[subego]

Is now dead. Which is kind of a drag.

Information is thin, so I shall let you Google your choice of coverage.

[lpkmckenna]

Sigh. This is making me feel terrible.

Dead Poets Society, Good Morning Vietnam, Patch Adams, Awakenings, and Good Will Hunting are favourite films of mine. I left the theatre feeling I had not just seen a movie, but something special that I would carry my whole life.

Good night, Mr Williams. You left the world a better place than you found it.

[andi*pandi]

wtf.

[glideslope]

Very sad. He was fighting depression.

[akent35]

Yeah, not a happy time, that's for sure. Apparently, he died of suicide from asphyxia:

Robin Williams' cause of death was suicide from asphyxia, early investigation shows | NJ.com

He will be missed. I will never forget his superlative performance in the movie "Awakenings", which unfortunately has never received many kudos. Yet, it was one of his (and De Niro's) best work.

[ajprice]

R.I.P. Mork

[Waragainstsleep]

Why are the people who are so funny always depressed? Maybe no-one else is funny enough to make them laugh the way they make us laugh.

Two of my favourite funny people of all time in the same year.

[The Final Dakar]

Somehow, I knew it was suicide as soon as I heard. I wonder how much his declining career factored into it.

[Laminar]

I watched the episode of Louie that Robin was in last night, it seemed fitting.

[ebuddy]

It has all been said; huge loss, brilliant talent, brought laughter to millions, withstood the test of time with fan base of all age groups.

What else can be said, terribly saddening.

Not to get into gruesome details, but how on earth does someone commit suicide by asphyxia?

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by ebuddy 

Not to get into gruesome details, but how on earth does someone commit suicide by asphyxia?

Asphyxia is the process of denying the system oxygen. The usual method is like hanging yourself, but without the sudden drop and neck-breaking. You let gravity and the noose close-off your airway. This is actually how most people hanging themselves die.

Another method (which is popular with the assisted-suicide crowd) involves putting your head in a plastic bag and pumping the bag full of nitrous oxide, replacing the available oxygen. Essentially, you suffocate from lack of oxygen. It's supposed to be a fairly comfortable way to go.

And, then, there's the David Carradine accidental method.

[ebuddy]

Originally Posted by Thorzdad 

And, then, there's the David Carradine accidental method.

I hate to say, but upon hearing the news -- this was what I originally thought was a tactful way of indicating cause of Williams' death, not unlike Carradine's.

[ajprice]

I didn't see it, but lastnight, about half an hour before his death was announced, BBC Three shown the Family Guy episode where Peter is struck by lightning and everyone he touches turns into Robin Williams.

Heck of a coincidence

[akent35]

Looks like he hanged himself with a belt:

https://celebrity.yahoo.com/blogs/ce...181808746.html

Real, real sad. A truly great actor/comedian is gone. He'll be sorely missed, that's for sure.

[subego]

Originally Posted by ebuddy 

I hate to say, but upon hearing the news -- this was what I originally thought was a tactful way of indicating cause of Williams' death, not unlike Carradine's.

I've heard he also slit his wrists.

I must admit, my first thought was he did that so people were clear this wasn't a Carradine.

[The Final Dakar]

I'm hearing he hung himself with his belt.

[subego]

AFAICT, he did both.

Hardcore.

[subego]

I heard a potential reason "asphyxiation" is what's getting reported instead of a hanging.

This was an unusual case in that the story was broken by the cops. Normally, you have someone like TMZ floating it as a rumor first.

The cops are going to use the terms the coroner uses.

[subego]

I must admit, I'm far more distressed now considering the experience was probably horrible and agonizing.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by subego 

I heard a potential reason "asphyxiation" is what's getting reported instead of a hanging

As far as the coroner is concerned, "asphyxiation" would be the correct term to use for cause of death. "Hanging" is an act, not a cause.

[Shaddim]

So sad, I feel awful for him. People who think someone is weak for doing something like this, you don't understand the devastating effects of severe clinical depression.

I have to wonder where his wife was, since she said she knew how bad things had been for him lately.

[Face Ache]

Originally Posted by Waragainstsleep 

Why are the people who are so funny always depressed?

