O Captain, My Captain! - Part One
The apparent suicide of Robin Williams has really hit me hard in the last few hours. He was a great comedian and actor and a good spirit who brought joy to millions of people over the years. Why his death has hit me so hard is why I am sitting here writing a blog post at 4am.
I remember Williams going back to the late 1970s--yes I'm that old--when he first appeared as the alien Mork on Happy Days. [Now how many of you remember the fact that Mork made his first appearance on that show? I'm such a wealth of useless information.] I loved watching Mork & Mindy and loved going "nanu, nanu" to all of my friends at the time. While I never had the opportunity to watch him perform live, I had seen quite a bit of his standup over the years on HBO specials, of which his "LIVE on Broadway" from 2002 was my favorite. His earlier work was plagued with tales of drugs and alcohol, which seemed fitting for the late 70s/early 80s, but he had more mature content as he grew older and entered into the 21st century.
While some consider him more for his comedic roles, I will always remember him for his serious acting. He did win an Oscar for his supporting role in Good Will Hunting, but that was not my favorite role. That accolade goes to his portrayal of the English teacher, John Keating, in Dead Poets Society. In my mind he not only won me over as a serious actor with that role but he had a much greater impact on me than I ever expected he would: that character helped to create my classroom persona as a professor. Because of that character and his portrayal of it, I have found myself standing on desks--well, in the age before camera phones--pushing my students to think outside the box, and foster a love of learning. It is amazing how one movie can have such an impact on one's life. [Remind me to tell you about how Regarding Henry changed my life as well one day.]
My favorite scene of all time will always be the end of DPS where Keating is leaving the classroom and the students one by one stand up on their desks saying "O Captain! My Captain!" Not only does it bring a tear to my eyes each and every time I see it, but I hope that some day I will have the respect and appreciation from my students that Keating had in that scene.
Today is a day to see that scene yet once again. While Keating is leaving the classroom for good in it, today it represents Williams leaving this world. Like Keating, Williams was the outcast, the "different" one to many in a conservative society and yet he touched the hearts of millions and made a difference in so many ways from his charity work with Comic Relief and St. Jude's Children's Hospital to just bringing joy to those who watched him do standup or act.
Today I stand on my desk and loudly proclaim "O Captain! My Captain!" to you Mr. Williams:
Good bye my friend. I hope you have found the peace that you were so desperately seeking, but please know that you will always be missed.
I remember Williams going back to the late 1970s--yes I'm that old--when he first appeared as the alien Mork on Happy Days. [Now how many of you remember the fact that Mork made his first appearance on that show? I'm such a wealth of useless information.] I loved watching Mork & Mindy and loved going "nanu, nanu" to all of my friends at the time. While I never had the opportunity to watch him perform live, I had seen quite a bit of his standup over the years on HBO specials, of which his "LIVE on Broadway" from 2002 was my favorite. His earlier work was plagued with tales of drugs and alcohol, which seemed fitting for the late 70s/early 80s, but he had more mature content as he grew older and entered into the 21st century.
While some consider him more for his comedic roles, I will always remember him for his serious acting. He did win an Oscar for his supporting role in Good Will Hunting, but that was not my favorite role. That accolade goes to his portrayal of the English teacher, John Keating, in Dead Poets Society. In my mind he not only won me over as a serious actor with that role but he had a much greater impact on me than I ever expected he would: that character helped to create my classroom persona as a professor. Because of that character and his portrayal of it, I have found myself standing on desks--well, in the age before camera phones--pushing my students to think outside the box, and foster a love of learning. It is amazing how one movie can have such an impact on one's life. [Remind me to tell you about how Regarding Henry changed my life as well one day.]
My favorite scene of all time will always be the end of DPS where Keating is leaving the classroom and the students one by one stand up on their desks saying "O Captain! My Captain!" Not only does it bring a tear to my eyes each and every time I see it, but I hope that some day I will have the respect and appreciation from my students that Keating had in that scene.
Today is a day to see that scene yet once again. While Keating is leaving the classroom for good in it, today it represents Williams leaving this world. Like Keating, Williams was the outcast, the "different" one to many in a conservative society and yet he touched the hearts of millions and made a difference in so many ways from his charity work with Comic Relief and St. Jude's Children's Hospital to just bringing joy to those who watched him do standup or act.
Today I stand on my desk and loudly proclaim "O Captain! My Captain!" to you Mr. Williams:
Good bye my friend. I hope you have found the peace that you were so desperately seeking, but please know that you will always be missed.
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