Robin Williams died today.
I heard the news on the radio as I was driving to Best Buy in Glendale to pick up a new Nikon Coolpix AW120 lifeproof camera, to replace the last Olympus lifeproof camera that has so disappointed me.
Anyway, hearing of Robin Williams’ death was like a punch in the chest, very much like hearing of Steve Irwin’s death a few years ago. Very few celebrity deaths make me misty-eyed, and Robin Williams’ and Steve Irwin’s are two of them. In fact, they’re the only two that I can recall right now.
Like many people, my first exposure to Robin Williams was his portrayal as Mork in Happy Days and later in Mork and Mindy. I skipped things like Good Morning, Vietnam and Good Will Hunting, but I caught Mrs. Doubtfire. I loved Aladdin and his portrayal as Genie. I also loved the genius of his standup and improv, especially on his appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
But my favorite was Dead Poets Society, not only for the quality of the film overall and for its messages but also for its similarity to my own boyhood experience, though offset by a few decades and by geography. I showed the boys the movie some time ago, and they quickly learned the love the movie as well.
In his memory, we watched Dead Poets Society this evening after the boys came home after dinner.