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WE ARE ALL in mourning this morning, waking up to the news that a man who created so many fun-filled, happy memories took his own life yesterday.
It seems everybody is remembering their favourite memories, emotional at the loss of a man who brought thousands of shades of genius to our television and cinema screens.
Robin Williams. But to many of us, he is Mrs. Doubtfire. Patch Adams. Peter Pan. Mork. Or the Genie from Aladdin.
To Zelda Williams, his daughter, he was just Dad.
She posted a quote from Antoine De Saint-Exupery, with her own note at the end: “I love you. I miss you. I’ll try to keep looking up. Z”
Just a fortnight ago, Williams had posted an image of his daughter for her 25th birthday.
His wife, Susan Schneider, issued a statement shortly after the devastating news broke last night. She said:
This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken. On behalf of Robin’s family we are asking for privacy during our time of profound grief. As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin’s death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions.
The Academy, which awarded Williams with the 1998 Supporting Actor Oscar for Good Will Hunting, used a Disney favourite to say goodbye.
A spontaneous memorial to the actor has also been spotted at the Good Will Hunting bench in the Boston Public Gardens, the sport where Williams and Matt Damon sit and chat, watching the swans in the film.
Nick Rabchenuk, who wrote one of the lines, told Buzzfeed that a number of people had the same idea and there are references to Hook, Good Will Hunting and other films at the bench.
Fellow actors have taken to Twitter and issued statements to share their loss.
His daughter in Mrs Doubtfire, Mara Wilson, was glad to have heard it before the news was shared online.
Director Steven Spielberg said:
Robin was a lightning storm of comic genius and our laughter was the thunder that sustained him. He was a pal, and I can’t believe he’s gone.
Mrs Doubtfire director Chris Columbus remembers the magic.
To watch Robin work, was a magical and special privilege. His performances were unlike anything any of us had ever seen, they came from some spiritual and otherworldly place. He truly was one of the few people who deserved the title of ‘genius.’ … The world was a better place with Robin in it. And his beautiful legacy will live on forever.
While, Ben Stiller noted that he never got over being a fan while working with Williams.
Long-time friend Steve Martin said some brief words on Twitter.
It was hard to battle tears when another friend, Danny DeVito, kept it devastatingly short.
And many people referenced Williams’s long battle with depression.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who starred in The Crazy Ones with Williams, used images to remember her colleague.
In our own comment section on TheJournal.ie, Sean C has his own fond memory.
The ending to Aladdin is gonna hit me hard from now on, I guarantee it. Just like the ending to Ghost or Dirty Dancing hits me hard cos of Patrick Swayze’s death (and how he also died from pancreatic cancer, like my dad). It’s just gonna be another instance where I know that they are gone, and with them goes a part of the fondest memories of growing up. I know this sounds selfish, and yeah, it is to a certain degree.
But there’s this degree of feeling like you know this person, even if you never me them. From TV appearances, to movies, to music…one felt like he was part of your community. This is the guy who walked the streets, shook hands with people, and just tried to cheer folks up after 9/11. His contemporaries did the opposite, hiding out and not wanting to be seen, but he wanted to cheer folks up because he knew they were scared. When South Park: the movie was nominated at the Oscars for best music and song for Blame Canada, the actress who sang the song in the film, Mary Kay Bergman, was not there to sing it. She had taken her own life a month or two before the Oscars. Williams stood in and sang the song instead, and it was actually one of the most memorable moments from that ceremony. Funny, but poignant. And then there was the time Christopher Reeve was paralysed in a horse riding accident. He walked into the room of his friend from college, and, disguised as a doctor, started giving him orders. Reeve cracked up laughing, and that was the beginning of his desire to live. Williams never told that story, that was in Christopher Reeve’s biography.
He was a darn good human being who did his best to make everyone feel good, the sad thing being that the only person he could not cheer up was himself. RIP.
Comedian Jason Manford spoke frankly about depression in a post on Facebook that has been shared more than 50,000 times.
Share your favourite memories in the comment section….
