Although the final act by this supremely gifted comic and dramatic actor was a deeply tragic one, for most of us it is not the sum total of his life, not what we will remember as his greatest legacy.
For me, personally, it’s not even the impressive body of funny, moving, profound work he did over a long and productive career … nor even the joy and laughter and hope he brought to untold millions.
In the coming weeks, I am sure that much will be written about those things by people who are far more qualified to analyze them for their lasting impact on us as individuals and on the larger culture. I leave it to the experts to eulogize the invaluable contributions he made to the dramatic arts.
No, for me personally, the totality of his legacy can be summed up in his eyes: blue and gentle, they shone with a lovingkindness that seemed to include everyone in the world, however anonymous or petty or undeserving we might be. It was his eyes that I will remember.
What will you remember him for? Feel free to share your thoughts below.
Ann Graham Price 
I have to agree with you Ann. His eyes were a shining example of the expression “windows to the soul”. He exuded warmth, and as you said, kindness, gentleness, warmth and love. That “manic” disposition of his was such that it made feel that he had so much in his heart that if he didn’t share it, it just might burst. Those eyes didn’t miss a thing either, I thought he was very wise and observant. I thought he was brilliant, not just comedically, but about life and people. Even as a youngster watching him as Mork, as silly as that sounds, I was struck by the character’s observations of the human animal and felt that so much of what he was saying wasn’t really Mork at all, but him. I felt that the words , the “lessons” if you will, weren’t from the writer’s but from Robin himself. He had always seemed an old soul to me, not in a bad way, but someone that just understood how precious…and finite….life is and who was trying to get us to see it and to learn and love and appreciate what was truly important. He was one of those celebrities that I would love to have met and shared a quiet talk with.
And I really wanted to give him a hug. I really did. I just always felt like that that was something he would have appreciated.
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I think you’re right about the hug, Cheryl. I’ll bet he would have loved that.
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