“I just can’t afford” – Robin Williams lost millions of dollars in the final years of his life

By
Monica Pop
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A genuinely loving person with a heart of gold, late Robin Williams, the iconic actor and comedian, left this world way too early, but he left incredible legacy behind.

Williams was born in 1951 in Chicago. As a child, few could have guessed that he would embark on a career that would make him one of the greatest actors there are. When he graduated from high school, he was voted by his classmate “Most Likely Not to Succeed,” but also the “Funniest” one.

One thing Williams was always very aware of was that he wanted to pursue a career as an actor, so he dropped from the Claremont Men’s College in California where he studied political science and enrolled at a community college where he studied theater for three years. This helped him get a full scholarship to the Juilliard School in New York and it didn’t take long before everyone there realized that Williams was something special.

Robin Williams performs at the Universal Amphitheater on July 1, 1979. Tony Barnard/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

”I first knew he was more talented than the other kids when he played Fagin in ‘Oliver!’ We were having light board issues and by midnight had only made it through half the musical. At one point he started talking to a baton he was carrying, and the baton talked back. It cut the tension and he had people laughing in hysterics. I remember calling my wife at 2 a.m. and telling her that this young man was going to be something special,” one of the drama professors, James Dunn, told The Marin Independent Journal in 2014.

Despite his immense talent, he didn’t get an acting job after graduating from the prestigious school. It was during the mid 70’s when he returned to San Francisco that he first tried himself as a stand-up comedian, something that fascinated him at the time.

Robin Williams backstage before performance.; circa 1970; New York. Photo by Art Zelin/Getty Images

Williams had his big breakthrough with the sitcom Mork & Mindy, a spin-off of Happy Days, where Williams had a very successful guest role in an episode.

Mork & Mindy was a huge success from the start and it was Williams’ incredible acting and his ability to change his voice and attitude smoothly that played a huge part in that.

Williams was reported to had earned $6,000-a-week at the beginning, but ended being paid $75,000-a-week when the series’ popularity reached its peak.

What followed were some iconic movies which are still popular until this very day such as Good Morning Vietnam and Dead Poets Society, which helped him find his place under the Hollywood sky, Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, Hook, Jumanji, and Good Will Hunting, among the many.

Wikipedia Commons / John Mathew Smith 2001

Aladdin grossed $500 million worldwide box office, and Disney used Williams’ voice in order to do merchandising, something the actor specifically stated he didn’t want them to do. As a result, he didn’t work with Disney for many years.

“Not only did they use my voice, they took a character I did and overdubbed it to sell stuff. That was the one thing I said: ‘I don’t do that.’ That was the one thing where they crossed the line,” the actor explained on the Today Show.

Robin Williams at “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” at the NBC Studios in Burbank, Ca. Thursday, Sept. 12, 2002. Photo by Kevin Winter/ImageDirect.

Williams’ movies grossed about $5.1 billion worldwide. He, however, experienced financial issues towards the end of his life mostly due to the two pricey divorces he went through. Reports were that the late actor was forced to pay both his exes around $30 million in total.

Asked whether he had lost all his money in divorces, Williams told Parade in 2014: ”Well, not all. Lost enough. Divorce is expensive. I used to joke they were going to call it “all the money,” but they changed it to “alimony.” It’s ripping your heart out through your wallet. Are things good with my exes? Yes. But do I need that lifestyle? No.”

Flickr / Shi Devotion

When he accepted the job with The Crazy Ones, he said he needed a steady job because there were bills to pay. He was also forced to sell his “Villa of Smiles” ranch in Napa for $18 million in 2016 after he failed to get the amount of $35 million that he was hoping for.

At the time of his death in 2014, it was reported that he had a net worth of $50 million.

Robin Williams was one of a kind and probably one of the greatest comedians who have ever walked this Earth. His three children, Zachary, Zelda and Cody, never miss a chance to pay tribute to their much-adored father.

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Amber Heard opens up about being poor and jobless

By
Monica Pop
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In a high-profile defamation case closely followed by the media and the wide public that exposed details of her tumultuous marriage, the Aquaman star, Amber Heard, was initially ordered by a Virginia court to pay her ex-husband Johnny Depp $5 million in punitive damages and $10 million in compensatory damages.

