Robin Williams
The autopsy report of Robin Williams — 1951–2014.
The Spark
Robin McLaurin Williams was born July 21, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois. Shy as a child, he found his voice in comedy — studying drama at the Juilliard School alongside Christopher Reeve before honing his stand-up at San Francisco's Holy City Zoo and the Comedy Store in Los Angeles. In 1978 he exploded onto television as the manic alien Mork in Mork & Mindy, earning a Golden Globe and becoming an instant star.
His film debut as a lead came with Popeye (1980), followed by acclaimed turns in The World According to Garp (1982) and Moscow on the Hudson (1984). Alongside Billy Crystal and Whoopi Goldberg, he co-founded the Comic Relief charity specials in 1986, and became a devoted USO performer, entertaining American troops overseas for over a decade.
The Actor
Williams proved himself one of the great dramatic actors of his generation: Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), and The Fisher King (1991) each earned him Academy Award nominations. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Good Will Hunting (1997). Along the way he gave the world Hook, Aladdin — his Genie remains one of the most beloved voice performances ever recorded — Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, The Birdcage, Patch Adams, One Hour Photo, and Night at the Museum.
On stage and in stand-up, he was peerless: a force of nature who could riff for hours, slipping between voices and characters, equal parts hilarious and deeply humane. An avid cyclist and lifelong video game fan, he named his daughter Zelda after the Legend of Zelda games.
The Final Years
In his final years, Williams battled depression and what was then diagnosed as Parkinson's disease. After his death, his widow Susan Schneider Williams revealed he had actually been suffering from diffuse Lewy body dementia — a devastating neurodegenerative disease she described as a “terrorist” inside his brain, causing paranoia, confusion, and sleeplessness. His final films, including Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, were released posthumously, and he had returned to television with the sitcom The Crazy Ones (2013–2014).
The Death
On August 11, 2014, Williams was found dead at his home in Paradise Cay, California. He was 63. The Marin County coroner ruled the death a suicide by hanging. Tributes poured in from around the world — fans left flowers at the “Mrs. Doubtfire” house in San Francisco and at the Boston Public Garden bench from Good Will Hunting. President Obama said Williams “arrived in our lives as an alien — but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit.”