I fear the worst for the famed, wry monologist who has been reported missing by his wife after failing to return from a walk in New York. The 62-year old Gray has been depressed since suffering a head injury in a 2001 auto accident and underwent psychiatric hospitalization in October 2002 after being talked down from a contemplated jump from a bridge. His mother apparently suicided when she was around his age.

(Many do not appreciate that, after a head trauma, a stroke or other brain insult, depression is not only common but recalcitrant, as it is not simply an emotional reaction to the demoralizing injury but often an ‘organic’ effect on the brain’s function. Not only the mood change but a deterioration in control over impulsive behavior, including self-destructive impulses, is often seen.)