Depp sued Heard on the grounds that she damaged his career after she referred to herself as “a public figure symbolizing domestic abuse” in an op-ed she penned for The Washington Post in December 2018. Although she never mentioned his name, his lawyers claimed the article implied she was speaking about him.

During the trial, the ex-spouses both witnessed that the other one was the abuser and some of the details that emerged in the media left many in shock.

According to reports, Heard’s attorneys plan to challenge the result as well as any decisions made by the judge following the verdict, such as declining Heard’s motion to vacate the judgment, dismiss the case, or order a new trial.

“We think the court erred, preventing a just and fair judgment in accordance with the first amendment. As a result, we are appealing the decision,” a Heard representative said in a statement. “While we are aware that today’s filing will set Twitter ablaze, there are steps we must follow to ensure justice and fairness.”

On the other hand, the statement released by Depp’s representatives said that the jury “listened to the considerable evidence given during the six-week trial and came to a clear and unanimous decision that the defendant herself defamed Mr. Depp in several instances.” It added: “We continue to believe that our case will be upheld, and this judgment.”

Heard claimed that all the backlash and all the negative comments about her on social media led her to miss on many job opportunities. No one can say that studious won’t hire her because of the court case, they just don’t want someone who has bad press around them.

The position she has found herself in may force Heard to file for bankruptcy as her career seems to be ruined at this point in her life.

Heard appears to be making sacrifices in order to be able to pay the $8.4 million in damages she owes her ex-husband.

Just recently, she was spotted shopping at the retail TJ Maxx.

To learn how exactly did she reach this point, go to the video below.

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Will Smith breaks his three-month silence: ‘I’m sorry really isn’t sufficient’

By
Monica Pop
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Among the rest, this year’s Oscars may be best remembered by the unscripted moment actor Will Smith strode onto the stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock who made a joke about Smith’s wife’s bald head. Moments later, as everyone around the world was left in shock and disbelief, Smith won his first ever Oscar for best actor. During his acceptance speech, he apologized the Academy for what he did.

Months after the incident, Will Smith has finally addressed the Oscar slap in a video he posted on Instagram on Friday, July 29.

The video started with the words “It’s been a minute…”

“Over the last few months, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and personal work…” the statement went on. “You asked a lot of fair questions that I wanted to take some time to answer.”

Next, Smith sighed and then offered his thoughts about the altercation that made headlines worldwide. He explained why he didn’t offer Rock an apology the moment he was asked on the stage of Dolby Theatre to get his award.

“I was fogged out by that point,” Smith says. “It’s all fuzzy. I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk and when he is, he will reach out. So I will say to you Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you are ready to talk.”

He added that at that moment, he didn’t think about how many people his actions would hurt. “When talking about, that was one of those things about that moment, I didn’t realize, I wasn’t thinking about how many people got hurt in that moment.”

Smith went on to apologize to Rock’s family, including his mother, family, and his brother, Tony Rock, who starred in the 2007 sitcom “All of Us” created by the Smiths.

“We had a great relationship,” Smith said. “Tony Rock was my man and this is probably irreparable.”

It wasn’t just Chris Rock and his family that he hurt with his behavior on the night of the Oscars. Smith said he did the same to his own family, adding that he is sorry for the scrutiny he brought on them with his action. “Disappointing people is my central trauma. I hate when I let people down. So it hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know that I didn’t live up to people’s image and impression of me,” the actor said.

He concluded the video by saying he knows how “confusing” and “shocking” his actions were but he is “deeply devoted and committed to putting light and love and joy into the world. If you hang on, I promise we’ll be able to be friends again.”

Shutterstock

The academy sanctioned Smith by banning him from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years.

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59-year-old dying chimpanzee rejects food, but then she recognizes her old caretaker’s voice

By
Monica Pop
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Professor Jan van Hooff, an emeritus professor of behavioral biology at Utrecht University, has known Mama the chimpanzee since 1972. He was actually the one who co-founded the colony she was a matriarch to. It was the first colony raised in a zoo and was at the same time a subject of research on primate behavior that has been described in “Chimpanzee Politics” by Frans de Waal, who studied the colony since 1974.

