Tribute to Robin Williams

An Astonishing Range of Talent

I’ll never forget the wonder as I watched Robin Williams in Awakenings. Familiar with his comic work, this nuanced performance of a shy, insecure doctor more comfortable in research than treating live patients, who became a caring and determined advocate for the afflicted, had me riveted to my seat. I had no idea the boisterous comic possessed such a subtle range of acting skills.

After hearing of Mr. Williams’s death, my eighteen-year-old stayed out in the living room with me, wanting to talk, wanting comfort, forgetting video games for the moment. Aladdin’s genie, Jumanji, Mrs. Doubtfire—we watched those movies as a family many times. Mr. Williams’s roles crossed age, gender, and preferred movie type boundaries.

Living His Beliefs

More important, in person he came across as a down-to-earth, caring guy. Even in his raunchiest stand-up comedy, his personality and beliefs came through. He told men to appreciate natural beauty in women, not just the enhanced, implanted variety.

Mr. Williams’s charity work included Comic Relief, fundraising events hosted by him, Billy Crystal, and Whoopi Goldberg, and raising funds for many other charities and disaster relief funds. He performed with the USO in Iraq and Afghanistan and supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Personal Demons

He battled depression, no doubt exacerbated by his alcohol addiction. Mental illness is like the chicken and the egg. Which comes first, the emotional symptoms that people try to self-medicate with substances or do the substances cause the symptoms. Depends on the circumstances. Some illnesses are congenital and medical science is not exact. Just getting a diagnosis can be harrowing. From personal family experience, I found good, useful help sinfully hard to come by. Dredging up the patience and optimism needed for the trial and error required to find a treatment that works, is sometimes the straw that breaks the camel’s back for the afflicted.  

Mr. Williams went into treatment a number of times. His TV series, The Crazy Ones, was cancelled after one season and his film roles seemed to have slowed down. One can’t help wonder if that contributed to Mr. Williams’s depression. What a horrible shame if the legacy he left behind didn’t please him and validate his sense of self-worth. He will be one whose work will live on through posterity and bring joy and laughter forever.