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In Memoriam: Entertainment Industry Celebrity Deaths

Kromm

By Kromm
in Everything Else TV

Mr. Sparkle
Message added by Mr. Sparkle,

Reminder:

This thread is for deaths of celebrities in the entertainment business only. No notices about politicians, please. 

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merylinkid

merylinkid

I remember him from Mork & Mindy.   He was so good at improv that they just started putting in the scripts "Robin improvs" and leaving it blank.   The other actors had a hard time keeping straight faces when he went off.   They had to just use whatever take had the least amount of the other characters losing it or they would never have gotten a complete show done.   If you watch it now (I have some on DVD) you can see the moments, especially where Pam Dawber is biting her lip to keep from busting out laughing.   

 

I remember his first appearance on Happy Days and how they had to retcon it later after his show became popular.   

 

Although not a fan of his stand up routine (one clean joke would have been appreciated), he did start Comic Relief which was comics being comics for charity.   Man even Whoopie Goldberg and Billy Crystal had trouble keeping up with him when he got going.

 

The world is a little less funny today.

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Bastet
Bastet

Piss up a rope, Val Kilmer.  If your physical illness got so bad that your life utterly sucked and no end to that suffering was in sight, so that suicide was or seemed to be the best of the available

wilsie
wilsie
BetterButter
BetterButter

Olivia Newton-John Has Died At 73

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Jobo05

Jobo05

Such shocking news. He brought a lot of memorable characters to life throughout his career, of which my favorite, I think, has to be that of Dr. Malcolm Sayer in Awakenings. Who could forget Euphegenia Doubtfire?! Mork?! His talent will be missed, but his legacy will live on.

Rest in peace, Robin Williams. Thanks for both the laughter and the tears.

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MissT

MissT

What sad news today about Robin Williams.  So sad that he couldn't make himself laugh like he did for so many others.   I remember watching the first episode of Mork and Mindy and thought was strange character.

 

What is your favorite Robin Williams movie?  I have so many.  But, and it may seem like an odd choice, but my one of my favorite movies with him was Bicentennial Man.   It didn't get good reviews, but I found it very heart-warming and moving. 

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amaranta

amaranta

One of my very favorite things that I ever heard about Robin Williams:

 

He and Christopher Reeves were very close friends for many years and roomed together before they were both famous.  After Reeves accident, Williams dressed up as a doctor and went to Reeves' hospital room.  He proceeded to "examine" him, "diagnose" him and generally riff  about hope, life, and love. He continued these visits well into Reeves rehab, urging him to never give up.

 

Goodbye Mork, Garp, The Fisher King / Parry, Adrian Cronauer, Peter Banning, The Genie, Sean Maguire, John Keating, Armand Goldman, Daniel Hillard / Mrs. Doubtfire, Dr. Malcom Sayer, Teddy Roosevelt and Simon Roberts.  And more.

 

There were times you were effin brilliant.

 

And, oh yeah.  This news really sucks.

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AntiBeeSpray

AntiBeeSpray

(edited)

What sad news today about Robin Williams.  So sad that he couldn't make himself laugh like he did for so many others.   I remember watching the first episode of Mork and Mindy and thought was strange character.

 

What is your favorite Robin Williams movie?  I have so many.  But, and it may seem like an odd choice, but my one of my favorite movies with him was Bicentennial Man.   It didn't get good reviews, but I found it very heart-warming and moving. 

Too many.

 

When I was a kid: Aladdin

 

When I was a teen: Mrs. Doubtfire

 

As an adult: The Birdcage

 

I heard the news earlier today and thought it was some kind of joke at first. So sad :(. RIP Robin, you'll be missed.

Edited by AntiBeeSpray
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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

(edited)

I didn't see all his movies, but I loved him in Aladdin, Dead Poet's Society, Mrs. Doubtfire. I have never laughed so hard as I did in Mrs. Doubtfire.  And he scared the bejesus out of me in Insomnia.

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
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FormerMod-a1

FormerMod-a1

First, maybe a surprising pick - Jumaji made me laugh more than it probably should have.  My friend and I left the theater (yes, theater) with our cheeks and abs sore from laughing so hard for so long.

