Being Robin, a movie described as “a love letter to Robin Williams” by filmmaker/performer Roger Kabler, was shown at The Cabot in Beverly on Saturday.
“Shortly after Robin’s passing, I was overcome by the feeling that I was possessed by his spirit. It was a remarkable experience that I still can’t explain. I made this movie as a sort of biography, which was pretty wild – and to try to understand what happened to me,” Kabler said.
As a teenager, Kabler was inspired by Robin Williams and decided to follow in his footsteps. By the 1980s and 1990s, Kabler was established in Hollywood as an actor and comedian, including appearances with Carol Burnett, The Tonight Show, and in movies such as Clueless.
But his career came to a crashing halt, resulting in a nervous breakdown, which is depicted in the film. Kabler left show business for many years, vowing to never return.
“But, when Robin passed, it all changed.” Kabler said in a recent interview, “First he showed up in dreams. Then when I was awake, images of him kept flashing in my mind and talking to me. At times I felt his presence so strongly, I felt possessed by him – involuntarily behaving like him. Alone or in front of people, with no warning, Robin would leap out and comment on what was going on, hijacking my mind and my body, sometimes hilariously and inappropriately. At moments I felt him experiencing life through me.”
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