Robin Williams

The first thing I remember seeing Robin Williams in was a brief resurrection of the show Laugh-In in the late '70s. In one brief gag, he played a yokel thrilled to meet Frank Sinatra. He talks to the camera to tell his wife, "Sell my clothes! I'm going to heaven!"

I remember when Alan Alda beat him for an Emmy for most talented guy on TV. This was during the Mork and Mindy years. I was surprised. Alan Alda? I figured he must have been doing an awful lot behind the scenes that nobody outside the industry knew about.

I've never understood people's reaction to suicide. There are people who are outraged by it. I've heard people claim it was "selfish" or was "the coward's way out", as if it were perfectly logical, based on a cost-benefit analysis. Like we'd ALL commit suicide if we had any sense.

But Williams was 63. His death was a shock. There was nothing to prepare us. He wasn't Shia LeBeouf acting out in public. There was no logic to it. His life should have been great. But they're reporting that he was battling severe depression. He had had a drug problem and, according to one report, relapsed after many years of sobriety.