Actor Robin Williams found dead in apparent suicide

Published August 12, 2014
Actor and comedian Robin Williams. — Photo by Reuters
Actor and comedian Robin Williams. — Photo by Reuters

Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead on Monday from a suicide at his home in Northern California, Marin County Sheriff's Office said. He was 63.

The sheriff's coroner's division said that the preliminary investigation shows the cause of death to be a suicide due to asphyxia.

“This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken,” Williams's wife Susan Schneider said in a statement.

Williams, who won an Academy Award for his role as a fatherly therapist in 1997's “Good Will Hunting,” had been suffering from severe depression recently, his publicist Mara Buxbaum said.

Williams, who introduced his frenetic style on late 1970s TV series “Mork & Mindy” and had struggled with addiction in the past, had entered a Minnesota rehabilitation center last month to help him maintain sobriety.

His representatives at the time said Williams was not using drugs or alcohol but had gone to the center to “fine-tune and focus” his sobriety after working a longer-than-usual schedule.

The Marin County Sheriff's office said it received an emergency call about noon local time on Monday, saying that Williams was unconscious and not breathing at his home near Tiburon, north of San Francisco.

Fellow comedic actor Steve Martin said in a tweet: “I could not be more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, great talent, acting partner, genuine soul.”


Celebrities saddened at the loss of an entertainment genius


As the news of Robin Williams's death was out, celebrities expressed their sorrow for a man who will be truly missed.

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