It is still hard to write this, and thus I’m going to make it short.
For people of my age, Robin Williams will never be just a comedian. He felt like a member of our family. He was our favorite grandmother (Mrs. Doubtfire), teacher (Dead Poet Society), our very best friend (Genie, Aladdin), and he never failed to make us laugh and inspire us at the exact same time.
His work on the stage was unparalleled in terms of energy and improvisation, famously using props from the audience to go on long, stream-of-consciousness tangents or jumping between impressions with the swiftness of Barry Allen. He did high-brow, he did low-brow, he could be clever and stupid at the same time. There was no topic, or object, or concept that Robin couldn’t make funny.
Trying to sell Robin Williams feels a little bit like trying to convince people that oxygen is good.
He is a no-doubt, all-time, first-ballot-hall-of-fame comedian. One of the funniest people who ever lived, if this list were allowed to consider material outside of stand-up he might well find himself all the way at the very top. It still hurts that he is gone but Robin WIlliams left behind a world of memories so that he never has to be far from our hearts.