Robin Williams loved Australia.
He loved Australians.
As soon as Williams heard an Australian accent, he'd go into overdrive, roll out his ocker routine and riff for minutes as if he were Bruce from Bondi rather than Robin from Chicago or Mork from Ork.
"G'daaaaaay maaaate," Williams, sticking out his big, meaty, hairy, right hand when I arrived at his Bel Air Hotel suite in 2004 to interview him for perhaps the darkest role of his career, Final Cut.
"Howsssitgoin? Alright mate?"
He'd deliver the same greeting over the years no matter the venue.
See ya, Robin. Welcome Bruce from Bondi.
Bruce did get Williams into trouble on one occasion, sparking an international incident.
It was 2010, when Williams was a guest on Dave Letterman's TV talkshow. He was riffing in ocker mode about our weird animals and joked how "Australians are basically English rednecks".
Then prime minister Kevin Rudd, on Melbourne talkback radio the next day, responded by telling Williams to "go and spend a bit of time in Alabama before he frames comments about anyone being particularly redneck".
Alabama Governor Bob Riley was told about Rudd's comments and then laid the boot into Rudd, issuing a statement asking if Rudd "has ever been to Alabama".
Williams thought the furore was hilarious.
The comedian's favourite Australian was Peter Weir, the great film director.
Williams and Weir made movie magic together in 1989's Dead Poets Society, a role that scored the duo Oscar nominations.
"I've spent a lot of time in Sydney with Peter at his home," Williams said on that day in Bel Air.
"It's a lovely place.
"They have the most beautiful saltwater pools around Sydney.
"Of course, you can't go in the ocean because there's things in there that will kill you, so you go in the pool.
"You ask one of the locals 'Why can't I go in the ocean? Why do I have to go in the pool?' and he'll say 'There's box jellyfish in there, great whites, sea snakes. But if you want to go in, you can'."
Many of the great comics have rollercoaster personalities.
They bring a crowd to tears by making them laugh, but when the spotlight is switched off they find themselves in a dark, tortured place.
It's no surprise to the people who knew Williams that his life ended too early at 63.
He may have been introduced to the world as zany alien Mork in the TV series Happy Days in 1978 and made the world laugh as the genie in Aladdin or Armand in The Bird Cage, but for the brilliant mind that struggled with drugs and depression, his creative comfort zone were the dark, creepy roles in One Hour Photo, Insomnia and Final Cut.
"In a weird kind of way I'm a loner even though I have a family and friends, but I grew up as an only child so I'm quite comfortable with that," Williams said.
"That's why cycling is such an important part of my existence because I can go off and ride for 50 miles and be very comfortable with that.
"People say 'Don't you ride with other people?'
"'No'.
"'Don't you want to?'
''No.'
"I grew up like that."
He credited the lonely childhood with developing his unique comedic mind.
"When you are an only child you develop a vivid and rapid imagination because you build a world," he said.
"For a while I lived in a big rented house where there weren't any other families nearby.
"I was like 'OK, I'm content where I can sit in a room by myself and create my own world'."
* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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