But now, at the age of 59, Mama was about to leave this world and she refused the food and the water the people from the zoo offered to her. It seemed like she could sense the end was near. The employees of the Royal Zoo in Arnhem, the Netherlands, where Mama was located, made a call that changed the last week of the chimps’ life. They contacted her caretaker, professor Van Hooff who didn’t hesitate to come and say one last goodbye to his long time friend. The encounter turned out to be one of the sweetest and most heart-warming interactions between a human and an animal.

When Mr. Van Hooff arrived at the zoo he saw Mama laying curled up in a ball unable to lift her head. At first she wasn’t aware of the professor’s presence, but once she recognized his voice she regained her strength for a short time and the result of the meeting is something unbelievably moving.

Mama passed away one week after she got to say goodbye to her friend, but before she met her end she taught us a valuable lesson about love and emotions. If you ever doubted animals’ ability to feel sadness, affection, and devotion this touching moment caught on this video will put those doubts to rest.

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After his wife’s death, man finds a letter that reveals a secret which changed everything

By
Monica Pop
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Marriages are supposed to be based on mutual understanding, trust, and respect. Sadly, not every union works this way. Many couples have a hard time getting along and untie the knot as a result. Sometimes, it happens that we spend a lifetime with someone before they reveal their true face.

A man named Tony Trapani, 81, mourned the death of his wife of more than 50 years. He was devastated and couldn’t imagine his life without her by his side. But then, he faced the naked truth that his late wife wasn’t the woman he thought she was after he learned she was hiding a huge secret her entire life.

One day, as he was going through her staff, he stumbled upon a letter hidden deep in a cupboard. He got curious and took the letter in his hands. It was addressed to him, but this was the first time he’s even seen it.

Once he opened it, he realized it was written to him around 56 years ago, by a woman he meet in his 20s, Shirley.

She started the letter writing that she missed him dearly. But then, what he read next left him in a complete shock. Shirley wrote that she got pregnant and gave birth to Tony’s son, Samuel. She felt the urge to tell him the truth, but the letter never found the way to Tony, not until his wife passed away.

He couldn’t believe that his wife could have hidden something like that from him. Speaking to Fox 17, he revealed that they never had children and she was probably afraid that he would leave her for Shirley and their son. “I have no idea why my wife didn’t tell me about it. She wanted children, but she couldn’t have them, we kept trying. He’s my son, I’ve had him my whole life but I didn’t know. It is beyond me why she hid the letter,” he said.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long before Tony was able to find his son on Facebook. The two got in touch and arranged to meet. The first encounter between these father and son was a touching one. All those years, Samuel believed that his father didn’t want to have anything with him. We are so glad that both him and Tony learned the truth.

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A’ja Wilson’s emotional reaction to Brittney Griner’s shocking detention photos

By
Monica Pop
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Earlier in February, Brittney Griner, the brightest WNBA star, was detained in Russia the moment she stepped foot on Russian soil as custom officials discovered she was carrying vape cartridges in her luggage containing hashish oil. She’s now facing a prison sentence of up to 10 years for breaking the law.

Griner’s court case had been delayed multiple times because of various reasons, and she eventually pleaded guilty but claimed she was unaware the vapes were in her bag, she simply left them there by mistake. “I’d like to plead guilty, Your Honor,” she was reported to have said. “But there was no intent. I didn’t want to break the law.” 

The case has attracted huge media attention especially because of the ongoing war conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which also compromised the relations between Russia and The States.

US officials have spoken of Griner’s case and said they’ll do all in their power her return to America to take place as soon as possible.

It has been reported that Griner wrote to President Biden pleading him not to forget her and the other detainees. “I’m terrified I might be here forever,” she wrote.

As support and prayers for Griner’s release come from all parts of the country, her teammate A’ja Wilson broke down in tears following a game against LA Sparks over photos of Griner which obviously show she’s in a vulnerable position.

