When watching Robin Williams play Robin Williams, I often got the sensation of being on a high-speed roller coaster with no brakes. I think most of us did, because his mania wasn't on a short leash. And if anyone seemed likely to have a tragic end, it was him. But the news of his death still hit me, and this in particular really got to me:
Fans of the legendary actor and comedian Robin Williams, who died Monday, turned a bench where Williams and Matt Damon shared a scene in the classic Boston movie “Good Will Hunting” into a makeshift memorial Monday night, leaving flowers and writing quotes from the film on the ground.
Maybe because I loved the movie so much. Maybe because, by all accounts, Robin Williams was a kind and generous man who cared about other people, and maybe because I recently lost one of my own friends to depression.
Or maybe it was this tweet from Sarah Michelle Geller, who co-starred with Williams in "The Crazy Ones" and referred to him as "the father I wished I'd had":
— Sarah Michelle (@RealSMG) August 12, 2014
Awfully big shoes to fill.