Post by Babu Baboon on Aug 11, 2014 19:07:26 GMT -6
Man, this is awful to hear. He was one of my favorite actor/comedians all the way back to when he was in Mork & Mindy.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Officials are investigating the death of Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams.
Williams was 63.
The Marin County Sheriff’s Office said that Williams was found unconscious Monday afternoon at about 12:00 p.m. inside his residence in unincorporated Tiburon in Marin County, north of San Francisco.
Officials suspect the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia, but a comprehensive investigation must be completed before a final determination is made. An investigation into the cause, manner, and circumstances of the death is currently underway by the Investigations and Coroner Divisions of the Sheriff’s Office, officials said.
Investigators said that Williams was last seen alive at his residence, where he resides with his wife at approximately 10:00 pm on Sunday.
“This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings,” said Susan Schneider.
“I am utterly heartbroken.”
Williams came to the Bay Area as a teen and attended Redwood High School in Larkspur then studied theater at the College of Marin. Williams owned a home in San Francisco’s Sea Cliff neighborhood.
The actor was often spotted in public with his three children, Zelda Rae Williams, Cody Alan Williams, Zachary Pym Williams, throughout the Bay Area. He recently posted a photo on Instagram of himself holding his daughter, Zelda Rae.
“#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!,” the caption said.
Williams has been open about the challenges of maintaining sobriety. He sought treatment in 2006 when he relapsed and returned to drinking after 20 years.
He had been battling severe depression recently. On July 1, Williams visited the 12-step program at a Minnesota facility to recharge after more than 18 straight months of work, according to his publicist.
Mara Buxbaum said Williams was “taking the opportunity to fine-tune and focus on his continued commitment, of which he remains extremely proud.”
From his breakthrough in the late 1970s as the alien in the hit TV show “Mork and Mindy,” through his standup act and such films as “Good Morning, Vietnam,” the short, barrel-chested Williams ranted and shouted as if just sprung from solitary confinement. Loud, fast, manic, he parodied everyone from John Wayne to Keith Richards, impersonating a Russian immigrant as easily as a pack of Nazi attack dogs.
Williams starred in the CBS series “The Crazy Ones” and the film “The Angriest Man in Brooklyn,” which was released in May. He had several other projects in the works, including another installment of “Night at the Museum.”
He was a riot in drag in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” or as a cartoon genie in “Aladdin.” He won his Academy Award in a rare, but equally intense dramatic role, as a teacher in the 1997 film “Good Will Hunting.”
He was no less on fire in interviews. During a 1989 chat with The Associated Press, he could barely stay seated in his hotel room, or even mention the film he was supposed to promote, as he free-associated about comedy and the cosmos.
“There’s an Ice Age coming,” he said. “But the good news is there’ll be daiquiris for everyone and the Ice Capades will be everywhere. The lobster will keep for at least 100 years, that’s the good news. The Swanson dinners will last a whole millennium. The bad news is the house will basically be in Arkansas.”
Following Williams on stage, Billy Crystal once observed, was like trying to top the Civil War. In a 1993 interview with the AP, Williams recalled an appearance early in his career on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” Bob Hope was also there.
“It was interesting,” Williams said. “He was supposed to go on before me and I was supposed to follow him, and I had to go on before him because he was late. I don’t think that made him happy. I don’t think he was angry, but I don’t think he was pleased.
“I had been on the road and I came out, you know, gassed, and I killed and had a great time. Hope comes out and Johnny leans over and says, ‘Robin Williams, isn’t he funny?’ Hope says, ‘Yeah, he’s wild. But you know, Johnny, it’s great to be back here with you.’”
In 1992, Carson chose Williams and Bette Midler as his final guests.
Like so many funnymen, he had serious ambitions, winning his Oscar for his portrayal of an empathetic therapist in “Good Will Hunting.” He also played for tears in “Awakenings,” ”Dead Poets Society” and “What Dreams May Come,” something that led New York Times critic Stephen Holden to once say he dreaded seeing the actor’s “Humpty Dumpty grin and crinkly moist eyes.”
Winner of a Grammy in 2003 for best spoken comedy album, “Robin Williams — Live 2002,” he once likened his act to the daily jogs he took across the Golden Gate Bridge. There were times he would look over the edge, one side of him pulling back in fear, the other insisting he could fly.
“You have an internal critic, an internal drive that says, ‘OK, you can do more.’ Maybe that’s what keeps you going,” Williams said. “Maybe that’s a demon. … Some people say, ‘It’s a muse.’ No, it’s not a muse! It’s a demon! DO IT YOU BASTARD!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! THE LITTLE DEMON!!”
