Dr. Morbius (Bill Weber) RIP

I keep trying to remember some scene in the Little Rascals in which they make some crazy homebrew pancakes. I can hear the line, I am sure he would have been familiar with it.

Found it.

For the last 5 years, Bill Weber was my cinematic North Star. We never met, and we never corresponded privately, but through ILX, I learned more about film history from him than almost anyone else in my life. https://t.co/P0LdAhPubM

— Nicky Smith (@nickyotissmith) October 26, 2020

thanks for writing that, it's great.

good job keeping the masses away frm ILX with a fake url, too

flappy you are a good writer

i feel weird even posting in this thread given how little i interacted with Morbs on the board (we shared threads but i so rarely take a stance on anything that he didn't have reason to tell me why i was wrong!) but i can't put into words how formative his unrelenting criticism of democrats (partic thru 08-16) was for my own political imagination; "how is this guy angry at the best option?" i'd wonder to myself. it'd take me a few years to realize that you're allowed to want something beyond what seems possible at this moment, and you're allowed to be angry about it.

i feel like there's a really insidious, ubiquitous public shaming about being loud and angry online--why aren't you out there doing something instead of posting, you slacktivist?-- but Morbs's posts DID do something. they taught a young hibernating leftist to wake the fuck up and get involved. i'm angry at myself for never telling him this myself. i would have enjoyed his curmudgeonly retort.

great piece flappy!

I'm quite moved.

great piece, flappy bird

Good stuff, flappy.

yes, thank you

Will M. u are very otm with that post, I agree

Here's Bill's epic obituary which includes a shout-out to ILX.

“I was bullied as a kid. The moments I shared during recess and lunch with Bill were a refuge. I was safe with him. During a time when I felt like an outcast, he welcomed me. That was everything then. It still is.” Andy Parker

<33333

That was very beautiful KJB, thanks for posting.

really nice

lovely

wow. I think anyone would aspire to have an obit like that. a life well lived.

i agree

Thanks, KJB

"Bill was a mensch, a raconteur, a secret teddy bear, and one of our most cherished friends"

that sums him up nicely even though he could be a testy old cuss at times. I adored his heartfelt hatred of garbage politicians and all-consuming passion for old Hollywood - he was a true original.

beautiful obit, thanks KJB. and great article, flappy!

Wonderful, thanks for both.

Bill did stand-up comedy for a time in his early twenties, earning praise from the likes of Brett Butler and Jeff Foxworthy.

Morbz, you need to come back. I still have some questions.

Also, Bill's sister Cathy wanted to let you all know how much she appreciates all the comments she's been seeing.

xpost haha pp - I had the same thought when I saw Jeff Foxworthy

thirded lol

you might be a Morbius if you KO chickenshit hillbillies really fast

crying again rn

Instead of crying, y'all, go fucking watch The Prisoner of Shark Island.

we are going to cry if we want to

still planning on watching all of John Ford's movies but haven't gotten to them yet

Foxworthy used to be a skilled joke writer, and in the 80s and 90s would have been playing to general audiences. It's a good affirmation in context.

I still have questions.

His obit ;_;

And pardon me for saying so but he was so young! Only 58 what the fucking fuck!!!

Fuck cancer.

Yeah, I didn't know him and didn't interact with him much - mostly because I found his snark hilarious even though politically I disagreed with it. His presence is definitely missed. He was like the dad around here in some ways.

Yeah for all the jibes about morbs being old he was no age at all.

BOXCAR

I kinda liked finding out that his brother in law is called Gary Cooper.

thank you for that beautiful piece, flappy, which is not only a wonderful tribute to morbs but also describes the uniqueness of ilx -- as an institution, as a cultural archive, as a weird phenomenon -- better than anything i've ever read. i think there's an old (really, really old) post where i expressed some skepticism about john ford, and morbs's consistent high regard for him was one of the things that got me to go back and take a closer look. one more reason i'm glad i've stuck with ilx all these years. (and i have to add: thank you for slagging off noah berlatsky, the most mediocre writer on earth.)

I've just returned from a small break, and seen this. RIP Morbs :(

Bill's affection for Ford and Spielberg belied his standoffish reputation.

― Fat Tub O'Goon (I M Losted), Tuesday, October 27, 2020 2:13 AM bookmarkflaglink

Yeah for all the jibes about morbs being old he was no age at all.

― all cats are beautiful (silby), Tuesday, October 27, 2020 2:16 AM bookmarkflaglink

especially since those jokes started over a decade ago!

Who among us has not been making jokes about being ancient since we were about 32?

And pardon me for saying so but he was so young! Only 58 what the fucking fuck!!!

I hope to read this thread soon. I was aware of his illness, but had missed news of his passing til now. I will miss him here, terribly.

I had long read many accounts of what a kind good person he was irl, regardless his brilliant-but- curmudgeonly ilx persona. RIP morbs.

*sigh*

yeah

I'm still finding this quite hard to process

yeah i think that goes for a lot of us here for all kinds of reasons

I was pretty certain it was coming soon when he left the hospital back on September but still.