Whoopi Goldberg Opens Up About Friendships with Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve: 'They Were Rocks for Me'

Mar. 15, 2025

Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg and Christopher Reeve.Photo:Ethan Miller/Getty; Marleen Moise/Getty; Robin Platzer/getty

Ethan Miller/Getty; Marleen Moise/Getty; Robin Platzer/getty

Whoopi Goldbergopened up about friendships with the late actorsChristopher ReeveandRobin Williams.

“My friend Whoopi popped up,” Hostin, 55, said. “He directed Whoopi andGlenn Closein 1997’sIn the Gloaming, one of his first projects after the accident about the AIDS crisis … Whoopi, what do you remember working with Chris?”

Whoopi Goldberg on ‘The View’ on Sept. 19, 2024.The View/abc

The View/abc

“Well, I was shocked that he called me,” Goldberg, who is among the celebrities interviewed in the film, began. “I was like, ‘Are you sure?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, I want you.’ I was like, ‘Okay,’ ” she said. “He said, ‘Don’t you wanna know what it is?’ I said, ‘No. No. I don’t want to know. Whatever you want.’ ”

Reeve’s directorial debut also starred Robert Sean Leonard and Bridget Fonda. The made-for-television movie chronicled the final days of a young man, Danny (Leonard), who was diagnosed with late-stage AIDS.

Goldberg remarked on how fortunate she was to have Reeve and Williams as friends. “I was lucky enough to have Robin and Christopher in my life, yeah, and so to me, those two men were rocks. They were rocks for me,” she said.

“I didn’t see them all the time, but they were never far from my soul because they taught us how to actually figure out how to move forward,” Goldberg continued. “I just had the greatest time. Had the greatest time. I was lucky.”

“Robin was Dad’s best friend, and you show up for your friends,“Will previously told PEOPLE. “What shone through in that was just their love and respect for each other, and that never wavered.”

Christopher Reeve and Robin Williams at the People’s Choice Awards, March 1979.Fotos International/Frank Edwards/Getty Images

Fotos International/Frank Edwards/Getty Images

The documentary includes interviews with Goldberg,Susan Sarandon,Jeff Danielsand Close.Close, 77, spoke of Reeve and Williams’ friendshipin the documentary, noting, “I always felt that if Chris was still around, Robin would still be alive.”

Along with conversations with Reeve’s friends and family, there is archival footage of Williams and Reeve’s late wife Dana, whodied in 2006from lung cancer.

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The Viewairs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/PT on ABC.Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Storyis in select theaters on Sept. 21 and will have an encore presentation on Sept. 25, which would have been the actor’s 72nd birthday.

source: people.com