 

Next, some probably more likely picks:

  • Dead Poets Society - I loved this whole movie beginning to end.  Robin Williams was definitely a huge part of that.  He infused his role with so much warmth and caring.  I wanted him for a teacher as well.
  • The Fisher King - I remember loving this, don't remember all the whys or what-fors. I remember the general plot, of course, just not all the nuance and details.  But I loved it enough to convince several people to watch it.  I just may have to rewatch this movie soon.

 

And I just realized I could list just about all of them (Good Morning Vietnam, Bicentennial Man, Awakenings, etc), so I'll stop with those two, since they were on the top of my head.

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Sandman87

Sandman87

I can't say I'm really surprised at the news. A relative of mine who waited on him numerous times over a period of about 30 years has always maintained that he seemed like a very unhappy man when he wasn't wearing his comedy persona.

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Meredith Quill

Meredith Quill

What sad news today about Robin Williams.  So sad that he couldn't make himself laugh like he did for so many others.   I remember watching the first episode of Mork and Mindy and thought was strange character.

 

What is your favorite Robin Williams movie?  I have so many.  But, and it may seem like an odd choice, but my one of my favorite movies with him was Bicentennial Man.   It didn't get good reviews, but I found it very heart-warming and moving. 

 

Bicentennial Man is one of my top fav movies too. Underrated but fantastic.

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legaleagle53

legaleagle53

ABC News just broke into Jeopardy to announce his death. I agree this is very sad, regardless of the cause of death, but interrupting programming because an actor has died? Come on.

 

The man was more than an "actor."  He was an institution.  

 

I can't even imagine the hell his family must be going through right now.  Of all the possible causes of death, suicide is the worst because it leaves the most important question unanswererd:  Why?

 

Rest in peace, Mr. Williams.  You gave the gift of laughter to a generation that sorely needed it.  May you now get the gift of peace of spirit as your reward.

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Inquisitionist

Inquisitionist

it leaves the most important question unanswererd:  Why?

 

I've always thought the answer is "because I can no longer stand the pain of living."  It's hard for most of us to imagine being in such a state, but it's the only reason that makes sense to me.  When Brad Delp of Boston took his own life in 2007, he had clipped a note to his shirt saying "Mr. Brad Delp. Jai une ame salitaire. I am a lonely soul.”  He left another note saying “I take complete and sole responsibility for my present situation. I have lost my desire to live,” and his fiancée reported that Delp “had been depressed for some time, ... feeling emotional [and] bad about himself.”  I think we can infer something similar with Mr. Williams. 

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random chance

random chance

My favorite movie was Jumanji.  It was one of those that, if I noticed it was on, I'd always go ahead and watch it again.    

 

I bookmarked this awhile back in case it ever came in handy, because I thought it was good practical advice that might actually convince someone to get help (something I failed to do) --  Matt Fraction responds to a fan considering suicide.  Just in case anyone else finds it useful.

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legaleagle53

legaleagle53

I've always thought the answer is "because I can no longer stand the pain of living."  It's hard for most of us to imagine being in such a state, but it's the only reason that makes sense to me.  When Brad Delp of Boston took his own life in 2007, he had clipped a note to his shirt saying "Mr. Brad Delp. Jai une ame salitaire. I am a lonely soul.”  He left another note saying “I take complete and sole responsibility for my present situation. I have lost my desire to live,” and his fiancée reported that Delp “had been depressed for some time, ... feeling emotional [and] bad about himself.”  I think we can infer something similar with Mr. Williams. 

 

That's what makes it hell for the survivors.  There will always be a part of them that will wonder if there was something they could have done or should have known that could have prevented their loved one from implementing the final solution.

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Shannon L.

Shannon L.

 

The man was more than an "actor."  He was an institution.

Thank you.  Celebrities of his caliber aren't just actors. As I wrote in the other forum, the good ones, the lasting ones, can make you laugh, cry, think.....they make you feel.  And to have a talent that ran from comedic acting, to stand up, to improve, to drama.....he was truly one of the greats.  I mean, seriously, who'd have thought that this manic comedian could have given us the dramatic turns that we witnessed in movies like The Fisher King, Good Will Hunting, Awakenings, The Dead Poet's Society....I'm so happy that he got an Oscar and I'm devastated that he's gone.  I knew he was troubled, but hadn't realized it was this bad at this point in his life.  So sad for everyone who loved him. 

