Sarah Michelle Gellar Celebrated Friend Robin Williams by Showing Mrs. Doubtfire to Her Kids
Sarah Michelle Gellar had a special way of honoring her friend Robin Williams on what would have been the actor’s 68th birthday.
The actress, 42, shared a sweet photo of herself alongside Williams on Instagram Sunday in which she wished the late comedian a happy birthday.
“Happy birthday #robinwilliams Grief takes everyone on a different path,” she wrote in the caption. “On my journey, I have finally reached the point, where when I think of you, instead of the rush of hot tears, I feel a huge smile spread across my face.”
She added, “I know how truly blessed I am to have been, even a small part, of your life. Tonight I’m going to show my kids #mrsdoutfire for the first time, and continue to keep both your memory and genius alive. You are beloved RW.”
Gellar and Williams starred in the 2013 sitcom The Crazy Ones, which was created by Big Little Lies showrunner David E. Kelley.
A post shared by Sarah Michelle (@sarahmgellar) on Jul 21, 2019 at 8:19am PDT
Williams died by suicide on Aug. 11, 2014. His son, Zak, opened up about about watching his father struggle with his mental health on Good Morning Britain.
“It was sad to see someone who was suffering so. As a family member and a child, you want to do everything you can to help soothe and ease what seemed to be intense personal pain,” he said of the comedian.
”And there were times where it felt like there was helplessness from my part, I didn’t know what I could do, or how I could be of the best support,” added the mental-health advocate, entrepreneur and Angel investor.
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“Amongst those people who were close to him, we all loved him so and found it difficult because he wasn’t always open to sharing his personal pain and struggle,” Zak said. “And we noticed that over a period of time.”
Zak, who welcomed son Mickey with fiancée Olivia June in May, revealed that the most difficult part was seeing his father continue to selflessly perform for others.
“It was heartbreaking because he still went out and wanted to share his feelings of laughter and humor with the world,” Zak said. “And while he was suffering and struggling, he still went out and performed. I admire him and loved him so, and having to share him was hard.”
Zak’s sister Zelda Williams has been open on social media about how she has dealt with losing their famous father.
“Everyone who has dealt with loss knows the pain of certain anniversaries, moments full of memory that come round like clockwork and usurp all others, no matter how hard you may try to prepare for or avoid them,” she captioned a father-daughter photo in July 2018, two days before what would have been Robin’s 67th birthday.
“If you’d like to do something in his honor, volunteer at your local homeless shelter, or look up how to make homeless aid backpacks. Give one in his name. He’d have loved that,” the actress said, tagging a few organizations: the Challenged Athletes Foundation, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and the Reeve Foundation.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “home” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
