Robin Williams RIP

I'm sure you all heard that Williams was found dead from suicide. Probably one of the more bitter tragedies I've come across at my age, as the news actually brought a couple tears to my eyes. I've never been much of a fan of his stand-up, and some of his roles were downright annoying, but he was always very likable and did a great job at crossing over into the thriller and drama spectrum. I highly recommend World's Greatest Dad's (if you can stomach black comedies) for those who haven't seen him at his best. RIP.

Such a huge bummer. He was always very funny and surprisingly had a lot of range as an actor. I'll always love Good Will Hunting, The Birdcage, and even Mrs. Doubtfire
He will certainly be missed. RIP

Williams was a brilliant stand-up comic, especially when he was younger and coked out of his mind.

This is my all-time favorite HBO standup comedy special, I remember watching this with my Mother when it first aired. We watched all of the HBO On Location comedy concerts together from 78 up till 83 or so.

This has been a "holy grail" item for a long time, never released commercially on VHS, DVD or blu-ray, I think there are rights issues keeping it from being released. Regardless, just check out this genius in action circa 1978....

Something's wrong with me. I'm weird. I watched the above but for whatever reason it's the same as his other stand-up that I've seen--it just doesn't click with me. I mean, I like funny; stand-ups from Lenny to Pryor to Carlin have me in stitches, but Robin's work just kind of flies by, and while I'm impressed with his chameleon shifting I just don't find it very funny. That's why Good Morning Vietnam has always been a difficult movie for me--the movie is substantial and well-made, and his charisma is more than welcome in it, but the radio segments leave me indifferent. He's just a stronger actor than a comedian to me--generational thing, maybe (he WAS hella funny in Fisher King though).