 

My favorite movie?  I don't know if I can pick one.  Sure, he had a few that I didn't like, but to choose a favorite?  I just don't think I can.

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merylinkid

merylinkid

Seeing all the posts on Twitter from charities he supported is heartbreaking.   If only he knew how much the gift of laughter meant to the kids of St. Jude or the comfort he gave to troops far from home on his USO tours, maybe he would have realized how much he mattered.   But his depression lied to him about that.

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Actionmage

Actionmage

(edited)

merylinkid, it may not be that Mr. Williams didn't know how much his gifts brought happiness and hope. We do not know what he was thinking.  To anthropomorphize his depression as lying to him doesn't help the rest of us who are still struggling with our depression, and I hope you do not suffer from that. Mr. Williams was a very high-profile person who fought off depression. To use the phrasing you used is a bit patronizing and infantilizing, as if he wasn't an adult man who weathered a shit-ton of health issues and was aware of his health. Unless you are his doctor or mental health provider, you cannot say with certainty anything about what he was going through. 

 

I understand that his death is a surprise, but to talk about something like depression in such a seemingly trivial way is upsetting.

 

eta: What I will miss is Mr. Williams' ability to pull from across eras and make the most amazing stream-of-consciousness comedy, from flat-out yuks to it-hits-you-the-next-day deep jokes.

Edited by Actionmage
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Kromm

Kromm

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Any idea which of the talk shows are live this week?  I'm supposing most of them will address this tomorrow night (tonight was probably too soon).  At some point or other Williams did a killer rant on each of them, including the cable ones, excepting possibly Seth Meyers (since his show is the newest).  

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The Crazed Spruce

The Crazed Spruce

Any idea which of the talk shows are live this week?  I'm supposing most of them will address this tomorrow night (tonight was probably too soon).  At some point or other Williams did a killer rant on each of them, including the cable ones, excepting possibly Seth Meyers (since his show is the newest).

Kimmel, Letterman, Ferguson, Colbert, and The Daily Show are all reruns, Fallon and Meyers are new.  Don't know about Conan.

 

As a kid, I burned out my brother's 8-track player listening to one of Robin Williams' comedy albums over and over.  He was hilarious when he appeared on Whose Line Is It Anyway, and was positively chilling in One Hour Photo.  And he friggin' earned that Oscar for Good Will Hunting.  Whatever the circumstances of his death, he shall definitely be missed. 

 

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Kromm

Kromm

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(edited)

As a kid, I burned out my brother's 8-track player listening to one of Robin Williams' comedy albums over and over.  He was hilarious when he appeared on Whose Line Is It Anyway, and was positively chilling in One Hour Photo.  And he friggin' earned that Oscar for Good Will Hunting.  Whatever the circumstances of his death, he shall definitely be missed. 

He's already being disrespected, because if you go on YouTube and search today's videos on him, in contrast to the expected tributes there are also already "the Illuminati murdered him" videos.  Stuff he'd mock mercilessly if he was... um... here.

 

Another thing that annoyed me is that I went to the BBC News site to see some non-US reporting on his death and was shocked to find one of those "Hollywood pays tribute" videos on his death, and it leads off with goddamn Mel Gibson (and spends more than half the video on that piece of shit).  What the fuck, BBC?  Are you INSANE?  Looking it up, the only time the two ever even appeared in the same film was 1997's "Father's Day", and Gibson only had a cameo.

Personally I was never a big fan of Good Will Hunting, but loved him in Moscow On The Hudson and One Hour Photo.

Edited by Kromm
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Kromm

Kromm

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(edited)

And I think his work on this past year's The Crazy Ones was actually by and large pretty damn good.  The episodes that were rocky were not so because of anything HE did (or didn't do).


@Kromm, the video I posted was made a few months ago.  I hope you didn't think I was disrespecting the man.

