Memory of Robin Williams

When I was in college, I went to see Robin Williams in concert, and he was hilarious (and just as obscene as Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy, though he did not really have that reputation publicly).

That is not the story.  The story is in the fact I went to see him a second night in a row.  This seems a dumb thing to do, to go to the same show twice in two nights, but I was chasing after this girl and she wanted to go.  At the time, for the right girl, I would probably have gone to a 3-hour Uruguayan poetry reading.

Anyway, the amazing part was... it was not the same show.  Yes, the basic structure was there, but huge masses were different.  That is when I realized that he was just making it the hell up as he went along, and he was hilarious doing it.   I had known intellectually that he had a reputation for improvising way off his scripts, but to actually see it in real time was amazing.

5 Comments

  1. pegr:

    Depression is a serious disorder that is often fatal. Peace be with you Funny Man!

  2. herdgadfly:

    In the last day and a half, the media is recreating the Princess Diana "tragedy", but this time it is all about the suicide of Hollywood's most liberal performer. he hated conservatives and made no bones about it. In this routine, he brutally bashed Angelina Jolie, George W. Bush and Sarah Palin.

    Suicide is all about its perpetrator and the focus is inward and personal. We need feel no sorrow or loss because he most certainly did not.

    The game of life is hard to play
    I'm gonna lose it anyway
    The losing card I'll someday lay
    So this is all I have to say.

    Suicide is painless
    It brings on many changes
    And I can take or leave it if I please.

  3. Canvasback:

    Oh, shut up.

  4. Roy_Lofquist:

    This appeared just recently. Fabulous improvisation.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD9QAAEfQEA

  5. Harry:

    Good story , Coyote.