I think a large part of humour comes from being an outsider. Observational humour for example, is much easier to find when you're outside the box, looking in.

I think depression is a subset of being an outsider - of never really feeling connected.

Like art and music, humour is a talent and a way of connecting. An interface. And sometimes, for a disconnected funny person, it's their only interface.

At least, that's how I see things.

Originally Posted by subego 

I've heard he also slit his wrists.

I must admit, my first thought was he did that so people were clear this wasn't a Carradine.

Part of me wishes he did go out wearing a gimp mask with a carrot up his arse. Would have been funnier.

[Chongo]

Look for Cathy Smith to come out of the woodwork.

[Shaddim]

[osiris]

Originally Posted by Shaddim 

That about sums it up.

It's difficult for people to understand severe depression - it's a mental illness that can only be temporarily alleviated.

That Watchmen quote says it all - what does the great clown do for a laugh when he himself is hanging on by a thread?

****ing sad, man. Robin was the great clown - if only he knew how much joy he brought to people.

[unicast reversepath]

Robins daughter Zelda had to close her twitter account because of scumbags "tweeting Photoshopped images of Williams that appeared to show him with bruises around his neck, as if he were in a morgue. @PimpStory also tweeted “look at what he … did to himself because of you” and called Zelda a “heartless b****. That message was retweeted 21 times."

Robin Williams’s daughter Zelda driven off Twitter by vicious trolls - The Washington Post

What is wrong with these people???

[akent35]

Well, it looks like he had early stages of Parkinson's disease:

Robin Williams was in early stages of Parkinson's disease, wife reveals | syracuse.com

Interesting that he portrayed a doctor in the excellent movie "Awakenings", in which some of his patients had Parkinson's disease.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by akent35 

Interesting

That's called a coincidence.

[Shaddim]

Originally Posted by osiris 

That about sums it up.

It's difficult for people to understand severe depression - it's a mental illness that can only be temporarily alleviated.

That Watchmen quote says it all - what does the great clown do for a laugh when he himself is hanging on by a thread?

****ing sad, man. Robin was the great clown - if only he knew how much joy he brought to people.

I work with depressed and stressed out celebs (acting and fame is an emotional meatgrinder), it would have been my honor to have him chill out here as long as he wanted, but when depression becomes that severe they don't see anything but torment. It really isn't something you can just work out.

[Thorzdad]

Originally Posted by Shaddim 

... but when depression becomes that severe they don't see anything but torment. It really isn't something you can just work out.

This.
Severe depression is a horror.

[akent35]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

That's called a coincidence.

No, it's called Interesting.

[Spheric Harlot]

It is indeed interesting to consider that the work he did for "Awakenings" may have contributed to his perspective that led to suicide being the most sensible option, once his own diagnosis was in.

[osiris]

Originally Posted by Shaddim 

I work with depressed and stressed out celebs (acting and fame is an emotional meatgrinder), it would have been my honor to have him chill out here as long as he wanted, but when depression becomes that severe they don't see anything but torment. It really isn't something you can just work out.

takes a strong person to deal with people like that. Their internal hell often bleeds through, sometimes hurting those around them. best to you.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by akent35 

No, it's called Interesting.

It's a coincidence. A guy, who plays a doctor, ends up with a not uncommon illness from a movie he was in.

Now, if Arnold Schwarzenegger is killed by a time-traveling robot, you have my interest.

[Laminar]

Sounds like irony to me.

[akent35]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

It's a coincidence. A guy, who plays a doctor, ends up with a not uncommon illness from a movie he was in.

Now, if Arnold Schwarzenegger is killed by a time-traveling robot, you have my interest.

No, it's still interesting that him playing the doctor (well over 90% of that movie, "Awakenings", by the way, is true) treating such patients and then coming down with the illness is not coincidence. I just find the similarities interesting.

I am not saying that him coming down with the disease is connected to the movie, nor to him playing a doctor that treats it. If that was true, then it would be a coincidence.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by akent35 

No, it's still interesting that him playing the doctor (well over 90% of that movie, "Awakenings", by the way, is true) treating such patients and then coming down with the illness is not coincidence.

That is the very definition of a coincidence.

