 |
| Robin Williams -- July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014 |
As were many others. I was devastated [as much as one can be devastated by the loss off a person one never met] by yesterday's announcement of Robin Williams' untimely death. He was the ultimate iconic comedic actor of my lifetime. While he participated in the making of too many brilliant works to list here, my personal favorite was probable Dead Poets Society, although it's hard to argue against either Good Will Hunting or Good Morning, Viet Nam. My childhood favorite was Mrs. Doubtfire.
The death has yet to officially be ruled a suicide, but it's looking that way. Williams had been treated for depression and for substance abuse related to depression. If his death was, indeed, self-inflicted, we may never know what drove him to such a drastic and final act. All I know is that the world lost a genius far too soon. Rest in peace, Robin Williams.
Billy Joel performed "Summer Highland Falls" in a concert that featured questions and answers from the audience. An audience member asked him what inspired the lyrics. In his answer, which follows his performance of the song, he alluded to the idea that many artists of one genre or another, or highly creative people in general, often deal with extreme emotional highs and lows. I don't know if Robin Williams' diagnosis ever included bi-polarism, but it seems to fit.
Eventually effective ways of treating this very legitimate condition will be found. (It may not yet be able to be spotted on an MRI as a tumor can be, but it is, nonetheless, every bit as real.) Progress is being made as I type, but the progress is not happening fast enough. Until better solutions are found, lives will be affected for the worse or lost because of this very real condition. The world is a poorer place if the Robin Williamses of the world do not live out their natural lives.
So sad, it takes my breath away. Trying to write my own tribute and am at a loss for words. He was so funny and such an influence on so many.
ReplyDeleteRobin Williams has been on my mind a lot this week. I still can't believe he's gone. He was such a big part of my childhood.
ReplyDeleteI just read that he was diagnosed with Parkinson's ; I never knew . It seems that he had no emotional support from his loved ones.
ReplyDeleteDepression is hidden most of the time.
People around you though do know it.
Depression pills are not the answer cause they do slowly direct you to commit suicide..Yes he was brilliant and his work unforgettable.
I was reading some old posts of yours. I wanted to see how long I have known you for. I have known you since March 2015. Robin Williams was an alcoholic. He had not used it for 20 years. After 20 years of not using alcohol he got started again. He then tried to stop again and could not. He tried for 10 years and I think that the only way he could stop was by killing himself. Se he stopped using the terrible drug known as alcohol. The long term effect of any drug is the opposite of the short term effect do to homeostasis. So if you use aspirin, it lowers your threshold of pain.
ReplyDeleteI knew this woman that got addicted to heroin in Thailand where you can get very pure stuff. But she got off of it. But she started again figuring that she could get off of it again. She could not. She went to the hospital and they tried to detox her. They got to the last day when she was supposed to not get any and she died. So they gave her some and she came back to life. They released her as uncurable and she got on methadone maintenance. She said that she would have a short life since her immune system is being destroyed.
Both of them did it once and thought they could do again and could not. I figure that it is better not to get started since an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
I was reading some old posts of yours. I wanted to see how long I have known you for. I have known you since March 2015. Robin Williams was an alcoholic. He had not used it for 20 years. After 20 years of not using alcohol he got started again. He then tried to stop again and could not. He tried for 10 years and I think that the only way he could stop was by killing himself. Se he stopped using the terrible drug known as alcohol. The long term effect of any drug is the opposite of the short term effect do to homeostasis. So if you use aspirin, it lowers your threshold of pain.
ReplyDeleteI knew this woman that got addicted to heroin in Thailand where you can get very pure stuff. But she got off of it. But she started again figuring that she could get off of it again. She could not. She went to the hospital and they tried to detox her. They got to the last day when she was supposed to not get any and she died. So they gave her some and she came back to life. They released her as uncurable and she got on methadone maintenance. She said that she would have a short life since her immune system is being destroyed.
Both of them did it once and thought they could do again and could not. I figure that it is better not to get started since an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.