FOUNDER OF COMIC RELIEF.
BOB, WELCOME.
I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LOSS OF 
YOUR DEAR FRIEND.
>> WELL -- 
>> GO AHEAD. 
>> JUST AMAZING.
YOU SAW THE CLIP WITH WHOOPI 
GOLDBERG AND BILLY CRYSTAL.
I FOUNDED COMIC RELIEF WITH 
ROBIN, BILLY, AND WHOOPI.
PEOPLE KNOW HIM AS A COMEDIAN 
AND DRAMATIC ACTOR AND WAS ALSO 
A REAL HUMANITARIAN WHICH MAKES 
IT MORE SHOCKING.
BUT IN A WAY, I'VE GOT TO TELL 
YOU, THERE'S A LONG HISTORY OF 
DEPRESSION WITH COMEDIANS TO 
BEGIN WITH AND COMEDIANS 
THEMSELVES TALK ABOUT THIS. 
>> WHY IS THAT?
>> WELL, I'LL TELL YOU EXACTLY 
WHY.
HAROLD RAMUS WHO PASSED JUST 
RECENTLY, HE WAS ONE OF THE 
ORIGINAL BOARD MEMBERS OF COMIC 
RELIEF AND HAROLD BELIEVED VERY 
MUCH THAT THE COMEDIAN, WHEN YOU
TRACE THE STAND-UP COMEDIAN 
BACK, AT ONE POINT HE WAS THE 
CLASS CLOWN.
AND IF YOU TRACE THE CLASS CLOWN
BACK EITHER FURTHER THAN THAT, 
THAT YOU WILL FIND THAT THERE'S 
A HISTORY OF DEPRESSION IN THE 
FAMILY AND USUALLY WITH THE 
MOTHER.
THE MOTHER'S USUALLY DEPRESSED.
I UNDERSTAND THIS WAS THE CASE, 
ALSO, WITH ROBIN.
AND BECAUSE THE MOTHER IS 
DEPRESSED, THE YOUNG BOY TRIES 
TO CHEER MOM UP, TRIES TO BE A 
CLOWN.
>> LIFE BACK AT HOME AND DEALING
WITH FAMILY ISSUES AND THEN FAST
FORWARD TO SOMEONE LIKE ROBIN 
WILLIAMS, RIGHT?
AND YOU HAD SAID BEFORE AND IT'S
HARD FOR US -- I SAY US -- US 
FANS.
YOU KNEW THE GUY, LOVED THE GUY 
BUT YOU WERE SAYING IF YOU WERE 
IN AN ELEVATOR AND IT WAS JUST 
THE TWO OF YOU, HE WOULDN'T 
TALK.
BUT THE SECOND A SECOND OR THIRD
PERSON CAME AROUND, HE WAS 
ALIVE. 
>> HE WAS A TRUE PERFORMER.
ROBIN HAD NO SOCIAL SKILLS 
WHATSOEVER.
I KNEW ROBIN FOR OVER 35 YEARS.
AND YET HE COULD NOT HANDLE 
BEING ONE-ON-ONE WITH A PERSON.
>> EVEN YOU?
>> OH, YEAH, EVEN ME.
IT WOULD BE LIKE SPEAKING WITH A
TOTAL STRANGER IN AN ELEVATOR.
IT WAS SO ODD.
BUT IF ANOTHER PERSON CAME IN, 
THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN YOU WERE AN
AUDIENCE AND ROBIN COULD BECOME 
ALIVE.
THAT'S WHY HE WAS SO GOOD AT 
WHAT HIS PSYCHOLOGICAL 
IMPERATIVE IN LIFE HAD TO BE TO 
PERFORM.
THIS IS WHY HE WAS SO GOOD AT 
IT.
AND, YOU KNOW, HE WAS BIPOLAR 
AND, OF COURSE, WHEN YOU GET IN 
A SITUATION, HIS HIGHS WERE 
HIGHS AND, UNFORTUNATELY, HIS 
LOWS WERE REALLY LOW. 
>> SO AS A DEAR FRIEND THAT'S 
KNOWN HIM FOR PA Y35 YEARS, YOU 
BILLY, WHOOPI, DO YOU JUST KNOW 
AS PART OF THE ROBIN WILLIAMS 
INNER CIRCLE HOW HE IS 
ONE-ON-ONE AND YOU DEALT WITH 
HIM ACCORDINGLY?
>> YOU DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS GOING 
TO LEAD TO THIS.
COMEDY IS THERE TO KIND OF 
RELIEVE THE STRESS AND TENSION.
THAT'S WHY IT'S THERE.
WE HAVE A LINE IN COMEDY SAYING,
THERE ARE NO JOKES.
YOU KNOW, AND THE COMEDIANS ARE 
VERY, VERY SERIOUS WHEN THEY 
ARE -- MANY OF THEM WHEN THEY 
ARE NOT ON STAGE.
VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF PEOPLE.
IN ROBIN'S CASE, HE WAS VERY 
MUCH THAT LONER UNTIL ANOTHER 
PERSON CAME IN THE ROOM.
TWO PEOPLE.
IT HAD TO BE AT LEAST TWO PEOPLE
AND THEN HE'D START PERFORMING 
AND HE'D BE FINE.
I COULD SEE HOW THIS WOULD 
HAPPEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 
NIGHT, HIM ALONE, NO AUDIENCE 
AND JUST CRASHING, CRASHING.
AND LET ALONE THE ALCOHOL 
PROBLEM.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD -- ROBIN'S
BEEN VERY HONEST ABOUT GOING 
INTO REHAB AND JOKING ABOUT IT 
AND HIS DEPRESSION.
I THINK, IN A WAY, BROOKE, THIS 
IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE ARE
REALLY SHOCKED ABOUT THIS.
BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT, OH, ROBIN'S
GOING THROUGH THAT BUT HE'S 
HANDLING IT, OBVIOUSLY, BECAUSE 
HE'S
