Books of Interest
Website: chetyarbrough.blog
“Robin”
By: Dave Itzkoff
Narrated By: Fred Berman
Dave Itzkoff (Author, American journalist, former culture reporter for the NYT.)
Dave Itzkoff produces an insightful and well written biography of Robin Williams. Robin Williams was a spectacular actor and comedic genius who brightened the lives of many while hiding a personal insecurity and a self-critical demon.
The author’s story is an audiobook delight because of its author and narrator. The narrator, Fred Berman, offers a reminder of Robin Williams incredible ability to entertain an audience with human observations and ethnic expressions that make one laugh.
Berman is not Robin, but he is enough of a mimic to help listeners understand the ways in which Robin was a genius. Itzkoff completes that categorization by explaining how Robin could read a script in one sitting and recite it verbatim at a next day’ rehearsal.
Williams became friends with famous future actors at Julliard.
Williams was admitted to Julliard as a promising actor. Julliard is noted for rigorous training, and imaginative daring. Julliard was an introduction to performance opportunities in New York city. However, his undisciplined character cost him the opportunity of graduating. Nevertheless, association with Julliard paid dividends in later years because of its reputation. One close friend was Christopher Reeves of Superman fame who, as is well known, became paralyzed later in life from a horse-riding accident. Reeves died in 2004, ten years before William’s suicide.
Williams was a father of two boys and a girl, born from two marriages. His first marriage ended after ten years with one child born in 1983, Zachary Williams. His second marriage to Marsha Garces lasts for two decades with the birth of a girl and boy, Zelda and Cody. Itzkoff implies both marriages end because of Robin’s self-critical demon. Robin lets the demon loose with insobriety. Drugs and alcohol magnify his fears and distort his relationship with others. Both marriages failed as alcohol and drugs entered, left, and reentered his life.
What was surprising to some who read this biography, were the number of movies Robin Williams worked in either as a lead or supporting actor.
Williams was in over 70 films, some of which became block busters. Some were duds but others received high acclaim. Among the most memorable were “Good Morning, Vietnam”, “Dead Poets Society”, “Awakenings”, “Mrs. Doubtfire” “Good Will Hunting”, and “Aladdin”. Some were bombs at the box office while these six had some negative reviews but blockbuster revenues. Williams received an Oscar for best supporting actor in “Good Will Hunting”.
Some think of Williams as a stand-up comic that reminds one of Jonathan Winters, a close friend of Robin’s.
Others remember the television show “Mork and Mindy” where Robin played a space alien coming to earth. The versatility of Williams is revelatory in Itzkoff’s biography. Itzkoff notes the many friends Williams had and how generous he was with his time and support of others. When Cristopher Reeve’s accident happened, the support offered by Williams is touchingly explained by Itzkoff.
Throughout the biography, a listener becomes aware of the destructive impact of drugs and alcohol on William’s life.
In his first marriage, William’s growing fame gave him access to all the cocaine he wanted. He comes to a realization that his addiction was out of control when John Belushi, his friend, dies in an overdose on the same night they were together. This was 1982. In 1988, his first wife, Valerie Velardi divorced him. In 1989, Williams married Marsha Garces.
Robin Williams’ demon does not disappear but becomes quiet in his mind as he becomes sober.
Williams life with Marsha broke him away from drugs and alcohol for several years. Williams and Marsha succeeded in having a daughter and son together. Marsha managed to get him away from the life of drugs and alcohol. The demon in Williams’ mind returned in the last years of his marriage to Marsha when he returned to drugs and alcohol. Williams hanged himself in 2014. He and his wife, Marsha were divorced. Sometime after his second divorce, Williams was married a third time.
A few months before his suicide, Williams was misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
It was found in autopsy that Williams had Lewy body dementia, a debilitating brain disease that is symptomatically similar to Parkinson’s. Williams’ demon was Lewy body dementia, a brain disorder that causes depression, anxiety, and paranoia. Clinically, LBD is caused by abnormal proteins. One wonders whether those abnormal proteins were always in Williams’ body. Were they always there or stimulated by his addictions? In any case, it was a sad ending to a remarkable human being.
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