It'll probably take a week or so to get through all these stories. Settle in.
In the past 36 hours or so since news of his death, it's become clear that the joy Robin Williams brought to people through his movies and standup was just the icing on the cake. It was difficult to be online for even a few minutes yesterday without reading another first-person tale of an encounter with Robin Williams that reflected his humor, his rare humility, and his generosity.
There was this classic one from Norm MacDonald. We had Chris Gethard's story of Williams showing up at the Upright Citizens Brigade to do some improv on a random night. Then, last night on his show, Conan shared this gem:
It's commendable enough for someone in Hollywood to refrain from celebrating the professional misfortune of a peer, but that's also some impressive gift-giving. By comparison, and as long as his name came up, all Norm got Conan during that time was a crappy gift basket:
(by Bob Powers)