Robin Williams Was First Friend at Hospital After Christopher Reeve Was Paralyzed, Says Will Reeve (Exclusive)

The son of the Superman actor opens up about the extraordinary friendship between his father and Robin Williams: "Someone should make a movie about it"

• 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, making him laugh by pretending to be a Russian proctologist

Will Reeve is opening up about his father Christopher Reeve's unique friendship with the late Robin Williams.

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

"Our dad and Robin had a singular bond," Will says. "They had a friendship that someone should make a movie about, but what shone through in that 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 hospital in Virginia after his fall from a horse that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Not only did Williams show up, but he managed to make a bereft Christopher laugh by pretending to be a Russian proctologist.

"No one was better at showing up with love and with the right dose of humor than Robin Williams and his wife Marsha, who we call our fairy godmother," Will says, adding, "We are still so incredibly close with her."

In the new documentary Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story  (produced by Words +
Pictures), which is in select theaters on Sept. 21 and Sept. 25, their friendship is displayed through vintage footage.

Related: Why Christopher Reeve's Kids Are Celebrating His Joyous Life in 'Unflinching' Doc That Doesn't Hide His Flaws (Exclusive)

The film also paints a full portrait of Christopher's life both before and after his accident, including his early days as an actor, when he first grew close with Williams.

In his 1998 memoir Still Me, Christopher recalled a first impression of the Mrs. Doubtfire actor, writing that when they met, Williams “wore tie-dyed shirts with tracksuit bottoms and talked a mile a minute. ... He was like an untied balloon that had been inflated and immediately released. I watched in awe as he virtually caromed off the walls of the classrooms and hallways. To say that he was 'on' would be a major understatement."

Will says after his dad's accident, it wasn't just Williams who rallied around the family.

Related: Christopher Reeve Allowed Himself 20 Minutes of Self-Pity Each Day After Accident (Exclusive)

"We were fortunate enough to live in a tight-knit community and had big groups of friends and teachers and coaches and people from the past and people from the present just chipping in however they could always," Will recalls.

But Williams and Marsha's presence was especially impactful. "Robin and Marsha did so much for us, things that we'll never be able to repay them for. We owe them an eternal debt of gratitude for the way that they supported us and loved us, and still do."

For tickets to see Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, visit Fathom Events.

To read more about Christopher Reeve's extraordinary life, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

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