Robin Williams: A genius remembered

World Today

FILE – This June 15, 2007 file photo shows actor and comedian Robin Williams posing for a photo in Santa Monica, Calif. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

When the news broke Monday, our D.C. newsroom experienced a palpable ripple of emotion. Some saw the breaking news alert before others, and there were a few moments of heightened scramble — that something big had happened, but what was it? — as the reality started to pass through.

Robin Williams was dead.

The outpouring of emotion and shock swept social media, late night comedy, and news programs. Memorials popped up, including the bench from one of the scenes in 1997’s Good Will Hunting — for which Williams won an Oscar. Even the U.S. Department of Interior paid tribute.

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His publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said in a statement that Williams, 63, had been “battling severe depression.”

“This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings,” Williams wife, Susan Schneider, said in a statement. “As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin’s death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions.”

U.S. President Barack Obama issued this statement:

Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien – but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit. He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most – from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets. The Obama family offers our condolences to Robin’s family, his friends, and everyone who found their voice and their verse thanks to Robin Williams.

So here, by way of tribute, are some of the CCTV America digital team’s favorite clips. It is by no means exhaustive.

What were your favorite Robin Williams moments? Let us know in the comments below.

Dead Poets Society: What will your verse be?

Good Will Hunting: I gotta see about a girl

Good Morning, Vietnam: This is not a test, this is rock and roll!

Dead Poets Society: Oh captain, my captain!

Mrs Doubtfire: Dude looks like a lady

Aladdin: Friend like me

The Birdcage: This is my wife

He was the top search of Google in 2014.