Actor Robin Williams Dead of Apparent Suicide
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- August 11, 2014
By James DeRuvo (doddleNEWS)
The news has just broken that actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead today of an apparent suicide. He leaves behind a wife and three children. Williams burst on the scene in the late 70′s as a guest of the popular ABC sitcom “Happy Days,” playing the beloved alien from his comedy routine, Mork from Ork. The guest spot led to a spin-off and subsquent sitcom of his own entitled Mork and Mindy, and from there, Williams parlayed his act from stand-up comedian to actor for roles in such films as Awakenings, among many other hits.
"Robin Williams passed away this morning. He has been battling severe depression of late. This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time." – Publicist Statement
Robin Williams had quite the career, having won the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role as a psychologist in Good Will Hunting. He received other Oscar nominations as the a passionate professor of literature in Dead Poet’s Society and a homeless man suffering from delusions in The Fisher King.
He also should have won an Academy award, in my opinion, for his role as rock n’ roll DJ Adrian Cronnauer in Good Morning Vietnam. But it was his association with Disney, where he performed the voice of the Genie in Aladdin where Williams really hit the stratosphere (and the direct-to-video threequel, where he was let gloriously loose), and along came a series of family-oriented roles, including the mad scientist/professor in Son of Flubber, the lost father in the board game movie Jumaji, and his legendary role of Mrs. Doubtfire.
But Robin Williams was also a humanitarian, raising millions for the homeless through Comedy Relief, an event charity he founded with fellow comedians Whoopie Goldberg and Billy Crystal. He also donated his entire proceeds of his “Weapons of Self-Destruction” Christchurch performance to relief efforts after the 2010 Canterbury Earthquake, and also toured with the USO. Recently, Williams was known to be battling severe depression, possibly stemming from his ongoing substance abuse battle and his 2009 diagnosis with aortic heart issues. This morning he was found dead. And although the investigation is ongoing, the preliminary cause of death by the Marin County Coroner Division has been noted as asphyxia by suicide.
He was 63.
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