Robin Williams & Mel Gibson at a Crossroads

Posted by Mary Rayme Aug 10, 2006

It is interesting to note that Robin Williams and Mel Gibson are of a similar demographic: white, in their 50s, actors, funny guys, artists. I would consider Williams & Gibson artists because of their high achievement; in the field of acting for Mel, in the field of comedy for Robin.

So what are the similarities here and what are the differences? Robin Williams recently announced that he had started drinking again and is placing himself into rehab as a proactive measure. Mel Gibson went on a drunken binge and ended up on a racist tirade that was really ugly and embarrassing and something he will be backpeddling from for the rest of his days. But Mel has not announced he is going to rehab.

And is there a connection between being an artist and an alcoholic or substance abuser? There is a great article by Ilana Stanger at the New York Foundation for the Arts that discusses just this. One of the dangers that she discusses is that the stereotype of the tortured artist can inhibit artists from seeking help or others may be more tolerant of unhealthy behavior because they're just a wacky artist.

There is also a new edition of the classic Born Under Saturn by Rudolf and Margot Wittkower published by New York Review Books Classics. This is a great book with scholarly research into the lives of various artists and includes many anecdotes about suicide, celibacy, crime, miserliness, and more.

Even folks at Yale are discussing the connection between artists and insanity. One of the participants in a recent panel at Yale said that Aristotle was perhaps the first to make the connection between creativity and depression.

So what do you think? Have you observed a correlation between artists ( in this case actors) and madness and/or substance abuse or just plain old mental illness? As we learn more about DNA and the way our brains work I believe we will find a very scientific and chemical connection between the light of creativity and the dark of depression. In the meantime, I think Mel should consider Robin's brave choice to face his demons; perhaps Mel needs to consider admitting he has a problem.