How Robin Williams Helped Sharon Osbourne Get Through Her Cancer Treatment

Sharon Osbourne X Factor Robin Williams Crazy Ones

Laughter is the best medicine, and there were few people funnier than Robin Williams. During the first episode of The Osbourne Podcast, the reality television family discussed the great impact the late comedian had on their mother, Sharon Osbourne, during her battle with colon cancer in 2002. While the actor played a doctor in Patch Adams, they believe his slick comedy efforts really did help save their mother's life during her darkest period.

The topic came up when the podcast, which debuted on March 5th, tackled the highs and lows of reality television superstardom and discussed Sharon Osbourne's devasting health scare. Saying that it was "not a very fun time at all for anyone," as you can likely imagine, and "probably the least amount of fun for Mom," Kelly Osbourne talked about how her mother was starting to give up on her chemo treatments when her hair was beginning to fall out. It was a horrible time for the family, and the Osbournes were concerned with how to get their mother to continue fighting.

Mom was lying in this bedroom that she had curtained off. It was pitch black... She hadn't gotten out of bed for like a week. Mom's dog had to go to the hospital because she was dehydrated. Mom was dehydrated. And we couldn't get her to go back to finish the chemo.

Running low on options and concerned for Sharon Osbourne's well-being, Ozzy Osbourne knew who could cheer up his ailing wife: Robin Williams.

Dad said laughter is the best medicine. And organized for Robin to come over and make Mom laugh. And he just dropped everything. Came over to the house. Got in bed with Mom. I just remember sitting at the bottom of the stairs and we went from crying, not knowing what to do, to peeing ourselves laughing because we could hear Mom upstairs in her room laughing with Robin. The next day, it changed everything and Mom went back to chemo.

The famous family had no shortage of nice things to say about the Oscar-winning actor, considering him "one of the nicest genuine people that you could ever meet." It's a testament to Robin Williams's character that, despite his enormous fame, he would come over and help a sick woman in need.

Robin Williams is remembered as a giving, loving spirit, and he is missed by fans everywhere. The actor/comedian tragically took his own life in 2014. He was last seen in 2014's Night of the Museum: Secret of the Tomb and Williams was last heard in 2015's Absolutely Anything as Dennis the Dog.

The Osbourne Podcast was released on the 16th anniversary of The Osbournes, their super popular MTV reality TV show which ran until March 2005. The new podcast is considered a continuation-of-sorts of their original hit series. There will be new episodes made available on Mondays every week.

Will Ashton

Will is an entertainment writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. His writing can also be found in The Playlist, Cut Print Film, We Got This Covered, The Young Folks, Slate and other outlets. He also co-hosts the weekly film/TV podcast Cinemaholics with Jon Negroni and he likes to think he's a professional Garfield enthusiast.