Robin Williams RIP

[Dioneo]

Completely stunned as everyone else. I still can't believe it. I'm only holding on to the hope that "asphyxiation" is code for death by misadventure or that erotic sort of asphyxiation instead of the standard sort.

Brekin, in the movie "World's Greatest Dad," Williams plays a dad whose idiot son dies like this. The Williams character then takes the son, hangs him from a pull-up bar in the closet to make it look like a suicide, then concocts a suicide note.

It is difficult for me to get too personally affected by the death of a star. I don't know this person; I have never met this person; I have only seen a facsimile of who this person actually is on a screen or stage. That said, he was a special talent.

[Hunter]

Parkinsons disease says wife:

Robin Williams battling early stagesof parkinsons at time of death says wife. http://www.eonline.com/news/569397/robi ... na-eonline

[Hunter]

I too wonder if this was accidental death by auto erotic "asphyxiation".

Here is why I wonder:

First he made a movie about exactly that.

Second, there was a dull knife next to him and he had three superficial cuts on his wrist. It is hard to believe that a man depressed all his life didnt have a better plan for suicide than a dull pocket knife and then giving up and using a belt to hang himself.

Is it possible wife or assistant who found him with pants down could have pulled them up and possibly used knife quickly to make it appear more suicidal, in order to save his reputation?

I dont know, probably not and he did kill himself but I do wonder.

I miss him.

[82_28]

If it was auto-erotic, it deepens whatever mystery there is here, no?

[Nordic]

Ever since I saw this, I wondered about his mental health.



How many people would get up there like that and admit they were extremely difficult to live with? Suggest that it was almost impossible to live with them?

Also, through my own experiences with someone BP, I realized that he was extremely manic. Manic people will do almost anything to come down. Drink heavily, heroin, whatever. Didn't he also say that cocaine made him feel calm?

Anyway, I have always remembered this bit, probably near the end of this video, where he thanks his wife for putting up with him. She does look a little exhausted.

[Col. Quisp]

I tried to watch a comedy special filmed in 2009 in DC. He was not in good shape even then. Right after heart surgery. He was out of breath, gulping down water like it was going out of style. Jokes were stale. Timing was off. Eh. I never really cared for his humor much. Lots of marijuana jokes - I don't find that humorous. He always seemed coked up to me, in interviews. Maybe it's more the BP disorder? Anyway I liked him in One Hour Photo. I thought Mrs. Doubtfire was creepy. I heard he was going to stoop to doing a sequel of it and that's one of the reasons he killed himself, besides the Parkinsons diagnosis. Isn't it insane that he only made $160K per episode of The Crazy Ones, while the stars of Big Bang Theory get $1 million per episode as a result of hard negotiations? How wacky is that?

[brekin]

I tried to watch a comedy special filmed in 2009 in DC. He was not in good shape even then. Right after heart surgery. He was out of breath, gulping down water like it was going out of style. Jokes were stale. Timing was off. Eh. I never really cared for his humor much. Lots of marijuana jokes - I don't find that humorous. He always seemed coked up to me, in interviews. Maybe it's more the BP disorder? Anyway I liked him in One Hour Photo. I thought Mrs. Doubtfire was creepy. I heard he was going to stoop to doing a sequel of it and that's one of the reasons he killed himself, besides the Parkinsons diagnosis. Isn't it insane that he only made $160K per episode of The Crazy Ones, while the stars of Big Bang Theory get $1 million per episode as a result of hard negotiations? How wacky is that?

I think some of William's charm was that he took characters/personas which at the core were creepy/haunted/off/damaged and made them lovable. You are spot on about Mrs. Doubtfire. Anyone who has watched the recut trailer that makes it a horror/thriller film realizes that in many ways it was that incognito.



Also, strangely I was reading a link from Jerky's Kubrick blog a week before we lost Williams I think, and someone was talking about the people Kubrick had also considered for Jack in the Shining. Take a gander:

Stanley Kubrick considered both Robert De Niro and Robin Williams for the role of Jack Torrance but decided against both of them. Kubrick did not think De Niro would suit the role after watching his performance in Taxi Driver (1976), as he deemed De Niro not psychotic enough for the role. He did not think Williams would suit the role after watching his performance on Mork & Mindy (1978), as he deemed him too psychotic for the role.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/trivia

[Dioneo]

Robin Williams would have KILLED as Jack Torrance!





... (sorry )

[Iamwhomiam]

A local blog author offered his memoir sharing time he spent with Robin long ago while living in San Francisco and a more recent visit with him in NYC on the set of The Fisher King.

