Polly Williams, featured in the HBO documentary "Thin"
Rob Cibik
Access Hollywood
Feb 12, 2008
Polly Williams, one of the women featured in the HBO documentary
"Thin," was found dead last Friday, according to reports.
Williams (whose real name was Pollack Ann Williams) died at her
Tennessee residence, and according to a report by the New York Post's
Page Six, it is believed to be a suicide.
The 33-year-old Williams, who was a lobbyist for the National Eating
Disorders Association, was one of four women featured in Laura
Greenfield's 2006 HBO documentary, "Thin," which chronicled the
women's lives inside Renfrew, a Florida treatment center.
However, Williams was kicked out of Renfrew for allegedly giving pills
to a fellow patient and getting a tattoo.
In a November 2006 interview with Access Hollywood, Greenfield talked
about working with Williams after production on "Thin" was complete.
"Polly has a wonderful personality. She's been doing quite well... she
has a focus in her a life, a new passion, which is photography, which
I think is helping her stay on track," Greenfield told Access. "And
yet, she has had some had some serious bouts of relapse and eating
disorder symptoms. Most recently, [she] has had weight loss and is now
working to get herself back up there. I feel like when she was at
Renfrew, she learned important tools, which she continues to use, but
it's definitely an up and down struggle for Polly."
Greenfield also revealed that prior to entering Renfrew, Williams had
attempted suicide, as had some of the other women featured on the
show.
"Luckily none of them were successful," Greenfield added. "These girls
are doing very serious damage to their bodies and it's devastating and
it's life threatening."
But was Greenfield ever concerned one of the women featured on the
show might take their own lives while she was working with them and
getting to know them?
"I was definitely overwhelmed with concern about their health, but I
never got to the point where I thought they might die," she continued.
"I mean, death is a possibility, but the crazy thing is that they know
that. They're very smart, intelligent women who know a lot about this
illness and I think don't want to die. They all have a lot to live
for. Yet, knowing this information about the damage they're doing to
their bodies is not enough to help them get well."
In a statement posted on Greenfield's Web site following Williams'
death, she remembered Polly as an "extraordinary woman."
"It is with great sadness that I impart the news that Polly has passed
away. She was an extraordinary woman with unforgettable gifts and she
will live on in our memories and our hearts. In her short life, she
touched more people than most people do in their lifetime and I know
she was very proud of the contribution she made in the eating disorder
community," the statement read. "I will miss her terribly."
In Williams' obituary in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Polly's
sisters "remember that her life motto was simply 'Believe.'"
http://www.accesshollywood.com/article/8390/Polly-Williams-Of-HBOs-Thin-Found-Dead/
J.D. Baldwin
In the previous article, Rob Cibik <lcp...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> However, Williams was kicked out of Renfrew for allegedly giving
> pills to a fellow patient and getting a tattoo.
I think getting a tattoo is one of the single most moronic things
someone can do to himself -- right up there with tongue-piercing
-- but it seems a little stupid to kick someone out of rehab for it.
The pill thing is a different matter, of course.
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone disagrees with any statement I make, I
_|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |am quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\ / bal...@panix.com|to deny under oath that I ever made it. -T. Lehrer
***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nell
"J.D. Baldwin" <INVALID...@example.com.invalid> wrote in message
news:fov73n$83l$1...@reader2.panix.com...
It was probably less the tattoo (and I agree with you) than the pills.
Maybe there was more to the tattoo incident than just _getting_ the tattoo?
Nell
The Kentucky Wizard
consultations with my Joint Chiefs of Staff, being briefed by members of my
Cabinet and many telephone conversations with various World Leaders, I have
come to the following conclusions:
> In the previous article, Rob Cibik <lcp...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> However, Williams was kicked out of Renfrew for allegedly giving
>> pills to a fellow patient and getting a tattoo.
>
> I think getting a tattoo is one of the single most moronic things
> someone can do to himself -- right up there with tongue-piercing
> -- but it seems a little stupid to kick someone out of rehab for it.