“I hated it,” said Wilson in the post-game interview. “It just made my stomach turn,” she added.

“Many U.S. officials have been in contact with her, and express that she is in a good shape, but her trial extension tells otherwise.

“She is our sister, we can’t imagine what she is going through. I pray every day for her to get back home,” Wilson stated.

As prisoner exchange isn’t something new for America and Russia, the Russian news agency TASS predicted that the two countries could reach a similar deal and exchange Griner for Russian Arms dealer Victor Bout, who is serving a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S. for agreeing to sell arms to a Colombian terrorist group. But we are yet to see whether this would happen.

We hope Brittney Griner would return home as soon as possible.

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Guy wants to give part of lottery winnings to his ex that raises their kids, his girlfriend goes livid

By
Monica Pop
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Going through a divorce can be a truly painful experience, especially when children are involved. In such cases, most ex-couples try to get on well with one another for the sake of their kids, but that’s not always the case.

Just recently, a Reddit user asked if he was right that he wanted to share part of his lottery winnings with his ex-wife who is also a mother of their two children. His girlfriend, however, is furious at the idea of sharing the money. He wants to see what others think. Take a look at the entire post below.

“I recently won a huge amount of money. I won’t say exactly how much but it’s in the millions. It makes me feel funny even typing it enough to change the life of myself and my family.

“My ex wife is the mother of my 2 kids. She is an amazing woman and good to the bone. We divorced 6 years ago because I had an affair with my current partner. I was in a low place in my life and I screwed up. She was in incredible pain but – like a saint she allowed me to still see our kids who mean the world to me, allowed our divorce to be as pain free as possible despite the fact that I know she was hurting. She still is close with my parents. She is respectful to me although she refuses to talk to my gf.

“She was actually the first person I phoned after my mom and pops after I found out I won the lottery. She was pleased with me, joked that I could take the kids on a world round trip, and that was that. Nothing else. As soon as I won, I knew I wanted to give her a significant amount. I still love her. She’s the mother of my babies and I feel like this is some small tiny way I can show her that I’m not a complete idiot. She deserves to know that I care despite my mistakes. She also works a sh***y job in the public library which pays her peanuts- she would actually be able to pursue her hobbies this way. Give our kids a better life between us. I haven’t discussed this with my ex yet, but I have with my parents who strongly agree and my lawyer who was very surprised but on board.

“Long story short, when I told my gf, she was my livid. Screaming that I’m disrespecting her, accusing me of still being in love with my ex wife- I’m not in love with her. We’ve both grown apart, but of course I still love her for being an excellent co parenting partner and mother to my kids. My gf is threatening to break up with me, and to be honest I’m feeling incredibly relieved over the threats. I don’t plan on changing my plans. Am I making the right decision?“

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Paul Teutul Sr. from ‘American Chopper’ declared bankruptcy and sold his house – This is what he is up to today

By
Monica Pop
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Reality shows have become extremely popular in recent years. They attract so many viewers that those featured in them turn into celebrities almost over night.

Those passionate about motorcycles have likely seen Discovery’s reality television show American Chopper which first aired back in 2003 and was on air for around a decade. The stars of the show, Paul Teutul Sr. and his sons Paul “Paulie” Teutul Jr. and Michael Teutul, have made names for themselves, but it wasn’t all thanks to the reality show. In fact, they had been very famous even before that with their custom motorcycle fabrication company Orange County Choppers located in Montgomery, New York.

Paul Teutul Sr. was born on May 1, 1949, in Yonkers, New York. His mother was a heavy drinker, and his father a “workaholic.” In his book Orange County Choppers: The Tale of the Teutuls, Paul revealed that his childhood hadn’t been an easy one. His parents often beat him and that strict upbringing forced him into drinking, just like his mother.

Instagram/paulteutulsr

One thing that Paul has always been fascinated with were motorcycles. What he didn’t know, however, was that his passion would turn him into a celebrity loved worldwide.

When he turned 18, Paul Teutul Sr. joined the Merchant Marines. Speaking of that experience, he told CNBC, “[The boot camp] was like three months of it, not, six weeks. So it was pretty difficult, you know, being 18 years old and being away from home. It was hard for me, you know, to be able to be away and to be able to stick with that and stay there.

