Kevin Pollak dedicates comedians documentary to late pal Robin Williams

Funnyman KEVIN POLLAK has dedicated his new documentary MISERY LOVES COMEDY to late pal ROBIN WILLIAMS because the tragic GOOD WILL HUNTING star exemplifies the struggle most comedians face in their lives.
Williams committed suicide while Pollak was editing the film, which features stars like Jimmy Fallon, Martin Short and Larry David talking about their highs and lows as comics, and he refused to go back to his subjects for tales about the late star – but he decided to dedicate the film to him.
The Usual Suspects star tells WENN, “Robin was a mentor of mine. We both started stand-up comedy in San Francisco, so when I was 20 and broke in that scene in 1978 he was already a made man from Mork & Mindy. He was a great, great mentor and a friend.
“So when I was filming (Misery Loves Comedy) we had to make a shooting schedule to lock into four consecutive five-day weeks and knowing who was available during that time that’s who would we get. Along that journey there were many people who just weren’t available; Robin being one of them. We spoke on the phone during filming on two different occasions, both an hour each time… There was no physical way for him to be in the film, which was frustrating for both of us.
“But he wanted me to know how much he wanted to be in the film, how much it meant to him that I was doing this topic and spoke a great deal about his own journey and misery and happiness and life and all of these things that lifelong friends talk about. People who knew him knew that he suffered from a form of clinical depression most of his life… and I just took these conversations to heart and will take them to my grave, in terms of their timeliness and importance.
“While I was editing he passed away and my producers asked if I wanted to take a crew and go around to some of the people in the movie and shoot new footage about how they felt about Robin’s passing. I felt very strongly that would be taking advantage of a horrible situation… (but) it became a no brainer to dedicate the film to him really out of loving memory and respect.”