> The pill thing is a different matter, of course.
I watched this documentary, there was much more to Williams than was
reflected in this article. She was basically an instigator, who never took
the purpose of why she was there very seriously. She used some of the
younger patients to do at her command, and took pleasure in 'beating the
system' so to speak, in doing just the opposite of what the professionals
there asked of her. She acted like a kid trying to get away with doing bad
things, in one instance that comes to mind, her and a fellow patient stood
up on her bathroom sink, and laughed as they blew their cigarette smoke out
the vent in the ceiling so they wouldn't get caught for smoking in their
rooms.
The staff finally had enough of her antics, and conference-called her mom to
tell her to come and get her. She was a bad influence on the other patients,
and she didn't take her treatment seriously. Her mom begged them to keep
her, for she was out of options as to what to do with her, for other forms
of treatments ahd also failed and she felt that this was her last chance,
but the staff had had enough of her and her antics and she had to go.
I'm sorry she's gone, but I'm not surprised she is. She was obviously a very
outgoing and over all pleasant person, who could easily be anyone's friend.
She was a free spirit who didn't follow the rules and a train wreck just
waiting to happen.
--
Never argue with an idiot; they'll drag you down to their level and
beat you with experience.
© The Wiz ®
«¤»¥«¤»¥«¤»
J.D. Baldwin
In the previous article, Terry del Fuego <t_del...@hotmail.com>
wrote:
> >I think getting a tattoo is one of the single most moronic things
> >someone can do to himself -- right up there with tongue-piercing
>
> whatever-you-call it is taken out.
Yeah ... assuming you don't have to have a glossectomy from the
infection.
My son (being young, and therefore an idiot) wanted his tongue pierced
a few years back. I pointed out that there was a small-but-nonzero
risk that he might end up talking like that one guy we heard that time
... and for the rest of his life. That cooled his jets.
Rare? Yes, *quite* rare. A "scare story"? Admitted. But even if the
risk of a serious problem is one in 10,000 (and I think that's
conservative), the stupidity curve on that one is rather sharp, I
think.
> Tattoos take effort to un-do.
They're talking about some new kind of ink that fades with exposure to
a certain laser wavelength, for easy removal later in life. Which
raises the obvious question: haven't you people heard of henna?
Don't get me wrong: I support sending state-sponsored and -subsidized
tattoo and piercing "artists" into the high schools to do their good
work. Tag the idiots in the herd early, I say; leaves more employment
opportunities for the rest of us.
brigid nelson
> In the previous article, Terry del Fuego <t_del...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>>> I think getting a tattoo is one of the single most moronic things
>>> someone can do to himself -- right up there with tongue-piercing
>> Tongue piercings close up damned near immediately after the
>> whatever-you-call it is taken out.
>
> Yeah ... assuming you don't have to have a glossectomy from the
> infection.
>
> My son (being young, and therefore an idiot) wanted his tongue pierced
> a few years back. I pointed out that there was a small-but-nonzero
> risk that he might end up talking like that one guy we heard that time
> ... and for the rest of his life. That cooled his jets.
I played the associations game with my daughter. By telling her that her
parents think it's more polite to keep their sex toys in a more private
place, I avoided the threats and the drama. And I got about 5 minutes of
quiet as a bonus!
brigid
J.D. Baldwin
> >the risk of a serious problem is one in 10,000
>
> it's Valentine's Day) circumcision.
Heh heh. However ... *not* being circumcised can lead to penectomy,
too.
> >Don't get me wrong: I support sending state-sponsored and -subsidized
> >tattoo and piercing "artists" into the high schools to do their good
> >work. Tag the idiots in the herd early, I say; leaves more
> >employment opportunities for the rest of us.
>
> This sounds surprisingly more like "I don't like it, so it's wrong"
> than what normally comes from you.
