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Police: Robin Williams Hanged Himself; Clinton Calls Obama, Tries To Mend Ties; Laugh Factory Mourns Legendary Comedian

Aired August 12, 2014 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The word depression or mental illness in general with diabetes, cancer, heart disease, you think of it completely differently and you think, look, we can control this, we can do things to be proactive and treat this. We haven't gotten there so much with mental illness. I think it feels --

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, there's been such a stigma.

GUPTA: The stigma, you know, I think in large part, prevents obviously patients from getting some of the treatment that they need and you know, we've gotten better at this at just over the last couple of decades.

So the stigma, the stories that we hear from the last generation, they are different stories nowadays because of some of that progress. There's also this other part of it, which I heard you talking about a little bit as well, this inner play between this pure genius, all that he was able to do and come up with immediately at the spur of the moment and mental illness with comedians.

You hear people saying the idea that there is an inner play there. They may have certain more creative genius as well and vice versa. These two things can go back and forth. I read an article that said people who are comic genius make these connections in the brain that other people wouldn't see.

You say, where did he come up with that? Where did that come from? Sometimes those connections don't exist in real life and that can be quite jarring for them and even contribute to some of the mental illness. So there could be a real interface there.

BALDWIN: Sanjay Gupta, thank you. That brings me to my next guest because the owner of the iconic Laugh Factory Comedy Club in L.A. He said 80 percent of comedians come from some form of tragedy he wants to help them deal with it.

So he has actually set up this sofa and two nights a week, comics meet with psychologists, with therapists, in the comedy club. We're going to talk about where he got the idea and how comics are reacting to this coming up. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Robin Williams, how do you even describe the man? One of a kind talent doesn't quite seem to do him justice. He's an actor, a man of many faces. An internet movie web site actually tallies that Robin Williams earned 55 awards and 67 nominations for his performances.

Here now for you a look back at just a couple of the 100-plus characters he brought to life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBIN WILLIAMS: Is it true, Mrs. Fisbee, that last summer you had sexual intercourse with a red-headed midget during a thunderstorm?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daddy, this is Mork. Mork, this is Mr. McConnell.

WILLIAMS: Nano, nano.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does T.S. stand for?

WILLIAMS: Terribly sexy. Good morning, Vietnam!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the dead poet's society?

WILLIAMS: Dead poets are dedicated to sucking the marrow out of life.

I'm going to lose my job. Now I may lose my life. What I believe, what I know, these people are alive inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you know that, doctor?

WILLIAMS: I know it. If I could just have the first kiss, I won't be distant. I'll come back in the morning and I'll call you if you let me.

Ten thousand years will give you such a crick in the neck.

I've seen nightmares, things you can't even imagine. Things you can't even see.

You do fussy, fussy, fussy, fussy, Martha Graham, Martha Graham, Martha Graham, or Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd, or Madonna, Madonna, Madonna but you keep it all inside.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is Jack Powell. Class.

WILLIAMS: We need to choose who we let into our weird little worlds. You're not perfect and let me save you the suspense. This girl you met, she isn't perfect either. But the question is, whether or not you're perfect for each other.

Let's get ready to party! One shot left.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's OK.

WILLIAMS: It's a shame to waste it. OK. Where exactly did I tell you it was positive? Answer the question. It was in the park on a bench in front of those guys playing drums. I feel you're unprepared, you stopped the course before completion.

I have a right to call off the wedding. I'll stab you in the face. Good to see you, lad. Thank you, Teddy.

You look fabulous. Don't lie to yourself. You're a knockout.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Hillary Clinton has decided it's time to clear the air, according to her spokesperson, quote, "Earlier today, the secretary called President Obama to make sure he knows that nothing she said was an attempt to attack him, his policies or his leadership.

This is all about those comments she made in that Atlantic interview including one about the White House mantra, the whole don't do stupid stuff when it comes to foreign policy.

In her words, "Great nations need organizing principles and don't do stupid stuff is not an organizing principle." The president's former advisor, David Axelrod actually had a response for that.