A forensic examination is currently scheduled for August 12, 2014 with subsequent toxicology testing to be conducted.
news.kron4.com/news/breaking-actor-comedian-robin-williams-found-dead/
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Officials are investigating the death of Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams.
Williams was 63.
The Marin County Sheriff’s Office said that Williams was found unconscious Monday afternoon at about 12:00 p.m. inside his residence in unincorporated Tiburon in Marin County, north of San Francisco.
Officials suspect the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia, but a comprehensive investigation must be completed before a final determination is made. An investigation into the cause, manner, and circumstances of the death is currently underway by the Investigations and Coroner Divisions of the Sheriff’s Office, officials said.
Investigators said that Williams was last seen alive at his residence, where he resides with his wife at approximately 10:00 pm on Sunday.
“This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings,” said Susan Schneider.
“I am utterly heartbroken.”
Williams came to the Bay Area as a teen and attended Redwood High School in Larkspur then studied theater at the College of Marin. Williams owned a home in San Francisco’s Sea Cliff neighborhood.
The actor was often spotted in public with his three children, Zelda Rae Williams, Cody Alan Williams, Zachary Pym Williams, throughout the Bay Area. He recently posted a photo on Instagram of himself holding his daughter, Zelda Rae.
“#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!,” the caption said.
Williams has been open about the challenges of maintaining sobriety. He sought treatment in 2006 when he relapsed and returned to drinking after 20 years.
He had been battling severe depression recently. On July 1, Williams visited the 12-step program at a Minnesota facility to recharge after more than 18 straight months of work, according to his publicist.
Mara Buxbaum said Williams was “taking the opportunity to fine-tune and focus on his continued commitment, of which he remains extremely proud.”
From his breakthrough in the late 1970s as the alien in the hit TV show “Mork and Mindy,” through his standup act and such films as “Good Morning, Vietnam,” the short, barrel-chested Williams ranted and shouted as if just sprung from solitary confinement. Loud, fast, manic, he parodied everyone from John Wayne to Keith Richards, impersonating a Russian immigrant as easily as a pack of Nazi attack dogs.
Williams starred in the CBS series “The Crazy Ones” and the film “The Angriest Man in Brooklyn,” which was released in May. He had several other projects in the works, including another installment of “Night at the Museum.”
He was a riot in drag in “Mrs. Doubtfire,” or as a cartoon genie in “Aladdin.” He won his Academy Award in a rare, but equally intense dramatic role, as a teacher in the 1997 film “Good Will Hunting.”
He was no less on fire in interviews. During a 1989 chat with The Associated Press, he could barely stay seated in his hotel room, or even mention the film he was supposed to promote, as he free-associated about comedy and the cosmos.
“There’s an Ice Age coming,” he said. “But the good news is there’ll be daiquiris for everyone and the Ice Capades will be everywhere. The lobster will keep for at least 100 years, that’s the good news. The Swanson dinners will last a whole millennium. The bad news is the house will basically be in Arkansas.”
Following Williams on stage, Billy Crystal once observed, was like trying to top the Civil War. In a 1993 interview with the AP, Williams recalled an appearance early in his career on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” Bob Hope was also there.
“It was interesting,” Williams said. “He was supposed to go on before me and I was supposed to follow him, and I had to go on before him because he was late. I don’t think that made him happy. I don’t think he was angry, but I don’t think he was pleased.
“I had been on the road and I came out, you know, gassed, and I killed and had a great time. Hope comes out and Johnny leans over and says, ‘Robin Williams, isn’t he funny?’ Hope says, ‘Yeah, he’s wild. But you know, Johnny, it’s great to be back here with you.’”
In 1992, Carson chose Williams and Bette Midler as his final guests.
Like so many funnymen, he had serious ambitions, winning his Oscar for his portrayal of an empathetic therapist in “Good Will Hunting.” He also played for tears in “Awakenings,” ”Dead Poets Society” and “What Dreams May Come,” something that led New York Times critic Stephen Holden to once say he dreaded seeing the actor’s “Humpty Dumpty grin and crinkly moist eyes.”
Winner of a Grammy in 2003 for best spoken comedy album, “Robin Williams — Live 2002,” he once likened his act to the daily jogs he took across the Golden Gate Bridge. There were times he would look over the edge, one side of him pulling back in fear, the other insisting he could fly.
“You have an internal critic, an internal drive that says, ‘OK, you can do more.’ Maybe that’s what keeps you going,” Williams said. “Maybe that’s a demon. … Some people say, ‘It’s a muse.’ No, it’s not a muse! It’s a demon! DO IT YOU BASTARD!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! THE LITTLE DEMON!!”
A forensic examination is currently scheduled for August 12, 2014 with subsequent toxicology testing to be conducted.
news.kron4.com/news/breaking-actor-comedian-robin-williams-found-dead/
