Robin Williams Had Early Stage Parkinson's
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
SATURDAY, AUGUST 16, 2014 Robin Williams had early stage Parkinson’s ollywood actor Robin Williams, found dead this week after Robin wanted us to laugh and to feel less afraid.”His greatest an apparent suicide, was suffering from depression and legacy, besides his three children, is the joy and happiness he Hthe early stages of Parkinson’s disease, his wife said offered to others, particularly to those fighting personal battles,” Thursday. The beloved comedian’s personal assistant found she added. Williams hanging from his belt in a bedroom of his California home on Monday, sparking speculation about his long public bat- A neurological disease tle with addiction. Parkinson’s is a disease that affects nerve cells in the part of But Susan Schneider, issuing a statement through an agency, the brain that controls muscle movement, causing tremors and said the 63-year-old’s most recent problems had been with his muscle rigidity, as well as problems with balance and coordina- mental health and with Parkinson’s, a degenerative nerve disor- tion. Researchers are still trying to unravel the causes of the dis- der. “It is our hope in the wake of Robin’s tragic passing, that oth- ease, which shows up more often in men than women. There is ers will find the strength to seek the care and support they need no cure-though there are treatments available to mitigate the to treat whatever battles they are facing so they may feel less symptoms. Typically, the disorder first appears after age 60, afraid,” she said. though in rare cases onset can be sooner-as was the case for actor “Robin’s sobriety was intact and he was brave as he struggled Michael J Fox, who has become an outspoken advocate for with his own battles of depression, anxiety as well as early stages Parkinson’s awareness, and was diagnosed in 1991 at age 30. of Parkinson’s Disease, which he was not yet ready to share pub- Fox went public with his diagnosis in 1998 and slowed his licly.” The coroner of Marin County, outside San Francisco, has work load. However, he has continued to take on television and opened an inquiry into the death, but has confirmed it as a sus- film roles, including “The Michael J Fox Show,” for which he was pected suicide, pending toxicology reports. nominated for a Golden Globe this year. Former boxing champion “Robin spent so much of his life helping others,” Schneider Muhammad Ali also famously suffers from Parkinson’s Disease, In this April 21, 1996 file photo, Robin Williams reads ‘Stinky said. “Whether he was entertaining millions on stage, film or tele- and in recent appearances has been visibly disabled by the symp- Cheese’ to a group of children during a special children’s pro- vision, our troops on the frontlines or comforting a sick child- toms, including difficulty speaking.—AP gram at the new main library in San Francisco. — AP ‘World of Warcraft’ ‘Power Rangers’ to create Robin film set for July 2016 iding the crest of 1990s nostalgia that just catapulted Williams character “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” to the top of the box Roffice, Lionsgate has announced the release date for its ate Hollywood actor Robin Williams will live on in the upcoming reboot of the massive “Power Rangers” franchise. kingdom of Azeroth after “World of Warcraft” said The studio is targeting July 22, 2016 for the release of the film. LThursday that he would be honored as a character in the A script by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz has been turned in, popular video game. Williams, a renowned comedian and avid but the studio has not yet found a director or cast for the proj- gamer, was known to be a fan of the online fantasy role-play- ect. The original incarnation of the popular series, called ing game. He was found dead Monday of an apparent suicide “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,” debuted in 1993 and quickly at the age of 63. became a national phenomenon. It was the story of a group of “We haven’t decided, but it will most likely be a character high school kids who gain superpowers, making them masters inspired by him or some of his favorite roles of the past,” lead of martial arts and able to pilot massive interconnecting game designer Ion Hazzikostas was cited by local media as robots, a la “Voltron.” saying during a Los Angeles event unveiling the game’s fifth The series has been in continual production for the past edition, “World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor.” Williams two decades, debuting its latest incarnation in February 2014. had even named his daughter Zelda in reference to It has taken on different titles and casts, like “Power Rangers Nintendo’s “Legend of Zelda” game. “@robinwilliams Thank Zeo,” “Power Rangers Ninja Storm,” and the current “Power you. You gave us so much joy in our lives, and we hope you Rangers Super Megaforce.” Creator Haim Saban is a producer enjoyed your time in our world. We’ll see you in-game,” World on the new film, along with Brian Casentini, Allison Shearmur In this file photo from Thursday, Oct 7, 2010, actor Robin of Warcraft’s official Twitter page said on Tuesday. — AFP and Roberto Orci. With 20-plus years worth of stories to tap Williams hugs San Francisco Giants mascot Lou Seal during into, look for Lionsgate to be pushing for a “Power Rangers” the first inning of Game 1 of baseballís National League big-screen franchise.—Reuters Division Series in San Francisco.—AP ‘The Trip to Italy’ review: Coogan and Brydon serve up more delicious mid-life crises n 2010’s “The Trip,” writer-director Michael who had a misbegotten fling in the previous the way, but they’re both fictional characters play them - there’s a through-line of middle-aged Winter bottom sent actor-comedians Steve movie, this time it’s Brydon - with a wife and baby played by actors. (Brydon actually has several chil- anxiety and a longing for the freedom of youth. ICoogan and Rob Brydon (playing “themselves”) at home - who carries on with a pretty British expat dren; Coogan has a daughter in real life, but no The trade-off, “The Trip to Italy” seems to imply, is on a scenic tour of the British countryside, where (Rosie Fellner) who’s crewing a boat in Italy. son.) From Brydon’s infidelity to both men’s fre- that even if getting older can be a drag, at least the the two chums ate extraordinary gourmet meals, Winterbottom and cinematographer James Clarke quent Alanis Morissette sing-alongs in their rented meals get much, much better.—Reuters performed dueling Michael Caine impersonations, use the gloss of both food porn and travel porn to Mini - they brought along Rossini CDs but never and revealed their soft underbellies of professional occasionally distract us from the darker elements of jealousy and male menopause-inspired bad deci- the story, in the same way that Coogan and Brydon sions. will turn to humor to lighten up their roiling inner The band has gotten back together for “The Trip conflicts. In this case, however, both the sugar coat- to Italy,” and everything has amplified: instead of ing and the bitter pill are a treat. just Caine, our stars impersonate all the major cast Again, Coogan and Brydon are playing charac- members of “The Dark Knight Rises”; the restau- ters with their own names and their own profes- rants are now in sunny Italy, with a journey that sional credits, but this isn’t a documentary. Coogan heads to the breathtaking vistas of Capri and the introduced the awful - or more awful, perhaps - ver- Amalfi Coast; and “Coogan” and “Brydon” are a lit- sion of himself in Winterbottom’s “Tristram Shandy: tle older but apparently no wiser. A Cock and Bull Story,” and he never goes out of his Both films play on the fact that Brydon is more way to make “himself” more likable. Brydon match- beloved among British TV fans while Coogan is a es him quip for quip throughout, and while he’s the bigger name in the US, but “Italy” raises the idea of lesser-known quantity on these shores, he very Brydon getting to audition for a role in a Michael handily holds his own, even as his actions become Mann movie, the prospect of which makes Coogan less and less defensible. fairly squirm with envy. And while it was Coogan We see Brydon’s wife and Coogan’s son along.