Remembering Robin Williams 3 years on from his suicide

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Robin Williams died 3 years ago today, on 11th August 2014. Tragically we have had a few celebrity suicides in recent times. Perhaps due to being the first of recent times, the death of Robin Williams hit me harder than I would’ve expected.

His smile, laugh, energy, genius, obvious talent for humour etc made it seem unfathomable and heart wrenching. However it served as a reminder to look behind the smile, look behind the laughter. The idea of the sad clown is clichéd but incredibly true.

The idea of the tortured genius was also very apt for Robin. He had battled severe depression, and addiction and was in a battle with incurable dementia at the time of his suicide. Whilst it is right to mourn his loss, he should also be celebrated. Just as we should cherish the music Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell left behind, we should celebrate the huge number of great performances and films he gave us.

Remembering Robin Williams

Our favourite Robin Williams moments follow – please let us know what you would’ve added to the list!

Mork & Mindy

I’m not old enough to have watched it when it came out (I was born the year of its release), but did watch it a lot as a kid. My first introduction to this weird and crazy genius!

Good Morning Vietnam

I’ve always liked my comedy slightly dark and this hit the mark perfectly. On top of that the catchphrase that went round school with kids endlessly screaming ‘GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD Morning VIETNAM!!!!’ must’ve driven the teachers mad.

Dead Poets Society

The tag line goes ‘English teacher John Keating inspires his students to look at poetry with a different perspective’. It’s fair to say the film is better than the marketing for it

Hook

‘The Boy that never grew up’ – it’s hard to imagine a better choice for this role than Robin Williams

Aladdin

Yes it was only his voice, but his role as the genie (fighting the urge to make a genie/genius pun) was utterly fantastic. You didn’t need to see Robin Williams to realise just how damn good he was.

Mrs. Doubtfire

I admit, not one I would run back to watch now but at the same time it is such an iconic film that is hard not to think fondly of.

Good Will Hunting

Potentially my favourite of his. I do tend to enjoy seeing comic geniuses doing a more serious role, perhaps because they understand the human condition and the darker sides of life so much better than most others. The authenticity brought is inspiring.