shown you something of the river that runs through us all--humanity, in all its fucked up glory.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

8. me too, WilliamPitt

Me too.


I did see him in SF at the comedy festival, in 1978 or so....but from a distance. It was coincidence that I happened to be in the area.

Anyway.....
*sigh*

Thanks for putting the feelings into words.

I'm feeling very sad too.

[H2O Man]

9. Recommended.

I was only mildly familiar with who he was when, while on some business with my brother on the West Coast, he pointed to a house in the neighborhood we were visiting and said, "Robin Williams lives there. Cool guy."

I never watched a single episode of programs like "Happy Days" or "Mork & Mindy." I coud certainly appreciate that others loved them, but they weren't interesting to me.

Then I watched "Mrs. Doubtfire." Holy crow! It came out at the time when I was a single father with two young sons. They loved it as much as I did. This man could combine outrageous humor with intensely serious issues -- in one movie. That was an awesome display of talent. Genius, really.

After that, I made it a point to watch everything that Robin Williams was in. "Good Will Hunting" is a powerful film. If those two were all that he ever did, Williams would be remembered as a unique talent. But, of course, he did a heck of a lot more.

I don't even remember what the house my brother pointed at looked like. But I will never forget the pleasure that Robin Williams brought to my life.

[LittleGirl]

11. tears right now

I can barely read. I can't stop crying. He was like the big brother that everyone loved. How could he not know that?

I have to stop reading. I thought seeing clips of him would make me feel better but they just rip me up more.

[rickyhall]

12. It's like when Bartcop left us

I really didn't know him either but I felt his loss just not to the degree felt when my mother and brother died. I still see stuff on the web I want to email my brother about but can't and he's been gone 4 months now.

[ms liberty]

13. Many of us feel the same, Will...

I buried myself in my work and my IPod this morning, and I still came close to losing it a couple of times. I should have picked Rage against the Machine instead of Dave Matthews Band, I guess. I am bereft.

[Shadowflash]

14. Same here.

Celebrity deaths never bother me and most are not even a blip on my radar but, for some reason I can't explain, Williams' death has hit me hard. I don't get it.

[Duval]

15. I so understand.

He was special in many ways, and I am very sad.

[NCTraveler]

16. He was one of the few who could connect to you on your couch.

Very few could pull that off. When I would watch him, I would feel as if there was some kind of connection. It was real. I was let into his characters lives. I never knew him, but I knew the stories he was telling.

[xiamiam]

17. me too..it was the first thought that came into my mind upon waking this am

He gave us the best of us with humor and compassion. He touched the humanity within us..brilliantly. There will never be another like him. He gave us decades of work to think about and appreciate. Thank you Robin Williams for making the world a better place just because you lived in it.

[deafskeptic]

18. I think many of us feel the same way too. n/t

[Triana]

19. I feel the same way Will. Sadder still because of how sad he was

unbeknownst to most everyone - and the gruesome manner in which he left us - of his own choosing. It's extra heartbreaking.

I'd never realized how many of his films I'd seen - until Monday after hearing he was gone. I'm not sure I've seen that many films of any other actors - even my so-called 'favorite' ones. I even saw Aladdin because it was his voice. I'd not have bothered otherwise.

It seems like everyone loved him.