Robin Williams’ widow said the actor had health problems that would have killed him within three years if he had not ended his own life.
In her first interview since the comedian died in August 2014, Susan Williams said her husband was “disintegrating before my eyes” in the weeks before his death.
“We were living a nightmare,” Susan Williams told ABC’s Good Morning America.
Robin Williams had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and had signs of a condition known as dementia with Lewy bodies.
The condition is caused by deposits of an abnormal protein called Lewy bodies inside brain cells, which disrupt the brain’s normal functions.
According to experts, the condition can interfere with memory, judgement, movement, concentration and visual perception.
Photo ABC
“If Robin was lucky, he would’ve had maybe three years left,” she said.
“And they would’ve been hard years. And it’s a good chance he would’ve been locked up.”
Robin Williams was “completely clean and sober” when he died, Susan Williams said, but was struggling with depression and anxiety.
His physical symptoms included stiffness, slumping, a shuffling gait and “losing his ability in his voice”, his widow said.
“It’s one minute, totally lucid… And then five minutes later, he would say something that wasn’t… it didn’t match.”
Robin Williams was dealing with his problems as well as he could, she said, describing him as “the bravest man I’ve ever known”.
“But the last month he could not. It was like the dam broke.”
Asked whether her husband’s suicide was his way of taking back control, Susan Williams replied: “In my opinion, oh, yeah.
“I mean, there are many reasons. Believe me. I’ve thought about this. Of what was going on in his mind, what made him ultimately commit… you know, to do that act.
“And I think he was just saying, <<No>>. And I don’t blame him one bit. I don’t blame him one bit.”
Robin Williams died on August 11, 2014 at the age of 63.
Robin Williams’ widow, Susan Schneider Williams, and his adult children have been given eight more weeks to resolve a dispute over the division of the actor’s estate.
In March, a San Francisco judge gave both parties eight weeks to settle their disagreement, relating to roughly 1,200 of the star’s personal items.
Some 300 items are still disputed, as well as the money required to maintain one of his homes.
The judge gave the two sides until the end of July to resolve the differences.
Among the items Susan Schneider Williams wants to keep are the tuxedo the actor wore to their wedding, his slippers, T-shirts and some boxer shorts.
Robin Williams and Susan Schneider had been married for three years before the actor took his own life in August 2014.
Both parties also need to resolve the value of a reserve fund to allow Susan Schneider Williams to maintain the San Francisco home Robin Williams left to her, with instructions she receive enough money to keep it up through her lifetime.
Robin Williams left most of his estate to his three children – Zachary, Zelda and Cody – from a previous marriage.
In legal papers filed in December, Susan Schneider Williams said the contents of their home should be excluded from the items Robin Williams left his children.
Robin Williams’ children claimed their father’s widow was “adding insult to a terrible injury” by trying to change the trust agreement and rob them of items their father clearly intended them to have.
Susan Schneider Williams’ lawyer, James Wagstaffe, described her as “an emotionally grieving widow who is trying to honor her husband”.
James Wagstaffe said his client was seeking the equivalent of a “small bucket of water from a lake”, saying Robin Williams had left his three children and a former wife more than $100 million.
Nearly six months after the death of Robin Williams, his widow, Susan Schneider, and children have gone to court in a dispute over the late comedian’s estate.
In papers filed in December in San Francisco Superior Court, Susan Schneider accused his children of taking items without her permission.
Robin Williams’ children – Zachary, Zelda and Cody – argued that Susan Schneider was “adding insult to a terrible injury” by trying to change their trust agreement.
The dispute involves items Robin Williams kept at two homes and in storage.
Susan Schneider Williams has requested that the contents of the home she shared with her husband be excluded from the jewellery, memorabilia and other items her husband said his children should have.
Robin Williams’ children have taken issue with this suggestion, saying there should be no limits placed on the items to which they are entitled.
Items in dispute include the actor’s collection of watches and the Oscar statuette he won in 1998 for Good Will Hunting.
Robin Williams, who married his third wife Susan Schneider in 2011, died from hanging at his home in Tiburon, California, in August 2014.
Robin Williams’ autopsy report has revealed that the actor was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of his suicide.
Robin Williams was found dead in his California home on August 11 in what authorities soon ruled a suicide. He was 63.
A Marin County coroner’s report released on Friday found Williams died from asphyxia due to hanging.