Originally Posted by akent35 

I am not saying that him coming down with the disease is connected to the movie, nor to him playing a doctor that treats it. If that was true, then it would be a coincidence.

If it was connected to the movie, it wouldn't be a coincidence.

You may want to read up on the definition.

[Waragainstsleep]

This was nice I thought:

Norm MacDonald May Have Just Written the Best Tribute To Robin Williams Yet | The Daily Banter

[ebuddy]

Do we know if the "fine-tuning" he sought through rehabilitation was the addiction sort or the psychological sort? It's not like we haven't all heard or read our fair share of anti-depressants gone horribly wrong scenarios.

[subego]

IIUC, depression. I've heard he was clean when he died.

[ghporter]

Clinical depression is on my list of "things that I hate," along with MS and cancer. Unfortunately, a diagnosis of "clinical depression" doesn't get the kind of treatment it should. It takes a LOT of time to work on depression, and it's not a "take this pill and you'll be fine" sort of treatment.

I'll be sad for quite a while about this.

[Chongo]

AMPAS caught it over this tweet:
https://twitter.com/TheAcademy/statu...246593/photo/1

Genie, you're free.

Academy’s Robin Williams Tweet Criticized by Suicide Prevention Group | Variety

Tim Gray
Awards Editor
@timgray_variety
A tweet from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences about Robin Williams’ death has proven popular, but not with one suicide-prevention group.

The tweet, sent out Monday at 5:56 p.m., shows the genie from the 1992 “Aladdin” with the message, “Genie, you’re free,” which is a line from the film. The item was retweeted more than 320,000 times and received a staggering 69 million impressions. The Internet and Twitter have been filled with tributes to Williams, who voiced the genie in the film.

However, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention worries about the subliminal message. Christine Moutier, chief medical officer at the AFSP, expressed concern about the tweet, telling the Washington Post Tuesday, “Suicide should never be presented as an option,” before adding, “(it) presents suicide in too celebratory a light.”

[unicast reversepath]

Severe clinical depression is a very terrible thing, but over the top reactions to harmless language like this makes me wonder if political correctness truly is a mental disease!

[ghporter]

The people in suicide prevention take very seriously any sort of idea that minimizes the impact of suicide, and "you're free" tends to rationalize suicide as an escape from depression etc. It was unfortunate that AMPAS couldn't find wording that memorialized Robin without the (unintentional) implication of escape.

[Shaddim]

IMO, it would be best if we stopped stigmatizing suicide, if a person wants to die, then that's their business.

[BadKosh]

Maybe its better to change their mind about killing themselves? LETTING THEM DIE is a cowards way.

[subego]

Originally Posted by Shaddim 

IMO, it would be best if we stopped stigmatizing suicide, if a person wants to die, then that's their business.

I agree with you in general, but feel there's a "yes and no" angle when it comes to suicide due to extreme, clinical depression.

That can usually be treated. It seems to me there should be a stigma to choosing suicide over treatment if treatment has decent success rates.

One of the reasons talented artists whack themselves is they refuse treatment because it ****s with their creativity... which it most certainly does. Much creativity comes from being broken in the first place.

[Waragainstsleep]

I've been watching Mork and Mindy again. It looks like Pam Dawber is genuinely surprised by about 25% of everything Robin Williams says or does. Its quite delightful.

Gave me a great idea for a fund raiser, maybe for depression related charities. It might be too great an idea, sometimes I'm overly ambitious.

Basically you leak/spread the word that a remake of Mork and Mindy is in the works starring Kanye West and Kim Kardashian (or West if she is called that now). You sign them up to a pilot and film it. Its dreadful, as you'd expect. You run trailers, build hype, air the pilot. Then at the end you declare that if you don't raise X million dollars for depression, you'll commission a whole series.

The only question is whether you let Kim & Kanye in on the fact its a joke/fake. My feeling is it would be better, by which I mean worse if you didn't.

[Shaddim]

Originally Posted by BadKosh 

Maybe its better to change their mind about killing themselves? LETTING THEM DIE is a cowards way.

Spoken like someone who knows nothing about severe depression.

[Spheric Harlot]

^ Agreed.

Hey, i know! - let's just make it ILLEGAL! That'll help, for sure!