Glenn Close says Robin Williams would still be alive if Christopher Reeve hadn’t died
Actor Glenn Close has claims Robin Williams would still be alive had his fellow actor and friend Christopher Reeve not died back after suffering a cardiac arrest in 2004. Tragically, Williams died by suicide ten years later.
In a new documentary called Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, the inner workings and career of the late actor are explored. Reeve, famously known for playing Superman, had been paralysed after being thrown from a horse back in 1995.
During the film, Reeve’s friendship with Williams, who passed away after a battle with a misdiagnosed neurodegenerative disorder, is also explored. Following the Mrs. Doubtfire actor’s death, it was discovered that he had advanced stages of Lewy body dementia.
Close, the star of Fatal Attraction, has now suggested that Williams might not have lost his life were it not for the death of Reeve. “I always felt that if Chris was still around, Robin would still be alive,” she said in the documentary.
In 2017, Close had spoken of the pair’s friendship at the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s annual charity gala, noting, “It not only endured but became a life-giving force sustaining them both.”
Reeve would “literally swoop in, piloting his own plane, scoop Robin up, and away they would fly for the weekend” during their time on The World According to Gary.
“On Sunday, late afternoon, Chris would swoop back in and deliver Robin back – I have to say a little worse for wear. They were living the kind of fast and crazy life that our business can hand to you if you become a wildly famous phenomenon practically overnight,” she noted.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story recently premiered at Sundance Film Festival, leading to Discovery to purchase the streaming rights for $15million. A release date is yet to be revealed.
Ian Bonhote, who directed Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story with Peter Ettedgui, recently told Variety of the film: “Christopher said the one minority anyone can become part of in an instant is disability. We’re not trying to re-write Superman, but telling a story on how to approach an issue that society has turned its back on.”
Speaking in 2006, Williams said of his relationship with Reeve: “We were totally opposite — me coming from the West Coast and a junior college, and him from the hard-core Ivy League. He used to be the studly studly of all studlies, and I was the little fool ferret boy We clicked right away because we were exact opposites.”
In other Williams news, last year, his daughter Zelda, spoke out against “disturbing” AI technology used to recreate her father’s voice.
“I am not an impartial voice in SAG’s fight against AI,” Zelda wrote in a statement posted on Instagram Stories. “I’ve witnessed for YEARS how many people want to train these models to create/recreate actors who cannot consent, like Dad. This isn’t theoretical, it is very very real.”
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.