Local Fans, Comics React To The Passing Of Robin Williams
By Diana Rocco
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- From everyday fans to professional comics, word of Robin Williams' apparent suicide is hitting hard.
Word spread quickly and for many it just didn't seem real. While Williams never spent a whole lot of time in Philadelphia, he certainly left his mark.
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"I can't believe it. And there is certainly no way that I think that he would commit suicide," fan Katie Marchese said.
"I'm really devastated. I just can believe. He gave so much to everyone," fan Deanna Marchese said.
The death of Robin Williams is weighing heavy on the minds of nearly everyone who's old enough to remember Mork & Mindy or seen one of his movies.
"Mrs. Doubtfire is my favorite, when he goes, 'It was a run-by fruiting,'" Deanna said.
"The idea that he is someone who is not around anymore is a big adjustment," Greg Maugham of Philly Improv Theater said.
In the comedy and improv world, Williams' death has hit hard. At Philly Improv Theater many stand-ups feel as though they've not only lost one of their industry's greatest minds, but a mentor.
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"Philly is a city where there is a huge growing comedy community, a lot of aspiring comedians, a lot of people who probably hoped at some point they'd have the chance to meet Robin Williams, tell him what he meant to them. And they're not going to have that opportunity anymore," Maugham said.
Philly gossip guy and celebrity photographer HughE Dillon got shots of Williams in New York City on many red carpet occasions. He says he always greeted him with a smile and treated him like a friend.
"He was such an approachable guy. He was a really nice, warm guy. If you didn't get the picture, he wanted to make sure you got the picture. He walked around New York City just like a regular guy. He would go to the same coffee shop every day. He was in the Village a lot. Sometimes we would just go see him just so we could say hi," Dillon said.
Visit CBS San Francisco for continuing coverage.
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