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In reply to the discussion: "Cowardly, Selfish" [View all]cleduc
(653 posts)76. That was a real nice letter
It's hard to tell what gets through. Sometimes you have to think it through and attempt some different approaches, trying for one that will take hold or be more effective.
I've agonized over Robin's loss some. This article hit home and resonated some with our discussion in this thread:
Carrie Fisher on Robin Williams: 'He Was the Opposite of Selfish'
https://www.yahoo.com/movies/carrie-fisher-on-robin-williams-he-was-the-opposite-94639993537.html
During an exclusive chat with THR by telephone from London, Fisher recounted the details of their discussion in her dressing room. And while she said she had seen Williams between that night and his tragic suicide on Aug. 11, something about that particular evening his energy and their conversation about bipolar disorder (a prominent subject of her Broadway show and book of the same name) has stuck with her all these years.
"He looked lost, kind of, and he said that he didnt think he was bipolar. He took the test that I gave the audience and got all the answers right, but didnt think [being bipolar] was something that had anything to do with him," recalled Fisher, who has been candid about her own struggles with mental illness and addiction. "I never heard anything so off the mark. Like I did, he was driven by that frantic eagerness that you dont just want someone to like you, you want to explode on their night sky like a miracle. And he did."
...
Even off-set, Fisher said she was blown away by his charisma and the way in which he absorbed his surroundings. Robin had rampant empathy, explained Fisher, who is currently on location reprising her role as Leia in J.J. Abrams Star Wars: Episode VII. Everything would end up on his grid. Hed walk in a room, and all the energy there would impact him. He was the opposite of selfish. Anything would hurt him. Or impact him somehow.
Perhaps it was that unrelenting stream of emotion that led Williams down a difficult path with substance abuse, she said. The comedian had been open in various interviews over the years about his struggles with alcohol and cocaine, as well as stints in rehab. Its fun to be brilliant, but who are your peers? Who was his peer? asked Fisher. Its incredibly lonely to be that. And he didnt have a choice. And thats why you take drugs, so you can slow up and smell the roses just to know that they are there, and its not all you. Drugs for a lot of people kept them alive. Without them they wouldve committed suicide. Not that I think that in any way drugs are positive. But I can certainly understand what drove his need for them, his appetite for them.
Substances aside, Fisher described Williams as the center of attention in any room, which is why she said she was so drawn to him. He was something you just dont see, like a comet. I hope hes like a comet and he comes again, but that would be selfish, she said, adding that his energy and comic delivery was unstoppable. Im sorry he punctuated his sentence before it had run its course. But he packed in five lifetimes before he left.
Fisher's "Wishful Drinking" show was in the Berkeley/San Francisco area around 2008 which is probably when Robin dropped by to see her backstage.
I get the feeling in that moment Carrie got closer to him than most of the other celebrities he worked with - even though they apparently didn't connect regularly.
She had wonderful things to say including "He Was the Opposite of Selfish". The stories about his philanthropy that are starting to come out reinforce that. If he had money problems, it's probably because he gave much of it away.
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Well said! I wish the English language had a different term for clinical depression -
hedgehog
Aug 2014
#7
That is the most enlightenig insight to come out of this tragedy so far.
world wide wally
Aug 2014
#12
Shep Smith apologized on Tuesday for calling Robin Williams "cowardly" on air.
amuse bouche
Aug 2014
#14
See, this is why we have to dig WAY deeper than just some trite surface dismissal.
calimary
Aug 2014
#17
One aspect of the Program that keeps me alive is helping others who share this pain.
TygrBright
Aug 2014
#41
I am so tired of hearing "healthcare professionals" and those who work alongside them
rustydog
Aug 2014
#50
Bright, this is so poignant... everything you posted is true... depression hurts and it
secondwind
Aug 2014
#55
If there is anything good about this event, it's the general care with which it's been reported -
hedgehog
Aug 2014
#57
I agree "Cowardly, Selfish" is nonsense and horrible way to express what went on.
cleduc
Aug 2014
#60
This is the letter I wrote to my bipolar niece (name changed for obvious reasons):
chervilant
Aug 2014
#72
Yep. Drowning people have very little interest in others' problems, too. n/t
TygrBright
Aug 2014
#80