This YouTube interview (Piers Morgan interviewing Robin Williams) focuses on Williams' experiences with alcoholism, cocaine use, relapsing after a long period of sobriety, and his time in rehab. Key points in this chunk: Williams says he was "dry for 20 years," later relapsed while in Alaska, attended rehab "in wine country," describes alcohol-related blackouts as a kind of sleepwalking, and recalls stopping drug use on his own because he was about to become a father. The interview also references the impact of friend John Belushi's overdose.
Questions this video answers
20 years.
In "wine country."
Because he was about to have a son and didn't want to be using drugs while becoming a father.
You're not easy on yourself in this show, are you?
No. You know, as an alcoholic, I talk about, you know, some warning signs, you know, like DUIs in a cul de sac, things like that. The idea of, you know, have you been through it to talk about it and see, like, you know, this is what you go through. Heart surgery, you know, alcoholism. I went to rehab in wine country just to keep my options open. And the idea of, you know, these are things you got to talk about.
Well, you had. You got your own vineyard.
Yes. That's like Gandhi owning a delicatessen. Yeah. What are you doing? This is not for my consumption.
So you were dry for 20 years.
Yes.
Why did you fall off?
I was in a little town in Alaska. It wasn't the end of the world, but you can see it from there. And it was like, all of a sudden, I thought I could drink. It's also that same thought you have if you look off a large building and go, I can fly. And within a week, it was, like, gone, you know, and now, you know, I realize I can't. So that was the gift, you know.
How vividly can you remember falling into the trap in the first place with cocaine and alcohol?
I don't vividly remember anything from that. It's like there is this thing for alcoholics called a blackout, which isn't really a blackout. It's more like sleepwalking with activities. And I believe it's your conscience going into a witness protection program going, you're about to have sex with a hobbit. I've got to go now. Good luck. I'm checking out. I'm leaving the body on. But we're not going to remember anything. Good luck to you. Take care.
But do you remember getting into it?
Getting into it? No.
Was it a gradual thing?
It was very gradual. And you're off. You know, you're off and running. And then the alcohol kicked in and decided. And then eventually you realized, I can't. I remember stopping it on my own because I was about to have a son, and I didn't want to be coked up going, hey, dad loves you. Here's a little switch. I'm going to throw up on you. You know, you don't want to be like that. And I had to kind of go, But I did it alone. So that was why it was, you know, 20 years without any help.
Of course, there are people who would say, why did you ever need cocaine?
Yeah, it's a bit redundant.
You're as fast without it as the heaviest cocaine addict, would you?
Yeah, yeah. It's that weird thing, but I think I did it because it would actually allow me not to talk. It was like, you know, reverse medication. You know why they give Ritalin to hyperactive children? Is that idea of kind of, oh, okay, I don't have to talk to people. It kind of shuts you down, which is a, you know, word. Self medication.
And I've read that your friend John Belushi's death from.
From an overdose was that scares you.
A bit of a rude shock for you.
Totally. And that. But more importantly, my son, I think that was the beginning of kind of, you know, thinking outside the box of, you've got a responsibility and it's more than you.
How hard was it to break the grip the second time around?
Not hard once you go to rehab. I mean, rehab is. Yeah, that's the beginning of kind of, you know, the idea is you got to surrender. You got to just say, I can't do it. Because, you know, I went to rehab with a lot of doctors and psychiatrists. The more intelligent you think you are, the harder it is to let go. You think, I got a solution. I'll just drink a little bit. It's like saying, I'll just partially circumcise myself. I'll be fine. And then you have to go, nope, you lose. You can't do it. You need help. And at that point, that's the beginning. And then, you know, once you do that, you're out and run.
