Dr. Morbius (Bill Weber) RIP

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.

ah geez, Morbz was one of my fave people to hate Ronald Reagan with ... not that I'm in any way religious or believe in heaven or anything, or whether one has the ability to punch other dead people in the face, or communicate your belief that they are fucking pieces of shit ... but Bill, if you can read this, feel free to punch Ronald Reagan in the face and/or tell him that he is a fucking piece of shit.

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

― Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, October 21, 2020 8:57 PM (fifteen minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

i love this alfred

xpost cosign sarahell

Your posts, especially on film, were always a highlight ever since I started lurking here. Rest easy.

Hope there's some justice wherever you are, buddy.

only knew him from here on ILX, but will miss him very much all the same... sincere condolences to his friends and family, RIP.

deems said it better than I could have said it. RIP.

I never got to meet him (or any of you), but I'll repeat what I said on FB: One of the only curmudgeons I've ever seen that was a genuinely good person underneath it all.

He was the last ILXor I saw IRL, right before lockdown. He’s probably the one I saw most.

This sucks so much!!!

Oh man, this is sad. I met him twice: once in Chicago in 2007 and once in NYC in 2010. But I think of him foremost as a reliable (and ever-cantankerous) presence here. I'll miss seeing his name.

We butted heads plenty over the years and he could drive me absolutely up the goddamn fuckin wall, but the guy seriously knew his shit, unlike 99% of humans out there, including myself. It was always clear that he deeply loved the things that he loved, including this place. Even when he was being poisonous I could always tell it was fundamentally bc he was mad the world wasnt a better place. I will always remember him.

This sucks.

R.I.P., good Doctor.

As I was just texting to Flappy: "I didn't always agree with him but always loved seeing what he'd say about whatever, and was always curious about his life. He was a major part of the firmament and will be missed."

love morbs, this is terrible, RIP

I've learned more about film from this man, who I never met, than almost anyone else in my life. He was the #1 reason why I posted here. I can't believe I'll never get to meet him or talk about John Ford or Fassbinder again. Posts of his are burned in my brain. Fuck this

KJB, thanks for bringing the news here, and please tell Cathy how infuriated by & appreciated Bill was, by so many who knew, met, or conversed with him.

Even when he was being poisonous I could always tell it was fundamentally bc he was mad the world wasnt a better place. I will always remember him.

this is very otm. I never spotted him being mad about something not worth being mad about.

Well, damn.

Whenever I show someone the movie They All Laughed, I always paraphrase one of Morbs' posts about it: "Watched the first 20 minutes of They All Laughed. I didn't."

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*.