RIP: Robin Williams

[thewayne]

What a brilliant mind, what a tragic loss. His death is an apparent suicide, though it'll take some time before the official ruling. Apparently his depression came back of late and hit him hard

Comments

[silveradept]

Robin Williams was a gifted performer, whether for comic or tragic productions. It's awful to have to say "There will be no more Robin Williams movies."

[thewayne]

I found an old VHS tape from 1987 called Carol, Carl, Whoopie and Robin: Carol Burnett, Carl Reiner, Whoopie Goldberg, and Robin Williams. 27 years old, and it's still hilarious. I listened to his Live From The Met CD on the way to and from the observatory last night: I was about to say timeless stuff, but some of it is dated, sort of like seeing an old episode of The Partridge Family. Reagan jokes are a lot more funny if you actually lived and remembered that era. But his non-stop timing and ability to riff on anything will always be timeless.

I'm in the process of turning that tape in to a DVD. Apparently it isn't available on Amazon, so bonus for me.

I was very sad to read in the LA Times obit that his latest TV show on CBS, The Crazy Ones, was cancelled after its inaugural season. It was THE FUNNIEST TV series that I've seen in ages, I can't believe CBS killed it, you would've thought it was a Whedon series on Fox.

[silveradept]

That show also had Sarah Michelle Gellar on it, if I recall correctly, whose comedic timing and chops were always undersold on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. So, with two great comics together, apparently CBS just didn't want it.

[thewayne]

Agreed, Geller had lots of excellent moments of understated comedy on Buffy, can't say that I've seen her in much else.

I find it quite helpful to have movies and TV shows on hand that are, more or less, guaranteed to make you laugh. Like Airplane (depending on one's tastes). If CBS ever gets off their butts and releases The Crazy Ones, I'll be getting it as soon as it drops.