Robin Williams remembered by best friend Bobcat Goldthwait
In a Yahoo exclusive, on the one-year anniversary of Robin Williams’s death, Yahoo Global News anchor Katie Couric sat down with someone who called the comedic genius his “best friend,” comedian and director Robert “Bobcat” Goldthwait.
Goldthwait told Couric, “I knew the anniversary was coming up. I didn’t realize it was going to hit me as hard as it did.”
Goldthwait opened up about his decades-long relationship with Williams, their unlikely initial encounter in the kitchen of a comedy club in the 1980s and the friendship they fostered over the years.
He said, “In regards to my own friendship, you know, he was one of the biggest stars in the world and he was always concerned about my career and always acted like we were peers, when in no way … you know, I knew the reality.”
Goldthwait continued, “He was so kind. His generosity for the people around him was amazing, but you know if you met him, he would make you laugh, but he would also laugh at what you had to say.”
About his final conversations with Williams, Goldthwait said, “We spoke all the time. We texted all the time. I never got off the phone without saying ‘I love you.’ And he would say, ‘I love you.’ I do know the last thing we said to each other.”
Goldthwait’s new documentary about another comedic genius Barry Crimmins, “Call Me Lucky,” is dedicated to Williams, as it was Williams who had encouraged Goldthwait to make the film, and even gave him the initial financing for the project.
Summing up, Goldthwait recalled, “Robin’s view of the world was full of wonder and mine was always this dark cloud of sarcasm and cynicism, [yet] the two of us still were friends.” He continued, “The amount of love and kindness that I’ve been shown from everyone, from strangers and people who knew him, it kind of softened me up a little bit, and I think it was the last gift my very generous friend gave me.”
