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Sally Field tells Robin Williams a story that will break your heart

Sally Field tells Robin Williams a story that will break your heart

Sally Field tells a very personal story about the late Robin Williams.

Field remembered her fellow actor fondly in a Vanity Fair article published online Monday, saying he was so “sensitive and intuitive” that he changed the shooting order of 1993’s “Mrs. Doubtfire” for her.

“I’ve never shared this story before,” Field said in the piece, an oral history of Williams’ life and career.

“I was in the camper outside the courtroom where we were shooting the divorce scene. My father had had a stroke a few years before and was in a nursing home. I got a call from the doctor saying my father had died, a massive stroke.”

Field recalls making the heartbreaking decision to take her father off life support before returning to the set and “trying to act with all my might.” Though Field said she didn’t cry, Williams seemed to know something was wrong — and took her aside to ask what it was.

When she told him, Williams said, “Oh my God, we have to get you here right away.”

“And he delivered — they were shooting around me the rest of the day,” Field told Vanity Fair. “I was able to go back to my house, call my brother, and make arrangements. It’s a side of Robin that people rarely knew: He was very sensitive and intuitive.”

Actors Robin Williams (left) and Sally Field are pictured at a 2008 event in Los Angeles.Actors Robin Williams (left) and Sally Field are pictured at a 2008 event in Los Angeles.

Actors Robin Williams (left) and Sally Field are pictured at a 2008 event in Los Angeles. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Williams committed suicide in 2014 at the age of 63. An autopsy later revealed that he had a progressive brain disease called Lewy body dementia, which can affect sleep, movement and cognitive abilities.

Loved ones and fans were shocked by his death. Williams was still a working actor at the time and — with a long career filled with heartfelt performances in films like “Good Will Hunting” and “Dead Poets Society” — was a cherished and seemingly wholesome father figure.

“I feel so stunned and sad for Robin,” Field said at the time. “He always had a light when he could make people laugh, and he made them laugh his whole life — tirelessly.”

She added: “He was one of a kind. There will be no other. Please God, let him rest in peace now.”

Read more at Vanity Fair.

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