American comedian and actor Robin Williams, whose birth name was Robin McLaurin Williams and who died on August 11, 2014 in Tiburon, California, was known for his manic stand-up routines and his wide range of roles in movies. He was born on July 21, 1951, in Chicago, Illinois. An Oscar Award was given to him for his performance in Good Will Hunting (1997).
Robin Williams Death
At the age of 63, Robin Williams passed away in 2014 in his Paradise Cay, California home.
The actress, who was born in Chicago, committed suicide after receiving a false diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and sinking into a deep melancholy.
Only “therapeutic” quantities of prescribed medicines were identified in his system, with no evidence of illegal substances or alcohol.
A misdiagnosis of Robin’s neurological condition, diffuse Lewy body dementia, which manifests as sluggish reactions, physical rigidity, and sometimes depression, is widely believed to have contributed to his tragic end.
Ashes were dispersed in San Francisco Bay on August 12, 2014.
As a tribute to the actor, President Barack Obama said the actor touched “every element of the human spirit” in his work.
Robin had checked himself into a Minnesota alcohol rehab centre not long before he passed away.
As Robin’s publicist had previously stated, the actor had been dealing with “serious depression” before his untimely passing.
According to his wife, Susan Schneider, the first signs of the condition manifested in October 2013. They were worry and anxiety, difficulties passing urine, heartburn, difficulty sleeping, a diminished sense of smell, tension, and a minor tremor in his left hand.
Ultimately, he developed memory issues and severe paranoia, prompting a comment from Susan: “Robin could feel himself going crazy… I just need a brain reset, he kept repeating.”
The actor’s sad last days were chronicled in a book that detailed how his mind and body deteriorated due to an irreversible brain condition he was blissfully ignorant he had.
“He was sobbing in my arms at the end of every day,” makeup artist Cheri Minns said in Dave Itzkoff’s book, Robin.
She went on: “It was horrible… I said to his people, ‘I’m a makeup artist. I don’t have the capacity to deal with what’s happening to him.'”
When Did Robin Williams’ Son Zak Say His Dad Was Misdiagnosed?
Zak Williams, Robin’s son, spoke up about the impact of his father’s misdiagnosis on the podcast The Genius Life in July 2021, on the occasion of what would have been his 70th birthday. He was joined by the show’s host, Max Lugavere.
“What I saw was frustration,” Zak said “What he was going through didn’t match one to one [with what] many Parkinson’s patients experience,” he continued. “So, I think that was hard for him.”
It was only after Robin had passed away that it was learned that he had been wrongly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
“There was a focus issue that frustrated him, there were issues associated with how he felt and also from a neurological perspective he didn’t feel great,” adding, “He was very uncomfortable.”
Zak added in that his father’s suicide also led to his own problems surrounding mental health.
“I was heavily drinking to manage my mental health where it created very harmful issues. For me personally, I was having health issues. I was experiencing some psychosis and when I spokewith a psychiatrist I was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder,” he shared.
Zak currently works as a mental health advocate and has become good friends with Prince Harry.
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Robin Williams’ Upbringing And Professional Start
On July 21, 1951, Robin McLaurin Williams entered the world. He was preceded in life by two half-brothers. He says he utilised humour to get his mom’s attention when he was a kid, and his pals at school attest to the fact that he’s always been a hilarious presence in the classroom. He graduated from high school in 1969 and was recognised as both “Funniest” and “Most Likely Not to Succeed” in the yearbook.
It was as Fagin in Oliver! that he decided to abandon his political science major and pursue acting instead. Afterwards, Robin attended New York’s illustrious Juilliard School, where his longtime friend Christopher Reeve was also a student, along with William Hurt.
In the middle of the 1970s, he started doing a “manic” type of stand-up comedy that eventually gained him a position on the TV show Laugh-In the following year.
Robin claims that his early career substance abuse was triggered by the pressures of stand-up comedy.
In addition to his role on Happy Days and its immensely successful spinoff, Mork & Mindy, he also appeared on The Richard Pryor Show and in the comedy special Off the Wall. The lead part in the 1980 film Popeye was the beginning of his successful Hollywood career.
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