His analogy to a vine strangling a tree to depression is why I mention this at all and thought it worthwhile to share here.

http://blog.timesunion.com/lawrencewhite/robin-williams-laughter-and-tears/2179/

In condolence, I wrote to Mr. White,

Pained by receiving this news, my tears once shed from joy of laughter have been replaced tears of sadness as I mourn your loss.

Sudden loss is always traumatic and always life-changing for survivors, and when it claims the life of one so well known it emotionally impacts us all and leaves us asking “Why?” with the hope we will find an answer in time to prevent another similar loss.

I could write for days and still feel I’ve inadequately praised Robin’s genius, so broad was his talent.

Thank you, Robin Williams.

[justdrew]

I too wonder if this was accidental death by auto erotic "asphyxiation"

nope, not a chance. Anyway, the next well known person to die of Strangubation is named James O'Keef, he'll be wearing a batman costume too.

[seemslikeadream]

Gene Simmons Tells People With Depression: 'Kill Yourself'
The Huffington Post | By Dominique Mosbergen
Email
Posted: 08/15/2014 9:59 am EDT Updated: 08/15/2014 6:59 pm EDT Print Article GENE SIMMONS

Mere days after telling immigrants to "learn goddamn English" during a HuffPost Live appearance, Kiss bassist Gene Simmons is in headlines yet again for uttering deeply offensive comments about drug addiction and depression during an interview with SongFacts.com.

During the interview, dated July 31, Simmons said he doesn't "get along with anybody who's a drug addict and has a dark cloud over their head and sees themselves as a victim."

He went on to say:

Drug addicts and alcoholics are always, "The world is a harsh place." My mother was in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany. I don't want to hear fuck all about "the world as a harsh place." She gets up every day, smells the roses and loves life. And for a putz, 20-year-old kid to say, "I'm depressed, I live in Seattle." Fuck you, then kill yourself.
I never understand, because I always call them on their bluff. I'm the guy who says "Jump!" when there's a guy on top of a building who says, "That's it, I can't take it anymore, I'm going to jump." Are you kidding? Why are you announcing it? Shut the fuck up, have some dignity and jump! You've got the crowd.
Simmons' comments have provoked a furore from fans -- and Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx.

During a recent episode of his radio show Sixx Sense, the bass guitarist criticized Simmons for his words, saying: "I like Gene. But in this situation, I don't like Gene. I don’t like Gene's words. There is a 20-year-old kid out there who is a Kiss fan and reads this and goes, 'You know what? He's right. I should just kill myself.'"

Sixx added: “For people who are depressed, there is a way out. There are many, many ways out…Don’t listen to people who don’t know what they’re talking about.”

Simmons is no stranger to controversy. In fact, just this week, during his HuffPost Live appearance, the musician was ambushed by members of The Black Lips, who accused him of misogyny.

UPDATE: 6.20 p.m. -- In a statement released Friday, Gene Simmons addressed his comments about depression, saying the remarks were made "in the spur of the moment" and that he was "sincerely" sorry for causing offense.

The statement, sent to The Huffington Post by the musician's rep, said: "I was wrong and in the spur of the moment made remarks that in hindsight were made without regard for those who truly suffer the struggles of depression. I sincerely apologize to those who were offended by my comments. I recognize that depression is very serious and very sad when it happens to anyone, especially loved ones."

He added that he's "never sugarcoated [his] feelings regarding drug use and alcoholics."

"Somewhere along the line, my intention of speaking in very directly and perhaps politically incorrectly about drug use and alcoholics has been misconstrued as vile commentary on depression. Unkind statements about depression were certainly never my intention," he said.

[zangtang]

I fink Sibelius shud 'a bin in rock n roll.......................................

[Twyla LaSarc]

Gene Simmons has never been an artist, let alone a soulful one with insight on the human condition. He's a testament to how far rock and roll schtick like Kabuki makeup and a hideously long tongue (and the juggernaut of major label promotion) could get you in the 70's.

Just sayin.

[82_28]

Lost on Simmons is that nobody will shed a tear and his death will be relegated to a single headline and that will be it.

[Col. Quisp]

Robin Williams would have KILLED as Jack Torrance!

I think I read that quote recently as well, about DeNiro and Williams being considered. How odd...anyway, in the comedy special, Williams imitates Jack Nicholson and does a good job at first, but then loses it completely. The special is available on Amazon Prime, not that I recommend watching it.



... (sorry )