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First published 8.50 am
With the length of the show I wouldn’t have thought someone getting up to use the loo isn’t an odd occurrence
Made a balls of that, an edit button wouldn’t go astray
It’s obviously hilarious entertainment by the looks of it. “I wouldn’t go in there for awhile..”
Watching turbs is enough to give anybody a dose of the trots.
Ryan Turdridy
Send in a canary..
I thought it was a bit cruel to shame her on live TV.
Looking for cheap laughs, not nice
Stay classy Tubs..
When people’s bodily functions make light entertainment the journal you know the shows ratings are going down the pan.
I had a lovely breakfast roll with a nice cup of coffee earlier.
can you prove it?
The pathetic cheer and applause from the audience… Because somebody went to the Bathroom?? Toe curlingly amateur TV at its worst.
Probably off to vomit..The Tubular Wonder has that effect on his audiences.
Is that the highlight of his show? I’m glad I don’t watch if the bog hits the headlines.
Very negative
How did she break free from the chains?
better than the alternative
Thought the whole show had gone down the toilet years ago
About the only eventful thing that happened on it last night!!
Gripping Stuff, Well done RTE i was glued to my seat all night…………..
It’s a stand up comedian trick. Billy Connolly and many others used it regularly. He’d shout, “GET BACK TO YOUR FCUKING SEAT!”, at them from time to time.
Went to a Christy Moore gig where a woman needed to go to the loo, he stopped playing and verbally abused her for being rude and disrespectful. We were expected to sit still like school kids, I left early.
That christy for you. You can’t even sing along it distracts him. He one grumpy man. I don’t think I’ve ever saw him smile.
He’s what’s know as a “dry drunk” then.
Never found Christy Moore to be like that, I know he asked for the bar to be closed but so do others so he’s not unusual there. I remember him ‘diddly idle didle doohing’ in the middle of a song once and having to ask the audience ‘does anyone know the feckin’ words of this song, I’ve forgotten them?’ And another time when he was belting out his songs a couple of women in the front row decided it was a good time for a chat. He stopped, covered the microphone, had a few words that you couldn’t hear but could guess and gestured towards the door. When he returned to the microphone he simply said sorry about that, a couple of Wham fans there, and continued.
You want grumpy try Van Morrison, no audience interaction, he comes on, sings his songs and leaves. Take it or leave it.
What eould you expect ftom Christy Moore anyway?
“You want grumpy try Van Morrison, no audience interaction, he comes on, sings his songs and leaves. Take it or leave it.”
I actually like that when I go to see people. These guys are not born entertainers. But they are born musicians. When a musician doesn’t talk to the audience it forces the audience to engage with the music. Bob Dylan rarely utters a word at gigs either. Wouldn’t bother me.
Jesus, imagine if it was Van Morrison, the woman would probably be barred for life.
Big fffff……….ing deal.
What a talent
If Tubridy was professional and mature, he would have ignored the lady’s visit to the toilet. As he is unprofessional and immature, he chose to make a spectacle of her because that would be more interesting than any of the interviews he had lined up last night.
Personally I think she was taking the piss.
Highlight from last night’s late late
Turtles head ?
I doubt if that’s a first and won’t be a last in live television broadcasting.
Gone off to do a s**t in the Tub!
Woman probably got a dose of the runs from watching Turnbridy, have the same reaction myself.
I did enjoy him calling one of his bearded hairy guests dawning a blue suit a black and tan
He was just about to call for a break , she must of been in a bad way .. lol
And there is 1 for everyone in the audience lol.
Skinny little barsteward
The best interview Tubs ever done the highlight of the show amazing how he always has a good question
He neglected to say: Tá cead agat dul amach.
Not the first floater seen in rte
U can’t polish a turd
When anyone uses the word ” hilarious” on social media, it normally means it isn’t
Depend is a brand of absorbent, disposable adult diapers for people with urinary or fecal incontinence. It is made by Kimberly-Clark. The product was first introduced in 1984. It is the dominant brand of disposable incontinence garments in the United States, with a 30.8 share of the market.
Wat a piss up
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