Huh?  It wasn't an Illuminati killed Robin video... those are the only ones I mentioned in that context (I'll change "along with" to "in contrast" if there was any implication).  The tributes aren't disrespectful, only the videos leveraging his name to spread conspiracy theories are.

Edited by Kromm
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Jiggle Billy

Jiggle Billy

Robin Williams: Daughter Zelda's Message to Her Late Father

 

 

Late Monday evening Zelda tweeted a quote from French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery ... "You - you alone will have the stars as no one else has them… In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night... You - only you - will have stars that can laugh."

 

— Zelda Williams (@zeldawilliams) August 12, 2014

 

She added … "I love you. I miss you. I'll try to keep looking up. Z"

 

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Kromm

Kromm

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(edited)

As for the other thing we've been talking about (how the talk shows will mention this) apparently Conan heard about this DURING his taping yesterday afternoon and mentioned it, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/robin-williams-dead-conan-obrien-724822

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O30fXh4wIBQ

 

This clip also shows that the Team Coco people aren't dumbasses.  Even though they had to have thrown this together pretty much instantly before posting it on the Team Coco website (whoever put this on YT cribbed this from there), they had the brains and sensitivity to make sure the clip didn't feature the wacky theme music they usually use at the beginning of their posted clips.

Edited by Kromm
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ABay

ABay

I didn't say "just an actor" @SilverStromm. I said "an actor." Which is what he was. I remember going into hysterics at a routine Williams did as a guest on a talk show and at times during Mork & Mindy, and he was a revelation in Good Morning, Vietnam. His death certainly merited a screen banner and perhaps a brief cutaway between shows. Breaking into programming should, imo, be saved for things like 9/11, Bin Laden's death, the Pope being shot, and so on.

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Jiggle Billy

Jiggle Billy

(edited)

California News Station KTVU: Robin Williams Hanged Himself

 

 

#BREAKING: Sources close to the investigation tells KTVU that #RobinWilliams hanged himself

 

 

 

More Details

 

 

Just before noon on Monday, police received a 9-1-1 call saying a man had been found unconscious and not breathing inside his own home in Tiburon, California. Police and fire personnel rushed to the home and got there at 12 p.m.

 

Robin McLaurin Williams, 63, was pronounced dead at 12:02 p.m.

 

A forensic examination is scheduled for August 12th.

 

Edited by Jiggle Billy
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Kromm

Kromm

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(edited)

merylinkid, it may not be that Mr. Williams didn't know how much his gifts brought happiness and hope. We do not know what he was thinking.  To anthropomorphize his depression as lying to him doesn't help the rest of us who are still struggling with our depression, and I hope you do not suffer from that. Mr. Williams was a very high-profile person who fought off depression. To use the phrasing you used is a bit patronizing and infantilizing, as if he wasn't an adult man who weathered a shit-ton of health issues and was aware of his health. Unless you are his doctor or mental health provider, you cannot say with certainty anything about what he was going through.

@Actionmage, I think It's just a misunderstanding of how depression works when it's put it in those terms, and I don't think @merylinkid (or any of the millions of other people who express similar thoughts) mean anything insulting by it.  

 

The depressed person can't peg their own happiness on how they affect others.  Talking about "how happy they made the world" or stuff like that is really the same kind of logic as when people say "don't they realize how much it will upset their family if they hurt/kill themselves?"  They almost definitely do.  That doesn't stop them from being depressed though.

 

Wow.  That's even more grim than the vague "asphyxiation" information (although of course explaining it perfectly well).  Lord, it's a horrible way to go.

Edited by Kromm
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Enigma X

Enigma X

I cannot say that I got all of his humor or that he was my kind of comedian. I can say that, in interviews, he seemed to radiate a genuine warmth (and sadness) that made me think I would have liked him if I had known him. 

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Kromm

Kromm

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Shockingly, the single best tribute I've seen for him (so far) is from an organization who traditionally REALLY fucks such things up, The Oscars/Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  I mean this encapsulates everything about his situation so... concisely.

 

ttBG7w8.jpg

 

Sesame Street also had an okay one (if less perfectly, painfully on target with the text, the image is instead really something).

