WE have witnessed yet again the untimely passing of yet another Hollywood icon.

Robin Williams was a genuinely funny artist who, without doubt, was one of the finest multi-talented actors of ours or any generation.

I have never watched a movie where his talent didn’t shine and his performance was less than 100 per cent.

No matter what the subject matter - The Fisher King, Good Morning Vietnam, Mrs Doubtfire, the list is endless - this prince of the a golden screen shone brighter than any star.

Many of us have found ourselves in dark places but somewhere, something stops us from doing something some would say foolish.

Some of us know about the disbelief and the heartache felt by the loss of someone close to us.

But when they have extinguished the light of life by their own hand this feeling is not just one of grief and disbelief but the numb helplessness feeling of not being able to stop the inevitable. This is the most unbearable thing anyone will ever experience.

I know by my own family’s experience that those left behind life can never be the same and the question ‘why’ is never really answered.

Some ignorant people say suicide is the coward’s way out. But, in most cases, in the poor soul’s tortured mind suicide is the only answer.

Love and God bless,

John Cumberland, Rushyford.

IT WAS so sad to hear the news about Robin Williams.

The American actor and stand-up comedian was always a joy to watch on the TV screen, and he never failed to make us laugh.

An American friend of mine once told me that a lady was a couple of dollars short for paying for her food in a supermarket in Redwood City. A man who was in the queue stepped forward to help out and paid for all her shopping.

It turned out to be Robin Williams.

It’s not often that we hear of such kindness.

Like millions of others, I grew up watching Mork and Mindy, and I would always rush home from school to watch it, but it was his movie roles in The Birdcage, Good Morning Vietnam and The Dead Poets Society that I found his trademark humour so amusing, where his wonderful wit came across on screen in the cinemas of the world.

Unfortunately, many people who have such a madcap sense of humour have a dark side that is hidden away from the public. They silently suffer from personal problems.

Robin Williams was hysterical and I hope that it’s his unique style of comedy that will always be remembered and not the reason behind his death.

Goodnight, ‘Oh Captain, my Captain’.

You will be sorely missed.

Christopher Wardell, Darlington.