This is what he said, "Just to clarify," this is via Twitter, "Just to clarify, don't do stupid stuff means stuff like occupying Iraq in the first place, which was tragically a bad decision."

He is referring to the decision supported by Hillary Clinton's vote in the U.S. Senate, a vote she has since described as a mistake. So to Washington we go to the host of "THE LEAD," Jake Tapper.

Jake, if I may, just want to take down what we're just getting also from the Hillary Clinton spokesperson, and I quote, "When they see each other tonight," they being Hillary Clinton and President Obama, she looks forward to hugging it out tomorrow night.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "THE LEAD": Look, I think there's a certain degree of sophistication that is at play here. President Obama is aware that if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton runs for office, she is going to have to distance herself from some of the sitting president's policies, especially with his approval rating so low.

And very specifically, in addition to the "don't do stupid stuff" -- it's not actually stuff. But we'll say stuff on TV. In addition to that mantra, she also most pointedly I think took issue with the fact that she, as has been long established, supported arming moderate Syrian rebels.

Many others did as well and President Obama did not listen to that and ultimately she blames what is going on in Iraq with the barbaric ISIS group to that decision. That's pretty pointed. Look, President Obama knows what time it is, that if she runs that she's going to have to distance herself and she knows that she more broadly has to embrace him as she did in the interview more broadly while taking issue with specific points.

BALDWIN: So there are other layers to the story as there is any time. And I know you're talking to Josh Rogin, I saw his reporting last night from "The Daily Beast." Keeping the theme of keeping it clean. I won't say the word that he reports the president used --

TAPPER: Horse hockey.

BALDWIN: Horse hockey, Tapper, is that we're going with?

TAPPER: I mean, it's not horse hockey, but it is horse something. But horse hockey was what Colonel Potter used to say on "M.A.S.H."

BALDWIN: Nerd alert.

TAPPER: Criticism of his policy in Syria and the idea that things would be different now if he had armed certain rebels is horse hockey. And he is -- that's according to Josh Rogin and "The Daily Beast," an argument that President Obama made behind closed doors to many members of Congress.

And look, he feels on the defensive right now about that decision. Hillary Clinton was not alone. The Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, the CIA Director David Petraeus, the secretary of state's envoy to the region, other people resigned, the chief person for the state department in charge of Syrian policy resigned.

There were a lot of people in the administration who thought that President Obama made the wrong decision. It's hard to argue that what is going on right now in Iraq and Syria was from -- you know, was a good result.

BALDWIN: We'll be watching your interview with Josh Rogin on that said horse hockey. Coming up on "THE LEAD" Jake Tapper --

TAPPER: If you don't like horse hockey, what am I supposed to say?

BALDWIN: Horse bleep. Other way we get the point.

TAPPER: That's so hip.

BALDWIN: That's how we roll. Thank you, Jake Tapper.

TAPPER: Thanks.

BALDWIN: Let's take this offline. Thank you, my friend.

Coming up next, the iconic comedy club in L.A. It's called the Laugh Factory, they paid special tribute to Robin Williams today, with as you can see, at this billboard out front. The owner of the club says 80 percent of comedians come from tragedy. So he's set up the sofas and two nights a week, the different comedians, sit on the sofa, they meet with different therapists to help them. How much help do they need? Where did he get the idea? Who is using this sofa? We'll ask him, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: You know, just looking at all of this superficially, you could say it seems like a contradiction, a comedian suffering from depression. Could they be more vulnerable, more sensitive, than the rest of the population? I want you to take a look at this sign.

It's the famous Laugh Factory Comedy Club in Los Angeles, it reads, "Robin Williams, Rest in Peace. Make God laugh." In the past this club has tried to help comedians avoid the personal hell of depression.

So this couch sits in a private office above the club and twice a week, comedians can sit on the couch to talk to psychologists and here you see it with Laugh Factory magazine with Williams on the cover.

The couch was once owned by Grouch Cholemarks, a comedy legend in his own right. Jamie Masada is with me, owner of the Laugh Factory. Jamie, welcome.

