Marc Piscotty/Getty ImagesRobin Williams will be sorely missed by his family, friends and the many, many fans who felt like they knew him through his work.
Shortly after news broke Monday about the 63-year-old actor's tragic death, shrines and tributes began to pop up honoring his performances. The Boulder, Colo., home used in the sitcom Mork & Mindy was covered with flowers and "You will be missed, Mork" signs, while the Good Will Hunting bench in Boston was turned into a memorial with quotes from the Oscar-winning movie written in chalk.
@MeredithFrost Stirring tribute at the bench where Robin Williams & Matt Damon had "the talk" in Good Will Hunting. pic.twitter.com/JPGWpkG0dO
? Plunkett Prime Props (@PlunkettPrime) August 12, 2014Those lines? "Sorry guys, I went to see about a girl," and "Your move, chief,"—both of which come from the famed Good Will Hunting scene during which Williams and co-star Matt Damon have that tear-jerking heartfelt chat. A fan in the area, Nicholas Rabchenuk, and his girlfriend were two of the first people to head to the Public Garden bench to set up an impromptu tribute, something he told the Hollywood Reporter he hopes "catches on" with more pop-up memorials around the world.
Hollywood's Laugh Factory marquee lit up in tribute to Williams, too, even drawing upon something he said in an 2001 taping of "Inside the Actors Studio" (excerpted by Today). Back then, James Lipton asked the comedian, "If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?"
Williams made a joke about Mozart and Elvis Presley, then said, "If heaven exists, to know that there's laughter. That would be a good thing. Just to hear God go, 'Two Jews walk into a bar...'"
His heavenly hope wasn't forgotten at Hollywood's Laugh Factory, with its marquee lit up with the words, "Robin Williams Rest in Peace/Make God Laugh."
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