Robin Williams - When the Laughter Stops 1951-2014 Read Free

perhaps even more than his comic genius, extraordinary talent and astounding intellect, was his huge heart – his tremendous kindness, generosity, and compassion as an acting partner, colleague, and fellow traveler in a difficult world,’ said Lane.
    Actor Alan Alda spoke of his ‘Niagara of wit’. ‘I hope it makes us all want to do something,’ he wrote on the
TIME.com
website. ‘While the whole country, and much of the world, feels this moment of sadness at his death, can we turn the loss of this artist we loved so much into something that pushes back against the ravages of despair?’
    Fellow comedian and actor Chevy Chase knewsomething of what Williams had been going through. ‘Robin and I were great friends, suffering from the same little-known disease: depression,’ he said. ‘I never could have expected this ending to his life. I cannot believe this. I am overwhelmed with grief.’
    Ben Stiller, of course, was also a co-star (
Night At The Museum
franchise) and knew him well. ‘A tweet cannot begin to describe the hugeness of Robin Williams’ heart and soul and talent,’ he wrote. ‘This is so sad. #RobinWilliams. I met him when I was 13 and a huge fan and he was so kind and I watched him be kind to every fan i ever saw him with… And with other actors he was so generous and brilliant. He made everyone feel special and equal around him even though he was the genius… His heart was so big and even if you didn’t know him, what he gave everyone was that same spirit in his work, so we all felt it… His impact on the world was so positive. He did so much good for people. He made me and so many people laugh so hard for a very long time. And because they don’t really tweet, this message represents all the Stillers (Jerry, Anne and Amy) who Robin was a great friend to. Xxxxx’
    The Final Cut
co-star Mira Sorvino was dreadfully upset. ‘I cannot believe we have lost Robin Williams,’ she said. ‘What a man, what a comedic genius. I counted him among my friends and have such great memories. Robin Williams was sweet and kind and generous and Oh so brilliant, able to incorporate anything and everything into his mind-boggling rants. Robin was a good man and thisshould not have happened. Devastated. Sending love to his family.’
    And from
Old Dogs
co-star John Travolta, ‘I’ve never known a sweeter, brighter, more considerate person than Robin. Robin’s commitment as an artist to lifting our mood and making us happy is compared to none. He loved us all and we loved him back.’
    An extremely touching tribute came from the family of the late Christopher Reeve. The American actor and Williams had been lifelong friends after meeting when they were both students at the famous Juilliard School in New York, and became so close that they were sometimes described as brothers; after Reeve was paralysed in the wake of a riding accident Robin had been quick to visit and spent a lot of time with his old friend until his untimely death in 2004 (indeed, it was Chris’s death that was thought to have knocked him off the wagon in the early noughties). ‘After our father’s accident, Robin’s visit to his hospital room was the first time that Dad truly laughed,’ the family said in a statement to
People
. ‘Dad later said, “My old friend had helped me know that somehow I was going to be okay.”’
    Such was the worldwide shock and saturation coverage that, unusually, Lt. Keith Boyd of the Marin County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference to tell of the late actor’s final moments. He had been found hanged. It emerged that his wife Susan had gone to bed at 10.30pm the previous evening; Robin went to sleep in a separate room and, when she left the house the next morning, shehad been under the impression that he was still asleep. She went out at about 10.30am: a neighbour, Sandy Kleinman, saw her go out to walk the dog.
    It was actually Mara Buxbaum, Williams’ publicist, who first realised something was