Robin Williams Was First Friend in Hospital After Christopher Reeve Accident (Exclusive)

• In PEOPLE’s latest cover story, Christopher Reeve’s children open up about their father’s extraordinary life, including his friendship with Robin Williams
• The new documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story explores how much Robin Williams’ humor saved Christopher Reeve after he was paralyzed from the neck down in 1995
• Will Reeve says Robin Williams was the first friend to show up at the hospital after his accident, and made him laugh by pretending to be a Russian proctologist

Will Reeve opens up about the unique friendship between his father Christopher Reeve and the late Robin Williams.

“Robin was Dad’s best friend, and you show up for your friends,” Will, 32, tells PEOPLE of the longtime friends, who first met in the early ’70s when they were theater students together at Juilliard. He says they became so close they called each other “brother.”

“Our dad and Robin had a unique bond,” Will says. “They had a friendship that someone should make a movie about, but what shone through was just their love and respect for each other, and that never wavered.”

Will notes that Williams was the first friend to show up at the Virginia hospital after his fall from a horse left him paralyzed from the neck down. Not only did Williams show up, but he managed to make a destitute Christopher laugh by pretending to be a Russian proctologist.

“Nobody was better at presenting it in a loving way and with the right amount of humor than Robin Williams and his wife Marsha, who we call our fairy godmother,” says Will, adding, “We still have an incredibly close bond with her.”

In the new documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (produced by Words +
Pictures), which will be shown in select cinemas on September 21 and 25, their friendship is shown using vintage footage.

The film also provides a full portrait of Christopher’s life before and after his accident, including his early years as an actor, when he first became close to Williams.

In his 1998 memoirs Still meChristopher remembered a first impression of the Mrs. Doubtfire actor, who wrote that when they met, Williams “wore tie-dye shirts and sweatpants and talked a mile a minute. … He was like a deflated balloon that had been inflated and instantly released. I watched in awe as he virtually bounced off the walls of classrooms and hallways. To say he was ‘on’ would be an understatement.”

Will says it wasn’t just Williams who stepped up to support the family after his father’s accident.

“We were fortunate to live in a close-knit community and have great groups of friends, teachers, coaches and people from the past and present who always pitched in,” Will recalls.

But Williams and Marsha’s presence was especially impressive. “Robin and Marsha have done so much for us, things we will never be able to repay them. We are eternally grateful for the way they have supported and loved us, and continue to do so.”

For tickets to see Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Storyvisit Fathom Events.

Want to read more about Christopher Reeve’s extraordinary life? Pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, in stores Friday.