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Comedian Robin Williams made quite an impact during his long career both on stage and in film/television. Following the news of his untimely passage Monday, a number of fellow comedians who have performed in Las Vegas over the years recounted their own positive relationships with the funny man.
Williams, who had battled substance abuse, was found dead in his Tiburon, California home. He was 63. Coroner investigators suspect "the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia," according to a statement from the Marin County, California, Sheriff's Office.
The legendary comedian Jerry Lewis learned the news of the death of comic great Robin Williams this afternoon while Lewis was watching CNN from his Las Vegas home, the Sun reported on Tuesday.
His wife Sam told the Las Vegas Sun, “He is too devastated to even talk about it.”
Scott Thompson, who headlines at the Luxor as Carrot Top, recounted with the Sun how devastated he was upon hearing the news Monday.
“I just heard this, and I am heartbroken. Robin Williams was one of the most beloved and respected comics ever. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like him.”
Thompson first met Williams at a Clinton Foundation fundraiser in Los Angeles a number of years ago.
He was one of the entertainers that night, with Whoopi Goldberg, and he was very quiet, very shy,” Thompson said. “I was looking at him from across the table, like any fan would, and he was so quiet. But when they introduced him, he was manic. He was on fire. I went, ‘Wow, he really saves it all for the stage.’ “
“I’m asked this all the time, who my influences have been, and he is on that short list,” said Thompson. “Robin Williams, George Carlin, Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Jonathan Winters. In that top group.”
Penn Jillette of the comedy/magic team Penn & Teller at the Rio met Williams in the ’70s in San Francisco and appared with Williams in the “Comic Relief” charity shows to benefit the homeless
In an email, Jillette told the Sun, “Through all the sadness, we owe it to Robin to remember how funny he was. That matters.”
Williams himself had performed in Vegas over the years, most recently at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in May of 2008. He will be truly missed.
- Jordan Bach, Gambling911.com