 

6bwgfX4.jpg

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Meredith Quill

Meredith Quill

I didn't say "just an actor" @SilverStromm. I said "an actor." Which is what he was. I remember going into hysterics at a routine Williams did as a guest on a talk show and at times during Mork & Mindy, and he was a revelation in Good Morning, Vietnam. His death certainly merited a screen banner and perhaps a brief cutaway between shows. Breaking into programming should, imo, be saved for things like 9/11, Bin Laden's death, the Pope being shot, and so on.

 

Thank you for sharing. You are perfectly entitled to your opinion as am I. I shall not be justifying my post. If you wish to address me directly, please pm me rather than derail the thread further.

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Kromm

Kromm

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'He was a hero to me': Paul F. Tompkins on Robin Williams

 

Also, this relevant bit (where Tompkins shows he clearly understands depression, even if he doesn't suffer from it to the degree Robin did):

 

 

I didn't tell him any of the things I just wrote here. No doubt, he heard similar things from countless people over his decades-long career. And it's a colossal shame that being a meaningful presence in the lives of many people, family, friends and strangers alike, isn't an impenetrable bulwark against despair. It's profoundly unfair that, if he couldn't live forever, he couldn't at least feel able to keep going for his allotted time. I know something of depression, and how bottomless and relentless and insurmountable it feels, but I have never known the unfathomable despair that Robin Williams must have felt. I can't even begin to imagine it.

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panthergirl13

panthergirl13

The coverage is getting worse and worse as the networks are trying to 'educate' everyone about depression and suicide. I'm all for that (if I see another person online talk about suicide as a selfish act I think I'll... well, you know). But can they first educate their hosts/anchors so their commentary and questions aren't so ignorant?

 

Access Hollywood Live just did one such 'educational' segment and Shawn Whats-er-name actually said something like 'Now, we don't want any copycats out there!!!"

 

DOUBLE U TEE EFF, lady.

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Bastet

Bastet

I just saw the news in the TCM thread.  She was one of the last of the "living legends" from Hollywood's Golden Age, and someone who stood up for herself and others.  An outspoken liberal in Hollywood when that wasn't at all fashionable.  She admired many people I admired, and was in turn respected by many I respect.  What a loss, but what a life.

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AimingforYoko

AimingforYoko

I can see her now, being escorted on either side by Humphrey Bogart and Jason Robards. That's gonna be one HELL of a reunion party!

There may be a drink or two at that party. And thanks Ms. Bacall, for teaching me how to whistle.

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Sharpie66

Sharpie66

Rachel Maddow just had a wonderful tribute for Ms. Bacall which featured, of course, the "put your lips together" scene. I loved that they kept Bogart's reaction to that line, with the reallllly long pause, extended take on his fascinated face, and then his whistle. Rachel said then, "I have the feeling that pause was a bit longer than it was supposed to be..."

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Kromm

Kromm

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(edited)

Between this and Rebecca Schaeffer, I can't help but wonder how Pam Dawber feels.

We don't have to.  She was fairly quick to release a public statement yesterday.

 

(she's old school, so no twitter, but here's how Us magazine reported it via the actual old fashioned "through her publicist" route)

 

Pam Dawber: "I am completely and totally devastated," Williams' Mork and Mindy costar said. "What more can be said?"

===========================================================

 

So Williams and Bacall.  Do we start the usual morbid "who's the third" speculation? There's the celebrity death rule of three, which probably doesn't actually work, but it's close enough people try to shoehorn it in anyway--it's got to be someone of at least decent stature to match the level of the other two, even if it doesn't have to be quite the same level. 

Edited by Kromm
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legaleagle53

legaleagle53

Rachel Maddow just had a wonderful tribute for Ms. Bacall which featured, of course, the "put your lips together" scene. I loved that they kept Bogart's reaction to that line, with the reallllly long pause, extended take on his fascinated face, and then his whistle. Rachel said then, "I have the feeling that pause was a bit longer than it was supposed to be..."

 

Yes, and it's even more amazing when you remember that that was, if memory serves, her film debut -- and she was only 19 at the time.

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