Entertainment

'Good Will Hunting' Bench Turned Into Shrine

by Kadeen Griffiths

As we all try to find our own ways to deal with the news that Robin Williams has passed away, some fans are taking matters into their own hands. It hasn't even been 24 hours since the news broke and there are already tributes and memorials cropping up across the country, whether online or off. Even Conan O'Brien paid tribute to Williams during the Monday night filming of his show, because the loss of such a legendary actor and comedian truly affects us all. Now fans of Williams have created a memorial at the Good Will Hunting bench in Boston and they're hoping that doing so will launch a trend across the country.

Williams is, by and large, remembered as a comedic actor, but his career was also full of dramatic roles. Good Will Hunting was one of his most iconic, which won him an Oscar for his performance as Dr. Sean Maguire alongside Matt Damon. The bench at Boston Public Garden was made famous by the scene from the film in which Williams and Damon discuss how Will Hunting is incredibly well-read but not particularly well-lived or sincere.

When fan Nicholas Rabchenuk went to visit the bench, he expected to see a memorial already in place and was shocked that there was nothing there, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Rabchenuk and his girlfriend brought flowers and chalk, teaming up with two more fans who were sitting on the bench to write quotes from the movie around it. "Your move, chief," the line that ends the park bench scene, was obviously one of those quotes.

"I hope it catches on," Rabchenuk told The Hollywood Reporter and his enthusiasm is touching. Williams has a broad and varied body of work going as far back as the 1970s, and to see that work commemorated on location across the country would be a fantastic way for fans and admirers to pay their respects to his memory.