His hilarious jokes were adored by millions.
We still enjoy movies with his brilliant characters
and can't accept the fact that he is gone.
But his laughter was mostly public.
Behind that beloved smile lied childhood struggles
and an emptiness that could never be filled.
What is the tragic side of Robin Williams
that he tried to hide so much?
Lack of love.
As a child, Robin was often left alone.
His parents were too busy.
His mom was always away on her modeling tours
and his Dad had to be at work all day, as
he was one of the Ford company owners in the West.
So Robin spent hours on his own in a sandbox
or playing with his soldier army.
Robin strived for his parents` attention,
so he came up with an idea.
He became funny!
Robin tried to make his dad and mom laugh,
so that they could finally appreciate him.
This habit became his daily practice.
For some time it was enough but it didn`t
work the way Robin wanted.
Their careers were always top priority for
his parents.
So he thought, perhaps, his school excellence
would gain his parents` love.
Robin had the highest marks among his classmates
and even became a class president.
He joined both the football and wrestling
teams to show his parents that he was athletic!
Can you imagine how hard it was for the boy
who also suffered from obesity due to the
lack of attention from his parents?
Robin called himself a quiet child, who could
not overcome his shyness.
His mates later recalled that Robin was the
funny one, but they also labeled him as a
person who would not succeed in life.
Robin was very lonely.
"My only companion, my only friend in childhood
was my imagination."
It seems that he tried everything.
Luckily, he enrolled in a drama class.
There, for the first time, he felt free and
open and finally appreciated.
A new chapter in his life had just begun.
A king of laughter.
Robin performed comedy routines at nightclubs
and also got a temp job as a waiter.
He even tried to do pantomime on the steps
of the Metropolitan Museum!
His achievements in drama school were getting
better and better.
And one day, after another successful performance,
Robin`s headmaster sat next to him and told
him that
there was nothing more they could teach him
in that school, so it was better for him to
give up the classes.
Robin was shocked.
He didn`t realize how much of a genius he
was on stage.
His improvisation came naturally...
He just did what he felt.
Robin was afraid that he wouldn`t know what
to do or how to step into the real world.
Fortunately, he managed to pull himself together
and went to LA for real adventures.
For a couple of years he performed as a stand-up
comic and was one evening noticed by the sister
of the famous director, Garry Marshall.
Robin was offered an audition for the role
of the space alien, Mork, in "Happy Days".
He was so hilarious as Mork that producers
decided to make a spin-off with him in a leading role.
It was his turning point.
The audience loved him and had since then
never stopped loving him.
Within a couple of years Robin became a TV
icon and later a huge movie star.
His hilarious character in "Good Morning,
Vietnam" and many other roles made Robin a
legend, a king of laughter.
Struggle with illness.
Everything seemed to be great.
But Robin felt that he was seen only for his
funny side.
He grew depressed.
His laughter brought him the appreciation
he dreamed of as a kid.
But somehow it all became very synthetic.
Together with his close friend John Belushi,
Robin tried to find something real.
They attended every possible party, drinking
and taking cocaine.
It helped them to forget about everything
and just relax.
It was fun until one morning when he received
a sobering call.
Robin found out that Belushi died due to a
drug overdose the morning after the two had partied together.
It was a huge wakeup call for Robin.
Williams turned to exercise and cycling to
help alleviate his depression.
Later Williams said, "cycling saved my life."
Robin decided to change his film image and
aimed for more serious roles.
That is when "Dead Poets Society" came across
his path.
It completely changed his attitude towards
himself.
After the film, no one thought of him as only
a mere comedian.
Robin was back on his feet career wise, but
his family life fell apart.
Robin went through a nasty divorce from his
wife, Valerie Velardi, and shortly after married
Marsha Garces, his son`s nanny, who was already
pregnant with his child.
Family issues turned him back to alcohol.
This time it was much worse.
Many of Robin's contracts were terminated
due to his drinking problems.
After years, he finally checked himself in
to a rehabilitation center.
Though, after rehab, he failed to keep sober,
which ruined his second marriage.
Robin faced depression again.
This time, Williams was almost 60 and his
heart could not bear the load.
He was hospitalized for surgery to replace
his aortic valve.
Fortunately, it went well and Robin returned
to his daily life, determined not to take any kind of alcohol.
With the help of his third wife, graphic designer
Susan Schneider, Robin slowly git back into
acting and finally found peace and comfort
living with his love.
Alcohol addiction was defeated.
Robin Williams was having the time of his
life.
According to Schneider, in his last year,
Robin didn`t suffer from depression, he laughed
a lot and was a man she loved.
But during the last months of his life, Robin
got terrible headaches and anger seizures.
Robin once came to his wife, telling her he
didn`t recognize himself anymore, and that
something really scary was going on in his
head.
As it was revealed after Robin`s sudden death,
he suffered from a very rare disease called
Lewy body dementia.
Sadly, it was unbearable for Robin to keep
living with the horrible seizures...
On August 11, 2014, Williams took his own
life.
Millions of fans were grieving around the
world.
Despite how difficult it is to accept his
death, we probably should listen to the timeless
message he left for us in the film "Jack":
“Look at me.
Please, don't worry so much.
Because in the end, none of us have very long
on this Earth.
Life is fleeting.
Make your life spectacular.
I know I did.”
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