Christopher Reeve's Family Remembers Robin Williams

Christopher Reeve's family remembers Robin Williams as one of their dad's closest friends. Christopher and Robin were college roommates and classmates at Julliard in 1973. Their friendship spanned decades until Christopher's death in 2004.

In a statement, the family writes,

"The Reeve family, like many, will remember Robin for the humor, energy and brightness he brought into our lives through the screen. We will cherish him, though, for the quiet and unwavering support he showed our family through the hardest times. The world knew Robin as a comedic titan, but to our family, he was simply one of our Dad's dearest friends. From the moment they were classmates at Juilliard, their friendship transformed into a brotherhood that was built on a mutual admiration for the theater, the arts and, most importantly, laughter."

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After Christopher had a horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him quadriplegic, Robin visited him in the hospital and made him laugh. Christopher said, "My old friend had helped me know that somehow I was going to be okay."

In an interview with Barbara Walters, Christopher told her that he wanted to die until his despair was lifted by an unexpected visit from Robin at this time. The 1996 autobiography Still Me by Christopher recounts Robin showing up at the hospital pretending to be a Russian proctologist who was going to perform a rectal exam on him.

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Making him laugh and so many others, the Reeves expressed how much Robin meant to them, "But beyond the gift of laughter, he gave our family and the Reeve Foundation the gift of his simple, steadfast friendship. It's a gift we'll treasure forever."

Watch ET's last interview with Robin Williams.