Curb Director's Touching Obit for Wife Goes Viral

On Christmas Day, actor Linda Weide died in her husband's arms, the end of a yearslong battle with progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological disease. "Her bravery and dignity in the face of this illness were awe-inspiring," her husband, Robert Weide, writes in her obituary, published last week in the Los Angeles Times. His own words have now also inspired others, and his tribute has since gone viral for what Upworthy calls "a story of true love that stands the test of time, even when it ends in loss." The Emmy-winning Weide—known for directing the first five seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm, as well as multiple documentaries on such comedians as Lenny Bruce and Kurt Vonnegut, per Deadline— recalls how he met his wife of nearly 25 years on Sept. 30, 1994, at a cafe in California's Studio City.

"She had it all—beauty, style, grace, intelligence, wit, a great laugh, a blinding smile, and (can I say this in 2023 ) legs that demanded to be shown off, and were," he writes. "That night, I wrote in my journal, 'I think I may be in big trouble.'" The two were married on July 11, 1998, and Weide notes that in all their years together, she was "Gracie to my George." He writes that their life, and love, was a simple one, thanks to his "remarkably low maintenance" wife. He adds that "after we purchased side-by-side cemetery plots years ago, I asked her what she wanted her marker to say. She answered, 'I'm with Stupid.'" Weide wryly adds: "That request will not be honored."

"They say, 'Nothing lasts forever,' but they didn't know about my love for her," he writes, noting that "28 years wasn't nearly long enough. Still, I may just be the luckiest SOB who ever lived. Rest well, Bunnie." Weide obviously struck a chord with his words, because the obituary quickly began making the rounds online. He's now acknowledging the support he's received, and the tributes to his wife. "I love that total strangers are confessing to tears and saying they can tell what a beautiful person Linda was," he wrote over the weekend on Twitter. "You have made this new widower feel a little less lonely. And I know Linda sends her love, too." (More obituary stories.)