# R.I.P. Robin Williams **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [August 11, 2014, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333 "2014-08-11T23:04:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/101 "2014-08-12T01:02:16Z")
When I heard “Robin Williams died” and “Depression”, the first thing I though of was: _ **Sono Grimaldi!** _ For those of you who just replied, “Huh?”: [spoiler]Supposedly, the basis of this story is true, although it’s probably more apocryphal than fact. One day, a woman goes to a psychiatrist and tells him that she’s depressed. The psychiatrist writes something down on his pad, and gives her the paper; she looks at it, and gives the doctor a puzzled look. “Do what it says; I can almost guarantee results,” he says. A few days, the woman returns, and tells the doctor, “You were right! I’m happier than I have ever been!” Over the next few months, the doctor does the same thing for his patients who appear to have the signs of depression, and, without fail, the mysterious cure works its wonders. Word spreads about the “miracle worker,” and one day, a man comes into the office. “Doctor, you must help me. I have been depressed for many months now, and nobody has been able to help me. I can do my job, but I don’t get any enjoyment out of life. I fear that if I don’t solve this problem soon, it will drive me to kill myself.” The doctor pulls out his pad, writes down his “mystery cure,” and gives it to the man. The man reads the note, and a tear forms in his eye. “What’s the matter?” “I…I can’t do this.” “Sure you can. Just read what it says.” The man does: “_Go to the circus._” “I can’t help you,” the doctor continues, “but I know someone who can. The world’s funniest man - Grimaldi the Clown! If he can’t make you forget your troubles, then I fear for you.” The man just sits there, visibly shaken, almost as if he has been given a terminal diagnosis. “What’s the problem? Are you afraid of the circus?” “No.” “Do you fear clowns?” “No.” “Do you have problems traveling?” “No.” “Then what is the problem?” The man pauses, then stares right at the doctor. “Doctor, you don’t understand…_Sono Grimaldi!_” “Excuse me?” “I Am Grimaldi the Clown!”[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![jayrey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/47e85d/32.png) [@jayrey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayrey)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/102 "2014-08-12T01:04:39Z")
This breaks my heart. Wonderful talent. Makes me so sad for him that he felt he had to make this particular choice. That is serious hurting. RIP, Robin. May you and your family find peace. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/103 "2014-08-12T01:10:37Z")
Sometimes I think we should go back to calling it melancholia. No one ever asked “what did he have to be melancholic about?” RIP, Mr. Williams. I tried to see everything you were ever in. ---
**Author:** ![Suse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Suse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suse)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/104 "2014-08-12T01:11:25Z")
Such sad news. My heart goes out to his family and friends. By all reports he was a genuinely good person and the world is poorer now that he is gone. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/105 "2014-08-12T01:11:42Z")
His humor never did anything but annoy me, but I’m a big fan of Robin Williams the dramatic actor. If any of you have not seen **Moscow on the Hudson** , do so. mmm ---
**Author:** ![superwombat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superwombat/32/16616_2.png) [@superwombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superwombat)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/106 "2014-08-12T01:12:53Z")
Gonna have to watch _What Dreams May Come_ and have a cry. Godspeed, Mr. Williams. We’ve never had a friend like you. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/107 "2014-08-12T01:15:30Z")
I happened to read about him selling a big expensive home recently, and I distinctly recall thinking something stupid like “I would be so happy in a home like that!” Yeah, I logically know wealth doesn’t make people happy. But it’s easy to forget that when all the current things one worries about would be conveniently solved by wealth. Of course, new worries take their place. And it goes without saying that no amount of wealth will solve clinical depression. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/108 "2014-08-12T01:16:33Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > It would be incredibly poor taste to speculate on the handwashing/housekeeping habits of a flu victim, yet somehow we all feel free to pick apart the mind of a suicide. Depression is just the brain’s equivalent of catching the flu. Pay your respects, reminisce over fond memories, and STFU before you put your foot in your mouth. I disagree with this statement completely. Robin was very open about his depression, it was a part of who he was, unfortunately. I truly don’t think he would have any problem with his disease being part of a discussion about his remarkable life and untimely death. