I haven't bothered to read this thread. What little of it I skimmed (the 10 or so posts on the last page) is a sad statement of the way this board can infect any thread with its negativity and hatred. So for anyone who actually appreciated Robin Williams, for the love of everything please just stop.
Anyway, it's rare that anything that anyone in Hollywood does affects me. I really don't care what products they pitch or what politics they preach. Their personal lives are generally as interesting to me as anyone else who isn't my friend -- that is not at all. I realize I'm in the minority on this, else People Magazine, etc. would've gone belly up long ago.
But the death of Robin Williams did affect me. I grew up watching him, and he wasn't that old really when Mork & Mindy were on. A phenomenally talented actor, he could be both hilarious and great in dramas. When a life like that is lost, it's just a very, very sad thing. The world, I think, (paraphrasing his daughter) is just a little less bright as a result of his leaving us. The circumstances of his death, as well as it being so dramatic and unexpected (as suicide often is), makes it all the sadder.
I walked over to the Public Gardens today in Boston. As you may know the bench on which Robin Williams sat with Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting has become an impromptu memorial place. The pile of flowers left there has grown taller than what is depicted in the online picture I found. On the pavement in front of it are a number of quotes from his movies, as well as short statements of appreciation for him. On the whole, quite moving. An ever-flowing stream of people are stopping there to take pictures and reflect on his loss.
