It's not often that we wake up heartbroken but, then, it isn't often an actor connects with people like Robin Williams. There is a whole generation who grew up with the comedic genius, watching him develop from the humours child-friendly fare of Aladdin and Jumanji and maturing along with them to the likes of Insomnia and One Hour Photo, for which he won nearly as many plaudits as his more wacky parts. He was one of those rare performers whose warmth, personality and sense of humour made audiences believe that they actually knew him, even when he was standing ten feet tall on the silver screen or providing the voice of an animated, blue genie. The saddening news of Williams' death at 63 last night brought home the uncomfortable reality that none of us really knew him. His problems with alcohol and drug abuse are well documented, but his lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder was less reported. It came to a head with the interviews surrounding World's Greatest Dad, a black comedy Williams made in 2006 about a man whose son dies of autoerotic asphyxiation, which he masks as a suicide - a topic the actor had difficulty discussing. He was a brilliant man who brightened up all of our lives, despite his own personal issues. Still, it's better not to mourn somebody's death, but to celebrate their life. There were many things about him that we didn't know and shouldn't speculate on, but there are just as many aspects of his life that were similarly hidden but totally awesome, and remind us of just what a magnetic, lively performer he was. Here are ten things you probably didn't know about Robin Williams...
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