OK, well, it may be a fair cop, but my perspective on it is this: I
truly, deeply, don't care what people do to their bodies. But -- and
I hope I don't have to emphasize that you know perfectly well this is
true -- very often the motivation for getting "ink" is to say "Fuck
you!" to The Man. Now, I heartily endorse saying "Fuck you" to The
Man, but you'd better not let me hear you whining about it when you're
37 and still working that crappy 7-11 job because The Man won't give
you a second look after seeing that big ol' spider tat on your neck.
"Wrong" really has nothing to do with it. If I thought it was merely
"wrong" I wouldn't give it a second thought. I think putting
diamorphine in your body is "wrong" -- and I mean, in earnest, that it
is a very serious moral error. But I also think they ought to sell it
to anyone 18 or over, right there at the Rite-Aid.
Charlene
wrote:
>
> "Wrong" really has nothing to do with it. If I thought it was merely
> "wrong" I wouldn't give it a second thought. I think putting
> diamorphine in your body is "wrong" -- and I mean, in earnest, that it
> is a very serious moral error. But I also think they ought to sell it
> to anyone 18 or over, right there at the Rite-Aid.
But diamorphine (heroin) is available for the terminally ill in
extreme pain (at least here).
I would agree that it's wrong to use it recreationally, as it is
99.99% of the time, but the other use isn't in my opinion wrong:
anything that allows people in agony to live in more comfort until
they die isn't one-sidedly wrong.
wd43
Charlene
> On Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:49:59 +0000 (UTC),
>
> INVALID_SEE_...@example.com.invalid (J.D. Baldwin) wrote:
> >I think getting a tattoo is one of the single most moronic things
> >someone can do to himself -- right up there with tongue-piercing
>
>
> I can't imagine getting a piercing or a tattoo or anything whatsoever
> that involves pain in the name of decoration, but I can't see it being
> any more moronic than some of the painful ways people dress to
> "impress" their inferiors.
The thing about piercings is that they are often socially acceptable,
even expected; most women have pierced ears, and many South Asian
women have a pierced nose. Piercings only become 'unacceptable' to
some when the location of the piercing doesn't correlate to what
society expects.
I don't get people who judge others by where on their body they've
placed tiny holes in their skin.
wd43
La N
"Charlene" <charlene...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:056287e9-01e4-4746...@e23g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
When I was last in Vancouver I met a bunch of young people with various
piercings, and I teased one of them, a gay fellow, that it seemed funny that
he / they had piercings to make some kind of statement, when it was so
commonplace. He said, "Oh, Nil, this business of 'making a statement' is so
80's! We wear piercings because they're cute and we look good with them!"
- nilita
J.D. Baldwin
In the previous article, Charlene <charlene...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > "Wrong" really has nothing to do with it. If I thought it was
> > merely "wrong" I wouldn't give it a second thought. I think putting
> > diamorphine in your body is "wrong" -- and I mean, in earnest, that
> > it is a very serious moral error. But I also think they ought to
> > sell it to anyone 18 or over, right there at the Rite-Aid.
>
> But diamorphine (heroin) is available for the terminally ill in
> extreme pain (at least here).
>
> I would agree that it's wrong to use it recreationally, as it is
> 99.99% of the time, but the other use isn't in my opinion wrong:
> anything that allows people in agony to live in more comfort until
> they die isn't one-sidedly wrong.
In the United States, heroin is unavailable, period. Not even to
physicians who wish to prescribe it for intractable pain. There was a
proposed reform of this state of affairs in (I think) 1992, but the
gutless wonders didn't want to be seen as "soft on drugs" in an
election year, and it failed. In the scale of "wrong," I regard this
as a far worse outrage than what a mere individual could commit.
J.D. Baldwin
> placed tiny holes in their skin.
For the record, one last clarification: I don't "judge" people
negatively for having tongue piercings, in the sense that they offend
my aesthetic sense. (I think it's weird, but then I think that about
all kinds of things people do.) I judge them negatively because they
are taking what is, in my view, an awful risk for a silly reason.
It's just as much none of my business, of course, but that doesn't
mean I don't have an opinion.