Dr. Morbius (Bill Weber) RIP

Holy shit. I was just wondering if there was news This is heartbreaking. I'm so glad he was able to pop in again to say hello the best he could the past few weeks.

such an asshole on the board and such a sweetheart irl

can't even remember the last time i went to a baseball game without him

I can never root for the Braves.

man <3

oh fuck....rip Bill. never met/interacted with him outside ILX but I always loved chatting with him about film, and I will miss his righteous (and generally well-founded) indignation on the politics threads. I know it's a small thing in the context of a life, but this place just won't be the same without him.

We fired back and forth a lot, but I never minded. (I actually searched the other day to see if he'd posted anything recently, but it was all baseball stuff.) Cancer's a shitty way to go out. Sad to hear this. I own some collections of Keaton shorts and will drag them off the shelf in his memory.

I only met him once and can affirm that, in person, he was a really sweet guy. Fun, too, and interesting. This is devastating

Too sad. Never met him (though we lived in the same neighborhood) but as big a mensch as I've ever encountered online. So smart on film, I'll especially miss his "last (x) movies you've seen" contributions.

I know I antagonized him like anybody on this board did, but there was one point I posted here at a very low point where I'd woken up in a hospital after a night of drinking, really upset and freaked out about my loss of control, and he posted calming, kind words of encouragement with anecdotes from his own life. was incredibly sweet and helped at a time where I needed any encouragement. and considering my attitude towards him, not something he had to do/say.

rest well,Bill.

bill was the first ilxor i ever met in real life, at a mets game in 2009. he was sweet and funny in person. he was easy to talk to, especially if the conversation shifted to baseball or movies. life didn't deal him a very good hand over the past several years but i know how many people here loved him and i hope at the end he felt it was a life well lived.

Gutted.

Had been hoping that getting out to CT with his family and recent discharge meant a turn for the better.

This place will never be quite the same.

Ah, fuuuck. Rest in fury, you lovable asshole. So glad that he decided, and then was well enough to, get out of the city and end surrounded by love and family.

xp I thought he had implied that when I asked him about it a few months ago. awful news

I loved this guy too even though we ripped into each other so many times here. I’m really sad. God, fuck this year.

Fuck

Fuck

Fuck

Fuck

Sad he’ll never get to see Georgie Minifer get his comeuppance. RIP loved reading his movie commentary.

i didn't cry like this when my dad died

such an asshole on the board and such a sweetheart irl

lol xpost

this is hard news. i only lived in brooklyn for a couple years, but Bill was a reliable friend. he would reach out to me, and ask if I wanted to see a movie (we watched several together, including a full viewing of Andrei Rublev) or catch a Mets game with him at Citi Field (especially when the Cardinals were in town). he was a good friend, very warm, very attentive, and always very witty. i think he would surprise a lot of you who never got to meet him, with his gentleness. i really valued his friendship. and he was really, really generous in listening to me go on at length about all sorts of naive thoughts on art and film and music, and taking me seriously. i hate to emphasize our age difference, but i always thought he was fatherly, in a way. like the way i would want someone to listen and care for me. crying a bit now, sorry.

RIP Bill.

Mookie I was seriously thinking about messaging you here to ask how he was just a couple hours ago !!!

I’m just really glad I got to tell him how I felt in an email before he passed. I think I’d be even more of a mess right now if I didn’t. I wish we had some old FAP pictures from back in the day to share. I’m going to miss him.

crying a bit now

me too

Reading this post is tough b/c for reasons I can't explain I got a premonition early this morning.

I met Bill seven or eight times, often in the company of KJB. In 2017 he came down to Miami for a baseball conference, and we enjoyed drinks and dinner and spent several fabulous hours together.

He's my movie sparring buddy and I'll miss him terribly.

i didn't cry like this when my dad died

yeah, i don't expect to either

xps yeah i was about to email him because he'd been unusually silent on the subject of the world series

ffs

i think he would surprise a lot of you who never got to meet him, with his gentleness.

this cannot be emphasized enough

OK the tears are coming now

I always had a soft spot for this dude no matter what.
Just gutted right now

Bill Weber was an example of Catholic dialectical grace: fight tooth and nail, offer words of comfort you wouldn't think are possible.

really sad news, sorry to all who knew him irl

bill was one of the first ILXors i met IRL, we met up for drinks at beauty bar (he carried an anthology calendar so i'd know it was him). my last weekend before i left NYC for LA we went to see 'uncle boonmee' at NYFF together. i'm pretty sure the last time i saw him he, kevin, get bent and i went to a jack smith show in soho, then we all got drinks in a mostly empty irish pub afterwards and it was such a fun afternoon - it made me miss living in new york. i loved his sense of humor and his strong opinions about politics and i always wanted to know what he thought about new and repertory films that were out (we agreed more often than not). i'm heartbroken and i'm really gonna miss him. RIP buddy.

