Sad “clowns” with depression: Jim Carrey, Savely Kramarov, Benny Hill

It may be hard to argue that Jim Carrey has the talent of a comedian, but for such a gift he has to pay with his sanity. Since childhood, Carrey suffered from hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder. And at a conscious age, the actor increasingly began to deal with depression. He had a particularly rough time after breaking up with actress Jenny McCarthy, who Jim lived with for 5 years. They say that after parting, the actor even wanted to commit suicide, but he went to the doctor in time and managed to regain his peace of mind.

The hero of box office comedies attempted suicide about 10 years ago. The actor was struggling to break up with Kate Hudson, his co-star in the movie Him, Me & Friends. Wilson tried to commit suicide with drugs, the actor also cut his wrists, but, fortunately, Wilson was taken to the hospital in time. Since then, the actor has twice become a father, but has not decided on a life partner – two different women gave birth to sons from him.

From his youth, the future Dr. House suffered from anxiety and depression, which became permanent with age. When Hugh Laurie realized that his condition had a negative impact on relationships with his family and loved ones, he turned to specialists. However, Lori admits that music has always been and remains for him the best cure for all depression.

British comedian Stephen Fry, friend and colleague of Hugh Laurie on the comedy show, has lived for many years with a manic-depressive disorder, which led him to make two suicide attempts. But despite this, Fry has learned to live with his characteristics and is even grateful to them, because they made him who he is now.

American actress and comedian Sarah Silverman struggled with clinical depression and constant panic attacks throughout her life. However, the actress never gave up and always tried to find a way out of even the most difficult situations. Sarah herself admits, “I wouldn’t wish anyone to deal with depression. But if this ever happens to you, or has already happened, know that on the other hand, you will feel more strongly the little pleasures of life. Hard times will pass. It’s a long game and life is really worth it.”

The famous Soviet actor, who played the role of a fool in Gaidai’s film “Operation Y”, faced more than one drama in his life. The fact is that due to an injury received during the war, Smirnov could not have children, although he really dreamed of them. For 7 years he tried to adopt a handicapped boy Vanya from a boarding school, but he was never allowed to do so. In the end, the actor began to abuse alcohol and at the age of 59 (in 1979) died of a heart attack.

In the 80s, The Benny Hill Show was a hit in the UK (and later the world). In his sketches, the comedian played with the life of ordinary English people, ridiculed politicians and celebrities. But gradually a decline began in Hill’s work, the government increasingly began to subject his show to strict censorship, as a result of which it had to be shut down completely. Benny Hill started drinking, eventually withdrew into himself and fell into a deep depression, from which the comedian never managed to come out. Hill died in 1992 of a heart attack.

The news of the suicide of the famous American comedian Robin Williams thundered like a thunderclap. It was impossible to believe that the always smiling and cheerful Williams had suffered from severe depression for many years, made worse by the actor’s addiction to alcohol. As the actor’s wife later said, depression and heightened anxiety were caused by the actor’s development of Parkinson’s disease.

Although Savely Kramarov did not suffer from depression, his fate clearly cannot be called easy. Despite universal recognition and love in the USSR, the actor really wanted to go and live in Israel and tried unsuccessfully to write material for several years. But Kramarov only managed to settle in the United States, where the great Soviet comedian was forced to start his career from scratch. A few years later, Savely was unexpectedly diagnosed with rectal carcinoma, and the actor burned out within weeks. The most tragic thing in this story is that Savely Kramarov was afraid of cancer all his life, so he led an extremely healthy and even ascetic lifestyle, followed a diet and always played sports.

Actress and producer Lena Dunham, author and star of Girls, suffers from panic attacks, anxiety and intrusive thoughts. But Dunham found a very effective way to deal with his neuroses – a few hours of hard work in the gym.

Text: Daria Yurkova

Photo: Getty images, Legion Media, Rex/Fotodom