Vale Robin Williams

Well, didn't this one just take the wind out of everyone's sails?

I'm not going to say much, because there have been plenty of other people who have said it more eloquently than I am able to. 

But I will say this: as a creative whirlwind, an inventive comic and a genius performer, this is a massive loss to the world.

And I'm really feeling this loss deeply. I mean, we all expect to die at some point. It's one thing to die from old age, or illness, or even an accident. I just find that when someone dies by their own hand to be particularly tragic. I don't find it to be very romantic, either.

Most stereotypes fall way short of the mark, but they do ring true to a degree. The overarching thing that struck me is the idea of "Tears of a Clown". The idea that the funniest people amongst us, the ones we think are always funny, always there for our amusement (or so we'd like), are the ones with the darkest demons - they often just don't let on that they're in pain. This isn't the case for every comedian, but there is an overwhelming number of comedians that you could name to support the theory...



In light of this sad event, what was undeniable was the man's talent. Here is a live performance of his work as a Stand-up comic, on stage in New York in 2002.

Vale Robin, you will be sorely missed, my man.