I think what I will remember most about Robin Williams, was his ability to make other people laugh whose “job” was to make people laugh. Whenever he would go on Letterman or one of the other late night shows, he had the innate ability to make the normally controlled and stoic host laugh in spite of themselves.
From his breakout role in “Mork and Mindy”, through his many varied and successful film roles–Good Morning Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Awakenings, Patch Adams, Mrs. Doubtfire, and of course, his Academy Award winning performance in Good Will Hunting, he brought earnestness and sincerity to every single role. It is the rare comic who can cross over into drama, but Williams managed to do it with aplomb. He could be funny one minute, and bring a tear to your eye the next. Sometimes he could do both at the same time.
What made him so successful is also most likely what haunted him. And I’m not speaking about his battles with substance abuse. I can’t escape the sadness in knowing that a person who made so many lives better; someone whose seemingly lifelong goal was to make others smile and laugh, was unhappy himself. Robin Williams was a comedic genius, a wonderful actor, and by all accounts a genuine and kind person. I didn’t know him personally, but I wish I had. And that is perhaps the greatest tribute I could give him.
Thank you for years of entertaining us at your own expense. I stand on my desk in your honor today, and wish you health and happiness in the afterlife. Rest in peace, good sir.