JAMIE MASADA, OWNER, THE LAUGH FACTORY: Thank you very much. Thank you for having me on the show. We appreciate it.

BALDWIN: So this was your idea, this couch. Why?

MASADA: Well, because of I lost one of my comedian. His name was Richard Jenni, Richard was one of the great comics and he came in one Friday night to see me. He saw me and we tried to put him on the stage. He said he doesn't want to go to stage. He want to talk to me private. I said OK.

We went next door, we have a cup of soup together. And the time we had the soup and afterwards we had the soup, he didn't eat anything. And I was leaving, and he said, I said what do you want to talk to me about? He said, well, I just came in to tell you I love you. I said I love you, too.

He said what you do with the comedy club, with the kids, all the underprivileged kids I want to say, I never said that to too many people. I love you. I said thank you, Richard. I gave him a hug and left.

Next day, I heard that he put the gun in his mouth and he kill himself. And that broke my heart. I said here is one of the greatest comics, I could go on and on and on and name many comedians. They have done that. I said, what could I? What could we do in here?

So I did research. And I find -- I interview about 60, 70 psychologists, and finally I find one of the doctors. There was Dr. Toboli was a really wonderful doctor. I say here it is. We got another one. We have two of them and we tried to do it two night a week. There are available -- the doctors they are available to them five night a week if they want to do it.

BALDWIN: Privately.

MASADA: Whenever they want to do. Anytime they want.

BALDWIN: Jamie, it sounds like this couch is a need and the doctors are in high demand. This is your circle. You meet all these comedians day in and day out and perform at your club.

What is it? Is it that comedy and these people are so funny because it's a coping mechanism? It can't be all comedians come from very dark places though I messenger they tap into that when they're out on stage.

MASADA: Well, most of the comedians, they are such a giving and caring people. They want to give so much. They want to give so much to people. And you know, most -- another 80 percent of those comedians have insecurity. They think they didn't give enough people. They didn't make enough people laugh.

It was -- it's a little bit hard. It's hard thing to cope with and Robin was one of those guys he was there in the club about eight, nine months ago. And he went on --

BALDWIN: In your club.

MASADA: He went on the stage. Yes. He went on the Laugh Factory doing the show or was finishing the show with -- for CBS. Then he went on the stage. He destroyed. He absolutely destroyed.

BALDWIN: Of course, he did.

MASADA: He was so funny. He was so hilarious. Then you know, and you never ever thought Robin would do that to you.

BALDWIN: Take his own life. It's hard for the outside world to see or understand, but that's why in the wake of his death it's calling awareness if it can happen to Robin Williams, this funny incredibly talented man, so many people are suffering in silence and we have to help them.

Jamie Masada with the Laugh Factory, you and your couch. Thank you so much. I think it's a great thing what you're doing for these comedians.

MASADA: You're welcome. I think the comedian, to explain it to you, this comedian, besides having such a wonderful, caring, care for everybody and Robin Williams should not be remembered by his suicide. He should be remembered how much laughter.

BALDWIN: Agreed.

MASADA: How much smile he brought all over people in the world. BALDWIN: Preaching to the choir, Jamie Masada. Thank you for sharing that story. Appreciate it. We'll take a quick break. Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Before I let you go, let's go quickly to Karen Maginnis in the CNN Severe Weather Center with some news on the flash flood emergency in the D.C. area.

KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we have seen this line of storms moved right across the Baltimore, Washington, D.C. area. Some places have picked up in excess of five inches of rainfall. There's quite a bit of flooding across this region.

As we watch over the next several hours, we're expecting an additional 1 inch to 3 inches. Lots of potential for flooding on streets and underpasses. We'll keep you updated as this flood emergency continues across that region. Brooke, back to you.

BALDWIN: All right, Karen McGinnis, thank you so much for that update from the severe weather center. Thank you so much for being with me. I'm Brooke Baldwin live here in New York. We're going to turn it over to my colleague, Jake Tapper in Washington, D.C. "THE LEAD" starts right now.