Robin Williams: Genie is Free
I don’t usually post things like this on my blog.? This isn’t the most polished or perfect or even funny remembrance of Robin Williams that is sure to come out over the next couple of days.? But this is written in the moment and with an enormously heavy heart.
There’s no other way to say it:? I’m greatly saddened by the loss of this phenomenal talent and person.
I never met him, of course.? But I knew him, you know?? I grew up with the brilliance of Robin Williams.
We go way back.
As a little girl I remember Mork from Happy Days.
He was my childhood Popeye.
I snuck next door to the neighbors house to watch my first rated R movie: The World According to Garp.
I was too young to grasp the complexities of Good Morning, Vietnam, but I loved watching an actor make me laugh and cry in the same film.
Dead Poets Society, Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Birdcage, Good Will Hunting, Night at the Museum…and on and on.
Robin Williams? Fans Spontaneously Turned The ?Good Will Hunting? Bench Into A Memorial http://t.co/JlfcLPqwvz pic.twitter.com/HQWMPQl5QN
? BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) August 12, 2014
But he did not love the way HE felt.? He battled depression & demons we can’t begin to understand.
I pray that his death will open conversation to the real issues of mental health that we have in this country.
I continue to pray for those affected by these diseases of the mind and that they find help that WORKS before they make choices like Mr. Williams.

O Captain, My Captain.? You are missed and it’s been mere hours.
I hope you found the peace and freedom you sought.
Do you have a favorite Robin Williams memory?
Patty Holliday is the owner and creator of all things No-Guilt Universe. As a lifelong fangirl and pop culture connoisseur, she’s been creating online since 2009. You can find her work at No-Guilt Disney.com, No-Guilt Fangirl.com, No-Guilt Life, and as host of the top-rated No-Guilt Disney Podcast.
Robin Williams was definitely my favorite actor. I could believe the news when I herd it!
I was shocked at how deeply I felt about this news. I normally don’t react to a passing of a celeb. But this one has me hurting.
It just shows how wrong we can be about other people. Those that seem the happiest may often be the ones in the most pain – they are good at masking it. I’m not usually that upset over celeb deaths, but I’m so so sad that this man is gone.
Yes- exactly Amy. I’m with you 100% here.
One of my favorites as a kid was listening to him read Pecos Bill from Rabbit Ears. He didn’t stick with the book, and some references were waaaaay over my head, but my parents would always have that going on road trips.
LOL- he had a gift! 🙂 Great memories.
Ugh I can see you’re grieving as much as I am. What horrible news. I loved him in so many great films. Emi and I loved him as Mrs. Doubtfire!
I am. I can’t get past how desperate he had to be. If someone like him- with resources and support can’t work through depression, how does the rest of the world deal with it? Heavy heart losing someone who meant so much to me as an entertainer. I think I loved him more when he made me cry than when he made me laugh.
This loss makes my heart so sad. He was truly an incredible actor. He will be missed so much by so many. :0(
Celebrity losses usually don’t mean a whole lot to me, either. But Robin was special. Other than Aladdin, his movie I have seen the most is Good Morning Vietnam. When I was in the Navy going through broadcast journalist training I watched that movies hundreds of times. After long, difficult days, his companionship was a balm for the spirit.
Not to be too much of a tool bag, I posted my feeling on Mr. Williams’s loss and depression on my own blog, and it’s just easier to link it than rehash it in a comments section if you want to read it at all.
http://unfortunatesoles.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/a-change-of-pace/