The Bay Area Is Mourning One Of Its Greats: Robin Williams
One of the biggest draws of the Bay Area is the magic. The water, the landscape, the weather – they are all magical, but somehow, so are the people. The Bay Area attracts the best and brightest in the world. From Lucas Films to Pixar to Silicon Valley, the Bay Area is full of magicians; of people who make our lives just a bit brighter. On Monday, we lost one of our magic makers. R.I.P. Robin Williams.
Williams began his career playing an alien named Mork in the 70s hit show, “Happy Days.” His star shone so bright that he was given a spinoff called, “Mork and Mindy.” A megastar was launched.
It’s hard to say if Williams was better known as an actor or as a standup comedian, but he was extremely successful in both endeavors. He had over 100 film and TV credits to his name and starred in big hits such as “Good Will Hunting (for which he won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar),” “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Dead Poets Society” and “Good Morning Vietnam.”
It was through his comedy where we got glimpses into the sometimes tragic life of Robin Williams. He was open about his battles with drug addiction. His quickness and almost manic style of humor sometimes hinted that there was something darker lurking beneath. Watching him, you almost felt the pressure he felt to always be “on.” Henry Winkler, who starred in “Happy Days,” said this about Williams:
“I just realized my only job is to keep a straight face,” said Winkler, who played “The Fonz.” “And it was impossible. Because no matter what you said to him, no matter what line you gave to him, he took it in, processed it, and then it flew out of his mouth, never the same way twice. And it was incredibly funny every time.”
Source: CNN
President Obama said this:
“Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien — but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit. He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most — from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets.”
Williams’ idol and greatest influence was Jonathan Winters, who died in 2013. Perhaps a light went out for Williams then. We’ll never know the depths of the pain that caused him to take his own life, but the Bay Area is a bit less funny and a bit less magic today.