Dr. Morbius (Bill Weber) RIP

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 called him a cynic to his face and he said "Fuck you" and laughed. He knew. He was a sentimentalist. He was pissed off the world wasn't as good as he wanted it to be.

i finally met morbs irl in february, at a reading arranged by ilx's own jbr, and he was exactly as much of a sweetheart in person as described, even though he introduced himself to me on the defensive (as, iirc, "the hated dr. morbius"). i thought of that night fondly and often over these past few months

man, this sucks

just saw JBR's post

only met the guy for 10 minutes, in line for 77BOADRUM, but he's an intrinsic voice in my online life & every one of his posts made total sense after that 10 minutes

RIP

& love to all of us here

Bill more than any ilx0r I have ever met was someone who once you met him you were like “ohhhhh now I get it” and then all of his posts made sense

RIP Dr Morbius

I never spotted him being mad about something not worth being mad about.

Very much so.

(And wb, deems.)

(This kind of underlines how much I need to meet all of you in person, finally - something I thought about often in the few years leading up to this awful year. More intense after these past 6-7 months.)

Only met him once IRL and he was, in fact, as affable a guy as you could ever hope to meet for hours of beers and chatting. I admired how easily he navigated the world, meeting up with ILXors at various ports of call. And I similarly appreciated how he navigated ILX in his singular way. I will miss him a lot.

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*.