Smile Though Your Heart Is Aching

When I was in high school and hanging out with my theatre friends, we would entertain each other for hours quoting routines from a comedy album called "Reality, What a Concept." The comedian we were imitating was Robin Williams. He had a unique style of just spilling out every thought, and all of it was comic genius. I would often share how amazing it would be to see the lightning speed at which his brain was working. I first saw Robin Williams as an extra player on a revival of "Laugh-In" Shortly after that he appeared in an episode of one of my favorite shows called "Happy Days" Richie Cunningham is visited by an alien named Mork from the planet Ork. The character sparked a spin-off called "Mork and Mindy" I never missed it. He delivered lines so fast, and they were so funny, that I missed half of them for laughing so hard. Then along came a film called "The World According to Garp" This was quite a departure for Williams. It was not a comedy. He proved his acting chops, and role after role followed. Some comedies but just as many serious roles. In "Good Morning, Viet Nam" he found a vehicle to use both his comedic and dramatic talents, and it garnered him an Oscar nomination. He would receive 3 additional nominations for "Dead Poet's Society," "The Fisher King," and "Good Will Hunting." He won in 1998 for "Good Will Hunting" A whole new generation, including my own children, got to experience his comedy when he voiced The Genie in Disney's "Aladdin." I cannot imagine what the lead animator went through trying to bring his manic, improvisational style to life. Then came "Mrs. Doubtfire." Of all of his films except "Aladdin" this is the one I've seen the most. When I'm channel surfing and catch it on a channel, I will usually stop and watch it from whatever point it's at until the end. Yes, he's funny, but also extremely touching and insightful. I've seen him interviewed countless times, and I always have pity for the interviewer. They pretty much just have to sit back until Robin comes back from whatever rabbit hole he's jumped down. My favorite of all interviews I've ever seen was "Inside the Actor's Studio" He takes a pink scarf from an audience member and does a solid 4 and 1/2 minutes of hilarious improvisational comedy. The amount of talent is beyond anything I have ever seen and probably will ever see.
Robin Williams died today from an apparent suicide. He was 63 years old. The reports say he had been struggling with depression, and had entered re-hab recently for his drug addiction. He was always very honest and open about his drug problems early on. He was quoted as saying, "Cocaine is God's way of telling you you are making too much money." He knew the dangers and he knew the consequences, but life is not cut and dried. There are no easy answers to anything when depression is involved. This fabulously talented man who spent his life making other people laugh was struggling. My heart aches that such a bright light is gone from this world. O, captain, my captain, rest in peace.