Wow...Robin Williams...Farewell

I can hardly believe it. You never really expect to hear certain celebrities have died. Robin Williams is definitely not someone who I'd expect to hear was dead.

Robin Williams is like a pop-culture institution.

Beyond shocked, I am truly disappointed to hear that he had died.

I've blogged about Robin Williams before, and strangely enough my last post from almost three years ago was called "Robin Williams - Will You Come Back?" In this post, I lamented his lackluster career in the 21st century, after already declaring him the most disappointing actor of the first decade of the 21st century..

That said, I must say, after writing that post, I did find myself enjoying episodes of The Crazy Ones, and maintained hope for Robin Williams second (or third) life.

In 2007, I posted my Top 5 favorite Robin Williams roles. This post was met with a flurry of comments. Here is that list I posted:

1. John Keating, Dead Poets Society (`1989)
2. Genie, Aladdin (1992)
3. Sean Maguire, Good Will Hunting (1997)
4. Daniel Hillard/Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire, Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)
5. Parry, The Fisher King (1991)

One of the things that I digested after writing this post is how each of these characters tells the story of a person (or genie, as the case might be) who is interested in inspiring others to change their life through interconnected relationships.

Maybe it's in light of these themes in Robin Williams roles, or perhaps his comic persona, that his death is extra shocking.

In light of the early reports that this might be a suicide, likely the result of his depression it's hard to reconcile how to reflect on Robin Williams' life and death.

There's a message in there somewhere - or maybe it's more of a warning, or even a reminder. A death that says you can have the whole world but still somehow be missing something, to feel incomplete, or at a minimum be battling a very serious disease.