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/109 "2014-08-12T01:19:01Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > It would be incredibly poor taste to speculate on the handwashing/housekeeping habits of a flu victim, yet somehow we all feel free to pick apart the mind of a suicide. Depression is just the brain’s equivalent of catching the flu. Pay your respects, reminisce over fond memories, and STFU before you put your foot in your mouth. This is such a thoughtless post I don’t know where to begin. 1. The flu can be prevented. Depression can’t. 2. The flu can be spread from person to person. Depression can’t. It is also independent of one’s hygiene or living habits. 3. The flu can be gotten rid of over a period of time. Depression can’t. I don’t know much about depression, but I do know it’s as much like the flu as the beverage dispensed on the Heart of Gold in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy resembles tea. Perhaps you should heed your own advice. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/110 "2014-08-12T01:23:58Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Dammit, suicide is such a selfish thing to do. Fuck you. > [@Sarabellum1976](#): > > I’m genuinely angry at him right now, like he was someone I know, even though I never saw the guy. How could he do this to everyone! Just get your act together and live, man! Or retire! Do stand up comedy again, or something, anything. Now he’s gone. > > It’s such a waste. Fuck you. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/111 "2014-08-12T01:25:22Z")
I’ll never forget when we first came to know him. So unlike anyone before except of course Jonathan Winters. The energy, zaniness, stream of consciousness creativity… simply mesmerizing. Probably my earliest memory of Robin; [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9g1yRXF8I8) ---
**Author:** ![imthjckaz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/imthjckaz/32/3223_2.png) [@imthjckaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/imthjckaz)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/112 "2014-08-12T01:25:39Z")
☹ ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/113 "2014-08-12T01:26:09Z")
Damn, I just heard. Like many others, I grew up watching Robin Williams. _Mork and Mindy_ was one of my favorite shows as a kid. I loved it so much. As I grew older I loved him in movies like _The World According to Garp, Moscow on the Hudson, Good Morning Vietnam_, and _Awakenings_, among others. His “At the Met” was on of the first “adult” stand-up routines I ever watched (on HBO), and I laughed my ass off. He will be missed. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/114 "2014-08-12T01:29:41Z")
> [@Doug\_Bowe](#): > > What did he have to be depressed about? Mods please forgive me but go fuck yourself asshole. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/115 "2014-08-12T01:32:58Z")
I met him a few times when I was in the “Live Acts” business. He didn’t come through DC too often but when he did he was always great. Real nice guy, but even though he’d had the world by the balls for going on 40 years, there was always a certain sadness about him that was apparent when you met him, even for a very brief period. ETA: I think one of the best things I could say about the man is he was appreciative of anything you did for him, even when you were just a lowly show runner, where many others in his position would be complete pricks (and believe me, there were lots who were). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/116 "2014-08-12T01:34:14Z")
Last thing I saw him in was an episode of Louie in which he and Louie went to a funeral for a club owner no one liked. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/117 "2014-08-12T01:36:52Z")
@ **bienville** and **Laggard** : Really, you two? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/118 "2014-08-12T01:39:30Z")
I was just thinking about him yesterday. For those saying it’s selfish - pray/hope you are never in the abyss he was. If he was open about his depression - he probably sought treatment. Some people can’t be helped. He probably tried plenty of things and plenty of times. In his mind - there was possibly nothing left Waking up everyday - knowing you have an objectively good life - but STILL are depressed - I sometimes think is worse. ---
**Author:** ![jimbuff314](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c57346/32.png) [@jimbuff314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimbuff314)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/119 "2014-08-12T01:39:53Z")
> [@superwombat](#): > > Gonna have to watch _What Dreams May Come_ and have a cry. > > Godspeed, Mr. Williams. > > We’ve never had a friend like you. ☹ I’d forgotten about that movie. Shit. Shit. Shit. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333/120 "2014-08-12T01:45:52Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > He still had so much left in him Well he obviously disagreed. And I won’t presume to know more about the inner-workings of Robin Williams than Robin Williams himself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/r-i-p-robin-williams/695333.md?page=7)