RIP: Robin Williams …Remembering

By Martie Hevia | Blue Beach Song™

RIP: Brilliant Mind, Funny Man, Gentle and Troubled Soul. The world is less with your loss. You will be so missed. Thank you, #RobinWilliams

— Blue Beach Song™ (@BlueBeachSong) | Tweeted August 12, 2014

For a moment, I sat in stunned silence. They were mistaken or I didn’t hear it right. And then they repeated it… Robin Williams had died. It took a while for the words to sink in as I fought them off. It couldn’t be true. How could such a brilliant mind, such a funny man, such a gentle soul be gone?

In the same way that some songs become a part of the soundtrack of your life, such is the case with certain movies, and T.V. shows, and personalities… like Robin Williams. I remember the first time I saw this comedic genius on Happy Days in 1978, “My Favorite Orkan,” you couldn’t help but remember his performance, everyone else disappeared. That same year when he got his own show, Mork and Mindy, I had to watch. Every week he allowed you a glimpse at the gentle soul behind the brilliant and sometimes manic mind in his reports to Orson.

Then, in 1982, he made a movie called “The World According to Garp.” I discovered that underneath that comic skin, there was an incredibly talented and soulful film actor. I quickly fell in love with his movies and the captivating character actor he was, fluidly melding comedy and drama, with complete believability. He did this in 1984’s “Moscow on the Hudson,” playing a Russian immigrant who defects in New York; and again in 1987 with “Good Morning Vietnam” as a 1965 radio DJ on American Forces Radio Service, one of his best films.

He followed these great films with more great films, like “Dead Poets Society” in 1989, “Awakenings” in 1990, and “The Fisher King” in 1991. These are all brilliant works by Robin Williams and after seeing these films, you will walk away thinking, like I always have, that he deserved an Oscar long before he received one.

Over the years I have come to own most of his films, and watch them more often than I should admit, but there are two films that have become entwined with family memories. From the time my daughter, Kelbi, was two, we loved to watch, over and over and over again, The Bird Cage (1996) and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). The Bird Cage still elicits tear-streaming laughter eighteen years later; and Mrs. Doubtfire, which helped us through some bumpy times, still touches our hearts and makes us smile, and laugh, and cry.

Of course, we have watched and loved all of his great animated and children’s films that are woven with heart and humor, like “Hook” (1991), “Aladdin” (1992), “Jumanji” (1995), “Jack” (1996), “Happy Feet” (2006), and “Night at the Museum” (2006), among others.

However, Robin Williams was not done making great films for grown-ups. In 1997 he made “Good Will Hunting,” for which he won an Oscar for best supporting actor. He also made a few other great films that did not get as much recognition, like “What Dreams May Come” (1998), “Patch Adams” (1998), and “Jakob the Liar” (1999). In 2002, he explored the darker side with movies like “One Hour Photo” and “Isomnia.” It seemed he could do it all.

Most recently, we watched him in “The Angriest Man in Brooklyn” (2014) in which he portrays a man who is told he has only 90 minutes to live and sets out to make things right with those people in his life, and once again he marries heart and humor, sadness and laughter… as he apparently did in his own life.

Although he still has three films in post-production, “A Merry Friggin Christmas” (2014), “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb” (2014), and his final film, “Absolutely Anything” (2015), I am nonetheless saddened by all that will never be. Saddened by all the films he will never make, all the brilliant improvisations, observations and connections he will never share, all the laughter he will never create.

Shazbot, I am selfish, I wanted more.

There is nothing left to say, except, rest in peace, “o Captain, my Captain,” oh brilliant mind, oh funny man, oh gentle and troubled soul. The world is lessened by your loss, and what a great loss it is. Thank you, Robin Williams, for all the laughter you brought into my world. Na-Nu Na-Nu.

Martie Hevia (c) 2014 | All Rights Reserved

Robin Williams | Videos

NOTE: Although I was going to organize these videos into categories, such as films, stand-up routines, interviews, etc., I think they are best served like a tossed salad, a little bit of everything, surprises in every bite. Enjoy. -Martie
[Strong Language – For Mature Audiences]

Endings – Videos Embedded in Article/Blog Post Above