Robin Williams passed away....

[Achilleslastand]

Just heard a report on the radio that said he has passed away the apparent cause being suicide.

[Uncle Slayton]

Heard he was found dead at his home. What source was the suicide?

[mkjeeves]

Aw, what a shame.

[Pete]

Looks like a suicide.

He had recently gone back to rehab after being sober for 20 years.


Drug and alcohol addiction are too often vicious.

[PennyQuilts]

They suggest it was via hanging but that's not official. I feel just sick - what a comedic genious. The world just lost some magic.

[poe]

What a talented man he was. I especially liked him in 'Awakenings'.

[Throckmorton]

The Marin County Sheriff's department released this statement:



Suicide bag would be my guess.

[Dennis Heaton]

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo looooooooooooooooooooooooooooong Robyn Williams! Man, I loved you!!! Thanks for all the laughs!!!!!

[mugofbeer]

So terribly unfortunate. What an awful thing depression of that type must me. To have everything.....but happiness

[silvergrove]

They say comedy and tragedy are the oldest brothers, hence the comedy and tragedy masks.

[Just the facts]

Well that sucks.

[Eddie1]

He was amazing in 'Good Will Hunting', what a loss.

[Pete]

I met him at a fundraiser about 10 years ago and he was an incredibly nice -- and even a bit shy -- man.

One of those actors who seemed to be more comfortable being "on" than their true self.

[soonerguru]

This is absolutely terrible news. He was one of the most gifted comedians of all time and probably the greatest living comic. A genius, and by all accounts, a caring, nice person. What a ****ty thing to read.

[Dennis Heaton]

He was in so many good movies...my fav was "Patch Adams." Thank you Mork from Ork! Nanu, Nanu!!!

[zookeeper]

Awakenings, Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society, (even the creepy One Hour Photo), all showed us he was a great dramatic actor, too. Some celebrity deaths hit you harder than others (at least they do for me) and this one really hits hard.

[kevinpate]

August 2014 officially sucks a big one.
Yesterday I lost a very dear friend.
Today I lost one of my favorite entertainers.
Not looking forward to what may bite about tomorrow.

[Dustin]

No no no no no no.

[Dustin]

[RadicalModerate]

I'm not surprised that I'm late to the party . . .

I find it somewhat difficult to recall the last Celebrity “passing” that actually had a real emotional effect on me. I suppose that the closest example I can actually recall was when John Lennon got shot. Having said that, I have to admit that I was genuinely shocked and surprised by the most recent Celebrity Death News event. (Although, The Phil Hartman deal probably was the next worst thing. But that was a long time ago.)

Please allow me to apologize:

Ode to The Cultural Comedy Icon (formerly known as Mork)
(beta version eecummingsstyle to avoid complications in comprehension)

i read the headline just today
on the cover of a current event
parodyonlinenewsmag called "The Shallot":
"Gone Before His Time By His Own Hand"
it implied in big letters.

the report was replete with a sub-textural reminder
in finer text properly formatted and punctuationalized
that implied and/or inferred the possibility
that excessive publicity regarding (for example):

Racecar Driver Misbehavior
During an Unofficial and Unsanctioned Sprint Race
On a Dirt Track Somewhere in Upstate New York
Causes a Cultural Icon To Throw in the Towel Prematurely.

:. . . .may have been the straw
that broke the metaphorical camel's heart
rather than its back and drove him over the edge
But probably it isn’t

Correlation is Not Causation
(yet . . . all things considered) . . .
toss in some bongos in the background
and a nice bass riff
and there would be
some Beat Poetry
a-goin' on

rest in peace, brother williams.
you and your art were always a blessing to me
(except, of course, for that goofy Mork thing, back in the day)

at least you have flown back home
to laugh with Jonathan Winters
who may have quipped upon your unexpected arrival:
"You should have taken up painting, son . . .
It helps one keep things in perspective."

at least that is my selfish hope.
even if Robin Williams was one of those pesky people
who always caused me to think too much
and to laugh too much too.

[MadMonk]

This news is a real punch in the gut. I don't believe that I'll ever understand what kind of monstrous pain compels someone to end their own life, especially when they have such a huge talent for spreading joy. It seems such a cruel irony.

[Mel]

This one hurt. I was in shock when I heard about it. It chipped away a piece of my past. A piece that had a lot of laughter in it. He now knows what dreams may come. R.I.P. Mr. Williams.

[Just the facts]

I'm not surprised that I'm late to the party . . .

I find it somewhat difficult to recall the last Celebrity “passing” that actually had a real emotional effect on me. I suppose that the closest example I can actually recall was when John Lennon got shot. Having said that, I have to admit that I was genuinely shocked and surprised by the most recent Celebrity Death News event. (Although, The Phil Hartman deal probably was the next worst thing. But that was a long time ago.)

Off the top of my head I would have to order it like this:

1. Harold Ramis
2. Phil Hartman
3. John Candy
4. Robin Williams
5. Chris Farley

I noticed that the celebrity deaths that seem to instill the greatest since of loss are the ones who made us laugh.

[warreng88]

Robin Williams ranks right up there with Greg Giraldo and Chris Farley passing with celebrity deaths that genuinely made me sad.

[Just the facts]

When John Candy and Phil Hartman died it really took the wind out of my sails because both were just reaching their prime. Ramis and Williams had a long list of movies made in their prime and Farley was just getting started.

I guess the next 3 big ones will be Steve Martin, Bill Murray, and Dan Aykroyd - for me at least.