Robin Williams had been treated for depression.
Robin Williams was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of his suicide
He was last seen alive by his wife, Susan Schneider, on August 10, and was found dead the following day.
On the morning Robin Williams was found, the actor’s personal assistant became concerned when he did not respond to knocks on the door, authorities say. The assistant entered the room and found Robin Williams dead.
Robin Williams won an Academy Award for his role in Good Will Hunting and starred in films including Good Morning Vietnam and Jumanji.
In the past the actor had talked, and even joked, about his struggles with alcohol and drugs. After his death, his representative said he had also been “battling severe depression”.
Robin Williams had earlier returned to a rehabilitation centre to “fine-tune” his sobriety, the Los Angeles Times reported in July.
Gene Simmons has apologized for his recent remarks about people who suffer from depression.
The Kiss singer and bassist sparked outrage after saying he is “the guy who says <<Jump>>” to those who are suicidal.
Gene Simmons said in a Facebook post: “I was wrong and in the spur of the moment made remarks that in hindsight were made without regard for those who truly suffer the struggles of depression.
“I sincerely apologize to those who were offended by my comments.”
The singer continued: “I recognize that depression is very serious and very sad when it happens to anyone, especially loved ones.
“I deeply support and am empathetic to anyone suffering from any disease, especially depression.”
Gene Simmons has apologized for his recent remarks about people who suffer from depression (photo Getty Images)
Gene Simmons’ apology follows an interview posted on the SongFacts.com, in which the theatrical rocker was quoted as saying he did not understand people who were depressed.
“My mother was in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany,” he said.
“I don’t want to hear… about ‘the world as a harsh place’. She gets up every day, smells the roses and loves life.”
Using the example of a hypothetical “putz” who is 20 years old and lives in Seattle and says they are depressed, the outspoken star said his advice would be to “kill yourself”.
Gene Simmons went on: “I never understand, because I always call them on their bluff. I’m the guy who says <<Jump>> when there’s a guy on top of a building who says, <<That’s it, I can’t take it any more, I’m going to jump>>.”
The interview was posted on July 31, before the death of Robin Williams, who took his own life after struggling with depression and the early stages of Parkinson’s disease.
Gene Simmons’ comments have been criticized in the wake of Robin Williams’ death, which has led to calls for a greater public understanding of the condition.
Several radio stations banned Kiss music in the wake of Gene Simmons’ comments, Fox News reported.
Robin Williams took his own life after telling friends he had “serious money troubles”, it has emerged.
The actor had sought treatment for depression in the weeks before his death at the age of 63.
Robin Williams, who was once reputed to be worth $120 million, had complained of losing a large chunk of his fortune in alimony payments to his two ex-wives, and had been trying to sell his 600-acre ranch in California to raise much-needed funds.
Police said Robin Williams had been found dead in a bedroom at his home by his personal assistant.
Although Robin Williams was famous for his hyperactive comedy brain, he had spent much of his life battling alcoholism, drug abuse and depression.
The actor’s final bout of depression, which several weeks in a rehabilitation clinic had failed to lift, may have been triggered in part by the cancellation of his latest television show The Crazy Ones in May, after just one series.
According to a family friend quoted by Radar Online: “All he could talk about were serious money troubles…Robin was known for being so generous to his friends and family during the height of his success, and would help anyone out that needed it.
“There was also frustration that Robin expressed at having to take television and movie roles he didn’t want to take, but had to for the pay cheque.”
Robin Williams, who was once reputed to be worth $120 million, had complained of losing a large chunk of his fortune in alimony payments to his two ex-wives (photo Getty Images)
For the past two years Robin Williams had been trying to sell his ranch in the Napa Valley near San Francisco, saying: “I just can’t afford it anymore.”
Despite dropping the asking price from $34 million to $28.5 million, there had been no takers. Robin Williams had even resorted to selling some of his collection of 50 bicycles to raise cash.
One neighbor who saw the actor in the days before his death said he had become “a shell of himself” and looked “drawn and thin”.
A friend of 30 years who saw Robin Williams at dinner this week said “something did not seem right”, though he added that the actor was known to suffer from mood swings.
Last September, Robin Williams, who had moved into a relatively modest bungalow in Tiburon, near San Francisco, which he inherited from his mother in 2001, spoke about having to “downsize” his life and take roles to “pay the bills” following his divorces from Valerie Velardi in 1988 and Marsha Garces in 2008.
