Dr. Morbius (Bill Weber) RIP

So sad to hear this. RIP Dr Morbs

Cathy just wrote me to tell me. I only ever met him face to face once or twice. I have a lot of love for him - a big part of knowing him on here was getting pissed off at him, of course, but I saw many sides of him over the fifteen years or so we've known each other in the way of people who know each other in a space like this -- and later, on Facebook -- a welcome friend there. Part of us here. Sad for this loss.

Always down for a baseball game and a beer no matter which coast. See you on the other side my friend, RIP.

Oh no. Fucking hell. I thought he was getting better.

RIP Bill. You will be missed.

this sucks

hate u cancer

i am devastated. i met him years ago when he came to Atlanta and he was such a sweet guy. RIP Bill.

RIP

this was his last post, God bless him. I always feel guilty that I stopped following baseball when I think of how much he truly loved it.

I can never root for the Braves.

― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Sunday, October 18, 2020 10:19 AM (three days ago)

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

i still feel really bad for some of the things i said to morbz on here. bad jokes at his expense. i think he would rile me up sometimes and i just let loose just to get a reaction from him. stupid, i know. overall i was fine with him and him with me (i think). he was funny and smart. i didn't really understand why he wanted to be here for so long and get attacked and yelled at so much. not that he was always getting yelled at but he was definitely a foil for some people. he was so much more than this place though. i'm so sorry that he had to suffer. i was very sad when i heard about his passing.

i still feel really bad for some of the things i said to morbz on here. bad jokes at his expense. i think he would rile me up sometimes and i just let loose just to get a reaction from him. stupid, i know. overall i was fine with him and him with me (i think). he was funny and smart. i didn't really understand why he wanted to be here for so long and get attacked and yelled at so much. not that he was always getting yelled at but he was definitely a foil for some people. he was so much more than this place though. i'm so sorry that he had to suffer. i was very sad when i heard about his passing.

Years back he messaged me on Facebook and coyly apologized. I think he felt bad when he realized he was grilling a teenager! In retrospect, he didn’t need to apologize. I loved it.

I plan on attending. Anyone want to join me? It might be a little less awkward!

A message from Bill's sister:

"Hi Everyone: We are looking forward to seeing many of you this Friday at Bill's memorial at The Bruno Walter Auditorium in The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Please note the doors for our event will open at 6:30 PM. The library closes to the public at 6 PM and will reopen just for us at 6:30PM. The library is located in Lincoln Center at 111 Amsterdam Ave. This is NOT the famed midtown branch with the lions out front! 😉Please make sure you know where you are going. It is Comic Con weekend in Manhattan and that will cause extra traffic - please leave plenty of time for travel. I would not count on getting on-street parking - reserving a spot at a garage in the Lincoln Center vicinity may be a good move. Public transportation is always another viable option."

That library will be right next to the Metropolitan Opera House (if you're facing the opera house, go right and keep going past the opera house). The NYFF's closing night screening should be happening right around the corner as well - I don't think that should complicate travel for anyone (i.e. I don't remember them closing streets or anything in the past), but just be aware there's a big event going on there that you may have to navigate through.

Otherwise, if you want to take the subway, just take the 1 to 66th St., or take the 2 or 3 to 72nd and walk down Broadway - it's like a brisk 5 minute walk. (You could also take a train to Columbus Circle and walk from the opposite direction - also a brisk 5 minute walk.)

People should be pleasantly surprised that this is actually a pretty nice and fancy library, as befits its being part of Lincoln Center, not to besmirch the ‘umble Riverside branch library down the block.

Wish I could make this, but I'm going to be boarding a plane at JFK the minute this starts.

See y’all soon! Trying to decide which subway to take since my 7 stop is closed for construction still.

FWIW, if you're coming in from Queens, you could take the E or M which gets you into the UWS. It's a longer walk from, say, MoMA, maybe 10-15 minutes, but it's a pretty cool walk through the city given the area - tons of landmarks, etc.

(F train as well)

Yeah.

Can take either F and E and just walk or take F and transfer to the D. MyMTA recommends me take the E and transfer to the 1 but to me that tunnel walk is too long. It's long enough to the 7 although I've done it a thousand times. Maybe I can also transfer from the E to the D at 7th and 53rd.

Sorry, overtired and overthinking this trip I've done many, many times.

I will be taking the C from Brooklyn and walkin' a lil bit.

I live in CA but will eat pancakes with shitloads of maple syrup tonight in his honor.

Maybe I will run into Bill’s WFMU friend T on the train. I understand her husband D is under the weather and unfortunately will not be attending.

Killing time in Dante Park until I’m ready for my closeup.

Thinking about when the Iridium used to be across the street. Ah Morbius, ah humanity!

Not to mention the City Opera.

I wish I were there.

i’m making a pancake breakfast plan for tomorrow morning <3

same here! blueberry buttermilk pancakes w/ maple syrup.

I miss you people

This was really good.

i had to leave the service early to catch the last amtrak upstate for a close friend’s wedding. sorry i wasn’t able to hang out with some of you guys after

i also regret not being able to thank Cathy after for putting this together and sharing the story of Bill’s life, it was wonderful to hear

i felt a lot of sadness honestly but i was very happy to be at lincoln center amid the film fest, it felt like the proper atmosphere to send Bill off. love ya pal

I saw your name in the register but didn't know what you looked like so didn't introduce myself.

I'm sorry I didn't get to know him. He's obviously missed.

A beautiful event last night. His sister Cathy organized a fitting tribute to an ultimately cuddly curmudgeon. Lots of reminiscing. Bill's niece sang three songs during which I had the most difficult time keeping it together. I finally got to meet James Redd and the Blacks and Ian! Not sure if this will work. But here's the cover of the program.
https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/391746033_10120694681728800_728178855284367773_n.jpg?stp=cp6_dst-jpg

This?
https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/391746033_10120694681728800_728178855284367773_n.jpg?stp=cp6_dst-jpg&_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=xLp6sc5SjgUAX-IGG3d&_nc_ht=scontent-lga3-1.xx&oh=00_AfCxjtni7ydMCrvzhf1NfB0qx7lzp920A4de0y4W5SeE6Q&oe=652F4522

Ugh ok. I'll try when I'm back home. :(

Second time worked

I got a bit teary whilst Cathy was speaking but tried to keep it closer to the Ozu level.

Watching Transit now and started to think of him, partly because I know he liked Petzold and this film in particular, but mostly because the scene of Franz Rogowski fixing the kid’s radio reminded me of Cathy’s story about him taking apart the turntable with the screwdriver.

Thanks to everyone who was able to go. I only met Bill in person once and don’t live anywhere nearby, but it’s good to hear things went well

very sad to have missed this too. i love the choice of venue.

Yes. Cathy said Bill “used his library card a lot.”

And I namedropped you in my speech.

Very nice to hear how things went well.

https://imgur.com/Al8Ab4C

I'm sorry I couldn't be there.

Was anyone here besides Morbs anticipating the donor restrictions on The Day the Clown expiring in 2024? I recently spoke to a Library of Congress employee about their plans for making this material available for viewing.

Guess tomorrow is the day

Pancake Rollcall!

<No syrup here tho>

I’m in!

just had some myself!

pcakes happening in the Veg household ✔️

Bruno Walter mention in MAESTRO made me think of the memorial.