“I think what I did was I challenged myself… I really wasn’t much of a runner and I really didn’t like running. And where I was there was a dock way down the other end of where I was, and I said to myself if I could run all the way down, and all the way back, then I could make this. And I think.. that’s what inspired me to follow through with it.”

Instagram/paulteutulsr

After a stint with the Merchant Marines, Paul returned to his normal life and in 1969, he married wife Paula, with whom he stayed married for 26 years. It was just a year later after tying the knot, that this man started building his empire. It all started by constructing bikes from the ground and up.

“Most of the time I would take a bike and I would customize it,” he said. “I built a bike, and I took it out, and people were just all over the bike. I knew I had something at that point.”

During the mid 80’s, Paul’s wife took her children and left him because of his problems with alcohol abuse. His eldest son, Paulie, then turned to his father and the two started building and customizing choppers together.

Instagram/paulteutulsr

All of a sudden, many got interested in his work, especially his impressive chopper modifications. As the word of Paul’s work spread around, Motorcycle magazines was interested to feature him and his choppers. This was a turning point for Paul because soon after, Discovery Channel gave him a call and offered him a show. However, as with most of the shows of this type, American Chopper wanted to focus on the relationship between Paul and his son Pauley as much as they were interested to show the world how skillful this man is.

“I called [producer Craig Piligian] early the next morning, before the overnight ratings came out,” Paul Teutul Sr. recalled of his disappointment of the concept of the show program. “I cleaned his clock on the phone. ‘You’ve ruined my life,’ I screamed, ‘and my career. I didn’t expect this.’”

The producers, however, believed in the concept they created and asked from Paul to at least wait for the ratings, which were quite impressive.

A flood of congratulations and messages reached Paul’s email in the morning, and the 1.2 percent viewer market share was terrific for a 10 P.M. Monday time at which American Chopper aired. The viewers obviously loved the drama between the father and his son.

Shutterstock/Debby Wong

The show turned out to be huge success. The intense relationship between the father and the son, however, was never faked for the sake of attracting more audience. The two really didn’t get along at times and that resulted with Pauley leaving his dad and starting a competing shop named Paul Jr. Designs.

Not long after American Chopper was canceled, its spin-off, Senior vs. Junior, aired.

“This road that we’re on is only going to lead to one place. All this passion and pride brought us together. And drove us apart,” they said in the show’s intro. “It only makes sense that this ends where it started. With the build.”

In 2018, American Chopper got a reboot, but it never reached the same success as the original show.

Jason Kempin/FilmMagic

That same year, Page Six reported that Paul filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy as he owed $1 million and only had $1.8 million. Paul himself claimed that he was making around $15,000 a month but was spending $12,600 to keep up with his lifestyle. Later, he reported that his expenses exceeded his income at around $20,000 a month and owed $150,000 to the town of Crawford, New York, for taxes.

A year before, he was sued by former business partner for fraud. According to Page Six, he “failed to provide [her] with a copy of a federal income tax return or transcript for the most recent years, to 1it, 2017 and 2018.” 

Today, he has a net worth of around $500,000 and it looks like he managed to get on his feet thanks to his motorcycle-themed restaurant and a museum in Clearwater, Florida.

In recent years, Paul has been heavily involved with the Make a Wish Foundation through his OCC Foundation.

“We support the Make a Wish Foundation – it’s terminally ill kids, and basically, they get a last wish, and we were number one as far as their wish which is. Which I think is pretty impressive,” Paul Teutul Sr. told CNBC. “You know, to come here and see … bike guys. When I talk about making a difference in people’s lives, pretty much that’s what I refer to. Because I think when these kids come here, it breaks your heart.

“But the thing of it is they’re here because they want to be with you, they want a part of you,” he added. “It’s their dream. So, to me it’s an honor, to be able to do that, and I think I get more out of it than they do.”

Paul Teutul Sr. is active on the social media and shares plenty of photos of himself and his girlfriend, Joan Bulger Kay.

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