Robin Williams said he was faced with the choice of a stand-up comedy tour, returning to television after 31 years, or taking roles in low-budget films for very low pay.
“The movies are good, but a lot of times they don’t even have distribution,” he said.
“There are bills to pay.”
He went on: “Divorce is expensive. I used to joke they were going to call it <<all the money>> but they changed it to <<alimony>>. It’s ripping your heart out through your wallet.”
Robin Williams’ divorces are reported to have cost him $32 million, and he had put a substantial sum into trust funds for his three children Zak, 31, Zelda, 25, and Cody, 22.
Marin County assistant deputy chief coroner Lt. Keith Boyd said Robin Williams was last seen alive at 10.30 PM local time on Sunday, when his wife Susan Schneider went to bed.
Susan Schneider left the house at 10.30 AM on Monday assuming Robin Williams was still asleep in another bedroom, and he was found dead by his personal assistant at 11.55 AM when there was no response to knocks on his bedroom door.
Lt. Keith Boyd said Robin Williams was found “clothed” with a bloodied pocket knife near him and with “several acute superficial transverse cuts” on the inside of his left wrist. He appeared to have been dead for some time.
Despite reports that no suicide note was found, Keith Boyd hinted that there may have been one, saying he was not prepared to discuss “the note, or a note”.
Toxicology reports, which will determine whether Robin Williams had drugs or alcohol in his body at the time of his death, will take at least two weeks to prepare.
Zelda Williams, Robin Williams’ daughter with Marsha Garces, has paid tribute to her father in a touching Instagram post.
The 25-year-old actress shared a quote from Antonie De Saint-Exuprery’s book The Little Prince with her 40, 087 followers.
“You – you alone will have the stars as no one else has them… In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing.
“And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night… You – only you – will have the stars that can laugh.”
Zelda Williams is Robin Williams’ daughter with Marsha Garces (photo Getty Images)
Zelda Williams followed the quote with: “I love you. I miss you. I’ll try to keep looking up. Z.”
Robin Williams’ very last Instagram post was a picture with Zelda on her 25th birthday on July 31.
The actor posted a touching message to his daughter alongside a black and white photo of the pair of them together.
“#tbt and Happy Birthday to Ms. Zelda Rae Williams! Quarter of a century old today but always my baby girl. Happy Birthday @zeldawilliams Love you!”
Robin Williams was found dead at his California home after committing suicide.
An investigation into the cause and circumstances of the death is currently underway by the Investigations and Coroner Divisions of the Sheriff’s Office, officials said.
The Mrs. Doubtfire sequel is now in doubt after Robin Williams was found dead at his Californian home in an apparent suicide.
Robin Williams, 63, suffered from a severe depression, according to recent reports.
Earlier this year Robin Williams had been meeting with screenwriter David Berenbaum about the sequel to his hit 1993 comedy – in which he played a man who masqueraded as an older female nanny in a bid to get close to his kids – and a second draft was reportedly underway.
Meanwhile, the project’s director Christopher Columbus hailed Robin Williams as a “genius” who he loved working with.
He said in a statement: “We have lost one of our most inspired and gifted comic minds, as well as one of this generation’s greatest actors. To watch Robin work, was a magical and special privilege.
The Mrs. Doubtfire sequel is now in doubt after Robin Williams was found dead at his Californian home in an apparent suicide
“His performances were unlike anything any of us had ever seen, they came from some spiritual and otherworldly place. He truly was one of the few people who deserved the title of <<genius>>.
“We were friends for 21 years. Our children grew up together, he inspired us to spend our lives in San Francisco and I loved him like a brother. The world was a better place with Robin in it. And his beautiful legacy will live on forever.”
Robin Williams had completed four other films before his death, however.
Over the Christmas period, Robin Williams can be seen again as Teddy Roosevelt in Night of the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, which finished production in May and will be released on December 19.
Robin Williams shot comedy Merry Friggin’ Christmas with Wendi McLendon-Covey, Lauren Graham and Oliver Platt and the Joe and Anthony Russo-directed picture will be in cinemas on November 7.
[youtube vgVNv1Kdki4 650]
This website has updated its privacy policy in compliance with EU GDPR 2016/679. Please read this to review the updates about which personal data we collect on our site. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our updated policy. AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