Very sad. I didn’t know him at all outside ILX, but I loved talking Jerry with him. And his politics were spot-on. I’ll miss him.

RIP you loveable crank.

RIP :-(

damnit

fuck fuck fuck. privileged to have met him in person and slightly guilty that I'm behind on czech new wave films he nagged me about.

we never met irl but we bonded over arguing whether Maddie in True Grit was a cunt or not (morbs for the affirmative, me for the negative), standup comedy & our shared love for Krassner’s JFK assassination hitpiece (who doesnt love the image of LBK skullfucking JFK’s eyesocket) ... i was so very fond of that kindly old cynic & will be over here crying for a while

xp elvis,

haha yeah, looking through my emails with him, i was laughing at

Feb 20 at the Walter Reade... I'm not crazy about the two Zukawski films I've seen, but all the Cool Kids like him.

https://www.filmlinc.org/films/on-the-silver-globe/

he was one of the first people I took notice of on ilx. he had a memorable screen name and was willing to engage earnestly with my naive film opinions

A truly unique individual I’m glad to have met and kept in touch with outside the board. Even when he was being insufferable here, I could never really be mad at the guy. He was who he was... I’m honestly surprised by this news, I would have thought him too stubborn to die.
RIP

RIP Bill – I will miss him a lot. I've typed and deleted a lot more, but -- I will miss him a lot.

Ah, fuck. I was just thinking about him the other day since he'd been noticeably absent from some threads he usually popped in on. RIP Bill.

arguing whether Maddie in True Grit was a cunt or not (morbs for the affirmative, me for the negative)

I'm with the good doctor on this one

that’s so sad, rip dr. morbius and condolences to everyone who loves him and will miss him

Oh shit. I was hoping he would live to see the donor restrictions on The Day the Clown Cried expire. I'm going to miss him on the film threads.

I just saw the news and I’m so bummed out

This is really fucking me up

a great, maddening, valuable and deeply, unseriously human presence. will be badly missed.

pancakes will be happening in the Veg house this morning

Yesterday I had chicken and waffles with LOTs of butter and maple syrup, I think Morbs would approve.

lets go mets, hope we get to a game 7 tmorrow for morbius

^^

Subway series with a Mets win seems right

Miss you, boo. Worst NYFF ever this year. We bought these Dolly Parton pancakes in your honor and will have them this weekend.
https://i5.walmartimages.com/seo/Dolly-Parton-s-Buttermilk-Pancake-Mix-26-oz_10c76d71-d876-4344-96be-f60ca9db9983.c26b30ecf6fe2704ac947a41af81bf38.jpeg

<3 KJB

Missing you hard today, boo. Oh how I wish I could talk about my beloved Eephus with you right now.

Aw I miss Morbs too.

morbs you missed an extremely hilarious mets season and that is yet another reason why i will never forgive cancer

I never knew him but I would have loved to have belatedly(me not him) talked ball with him & enjoyed the Soto FA shitshow.

what now

juan soto, my friend. juan soto...

Man does NOT know ball (though if you follow the Marlins for some reason you’re welcome on ILBB, Alfred)

Miss you, Morbs - wish I'd gone down a Sondheim rabbit-hole while you were still around to chat A Little Night Music &c.

Was at a Mekons show in Brooklyn that Morbs was at but didn’t get a chance to meet and talk to him.

born 64 years ago today

an 11-game mets losing streak is probably an apt salute

https://i.postimg.cc/XYy3pNWF/almorbs.jpg

Happy birthday Morbz

I still occasionally think about the fact that the last thing he logged on LB was a Laurel & Hardy, that this means it was probably the last movie he saw, and what a wise thing it would be to pick something you've loved all your life for that.

Here's to you, Morbs....

https://pre-code.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/SpeakEasilyGif1.gif

Sorry I never got to meet you in person. I was hoping you'd live to see the donor restrictions on The Day the Clown Cried expired, so I could take you down to LOC Culpeper for a screening.

happy birthday doctor morbius - wherever you are

xxp that's amazing re: his last (posted) watch.

Hb Morbz

what’s that GIF from j.lu? also this reminds me to watch more Laurel and Hardy

Raise a mint julep for the man, the curmudgeon, the legend.

Based on the url the gif appears to be from this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speak_Easily

Happy birthday Morbz! Miss you greatly.

happy bday pal. man this mets stuff is hilarious

miss you morbs

To paraphrase my favorite Joan Crawford film, I miss you; I miss you...desperately. Speaking of Joan, I wish we could watch the finally unearthed Letty Lynton together.

HBD morbz

HBD, miss you, friend

miss you morbs. the mets refuse to be a serious team in your honor

Happy Birthday you old codger.

Currently watching your Mets implode for the 12th straight game, what could be a more fitting birthday gift.

Listened to some Pavement to make the day.

HBD Dr. Morbz. miss you

Wonder what he would have thought of *No Picnic*.