Sarah Michelle Gellar’s tribute to Robin Williams has us all in tears
A year ago today, the world lost the beloved actor and comedian Robin Williams, and our hearts are still breaking. Since his death, people everywhere have continued to find ways to honor Williams’ memory. Just last month, Williams’ home state approved a bill to rename a tunnel in Tiburon, California, in his honor. Now, on the one-year anniversary of his death, the tributes are still as heartbreaking and beautiful.
This morning, Sarah Michelle Gellar, took to Instagram to remember her former costar on the one-year anniversary of his death. Williams and Gellar starred on the CBS comedy The Crazy Ones, together. On the show, Williams played Gellar’s father, Simon, an advertising executive. While the show only lasted one season, the strength of the relationship Williams and Gellar formed has continued even after his death.
On Instagram, Gellar posted a photo of the bench from Good Will Hunting — which since his death has become a makeshift tribute to the actor.
The caption on Gellar’s photo includes this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson, “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of the intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the beauty in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that one life has breathed easier because you lived here. This is to have succeeded.”
She ended the post with her own words, “You succeeded RW.”
Gellar has been singing Robin’s praises for years. Before The Crazy Ones aired, Gellar spoke to PEOPLE back in July 2013 about the opportunity to work on show with such an iconic actor and man.
“You get lucky to work with a legendary comic and you get lucky if you get to work with an Academy Award winner and Juilliard-trained actor. I get to work with a guy who is not only talented but so kind and he understands the dilemma that I find being caught between my home life and my professional life and he couldn’t be more caring. My joke is that I didn’t actually apply to be on the show. I applied for Robin to adopt me.”
And adopt her he did. Following his death, Gellar spoke to PEOPLE again about the man she had come to see as family.
“My life is a better place because I knew Robin Williams,” Gellar said. “To my children he was Uncle Robin, to everyone he worked with, he was the best boss anyone had ever known, and to me he was not just an inspiration but he was the Father I had always dreamed of having. There are not enough adjectives to describe the light he was, to anyone that ever had the pleasure to meet him. I will miss him everyday, but I know the memory of him will live on. And to his family, I thank them for letting us know him and seeing the joy they brought him. Us crazy ones love you.”
Us Gigglers love you too, Williams. Our hearts go out to everyone suffering on this day of remembrance.
How Robin Williams helped me feel closer to my father
[Image via Facebook, A Band Apart]