Robin Williams Suffered from Early Parkinson's at Death
FILE - Actor Robin Williams, star of the new film "Old Dogs" arrives at the film's premiere in Hollywood, California, Nov. 9, 2009.
LOS ANGELES —
Robin Williams was sober and suffering from early stages of Parkinson's disease as well as anxiety and depression at the time of his apparent suicide, the actor's widow said in a statement on Thursday.
Susan Schneider said Williams “was not yet ready to share publicly” his struggles with Parkinson's, an incurable and debilitating nervous system disorder that causes tremors and slowness of movement.
“It is our hope in the wake of Robin's tragic passing, that others will find the strength to seek the care and support they need to treat whatever battles they are facing so they may feel less afraid,” Schneider said in the statement.
The 63-year-old, Oscar-winning comedic virtuoso, whose madcap style and dramatic versatility made him one of film and television's top stars, was found hanged at his Tiburon, California, home north of San Francisco on Monday.
Robin Williams, 1951-2014
1/15Actor Robin Williams participates in the "The Crazy Ones" panel at the 2013 CBS Summer TCA Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, July 29, 2013.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
2/15Robin Williams presents a tribute to Jonathan Winters on stage at the 65th Emmy Awards at Nokia Theater, Sept. 22, 2013, in Los Angeles.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
3/15Robin Williams gestures during a panel discussion for his HBO show "Robin Williams: Weapons of Self-Destruction" at the Television Critics Association Cable summer press tour in Pasadena, California, July 30, 2009.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
4/15Actor Robin Williams arrives at the premiere of the film "World's Greatest Dad" during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, Jan. 18, 2009.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
5/15U.S. comedian Robin Williams, third from left, poses for photographs with U.S. soldiers at a U.S. base in Kabul, Afghanistan, Dec. 20, 2007.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
6/15Actor Robin Williams (right) gets slimed by show host Jack Black at the 19th annual Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles, April 1, 2006.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
7/15Comedian Robin Williams, wearing a camouflage jacket, entertains a cheering crowd of U.S. Army troops at Baghdad airport, Iraq, Dec. 16, 2003.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
8/15Comedian Robin Williams holds his Grammy Award to his ear as he poses for photographers at the 45th annual Grammy Awards at New York's Madison Square Garden, Feb. 23, 2003. Williams won the Grammy for Best Spoken Comedy Album for "Robin Williams Live 2002."
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
9/15Actor and comedian Robin Williams (center) shares a laugh with rescue workers near the site of the World Trade Center collapse in lower Manhattan, Oct. 17, 2001. Williams spent time with rescue workers as well as surprising their wives with phone calls.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
10/15Robin Williams (C) sings the nominated song "Blame Canada" from the movie "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" during the Academy Awards, March 26, 2000.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
11/15Oscar winners (left to right) Matt Damon, Robin Williams and Ben Affleck hold their Oscars for their work on the film "Good Will Hunting" at the 70th Annual Academy Awards, March 23, 1998, in Los Angeles. Damon and Affleck won for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen and Williams won for Best Supporting Actor.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
12/15Actress Pam Dawber (L) shares a laugh with actor Robin Williams as they pose for photographers before the annual American Museum of the Moving Image Tribute dinner, Feb. 23, 1995, in New York.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
13/15Academy Award-winning actor Robin Williams, wearing a prop from his new film "Patch Adams" places his handprints in cement during ceremonies to honor him at Mann's Chinese Theater, in Hollywood, Dec. 22, 1998.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
14/15Comedians Robin Williams (R), Billy Crystal (L) and Whoopi Goldberg share a hug on the stage of New York's Radio City Music Hall at the end of HBO's "Comic Relief 8" show, June 14, 1998.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
15/15Comedian Robin Williams, who starred in "The World According to Garp," is shown, July 21, 1982, in Los Angeles.
Veteran U.S. actor-comedian Robin Williams was found dead, Aug. 11, at his home in northern California. Suicide is believed to be the cause; he was 63.
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The Mrs. Doubtfire and Good Will Hunting star had been open about his struggles with alcohol and had gone to a Minnesota rehabilitation center this summer to “fine-tune” his sobriety, his publicist said in July.
Friends of the comedian, who first shot to prominence as a friendly alien in late 1970s TV series Mork & Mindy, described Williams as a man who masked his depression and thrived from performing for a crowd.
Williams' death, which has touched off a national conversation about suicide and depression, shook Hollywood and generations of fans.
U.S. President Barack Obama called him a “one of a kind” actor while directors and colleagues noted his humble nature, generosity and talent as one the most inventive comedians of his era.
Robin Williams' Death Prompts Outpouring of Tributes
1/10Festival goers pay tribute to the late actor Robin Williams at a makeshift memorial at the 22nd Sziget (Island) Festival on the Shipyard Island in northern Budapest, Hungary, Aug. 13, 2014.
Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead at age 63 on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in northern California, authorities said. As the news spread fans, Hollywood celebrities, and many others who knew him, paid tribute to Williams.
2/10A woman walks past graffiti on a wall that shows late actor Robin Williams after he was found dead at his home in California, in Belgrade, Serbia, Aug. 13, 2014.
Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead at age 63 on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in northern California, authorities said. As the news spread fans, Hollywood celebrities, and many others who knew him, paid tribute to Williams.
3/10People pause by a bench at Boston's Public Garden, Aug. 12, 2014, where a small memorial has sprung up at the place where Robin Williams filmed a scene during the movie, "Good Will Hunting."
Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead at age 63 on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in northern California, authorities said. As the news spread fans, Hollywood celebrities, and many others who knew him, paid tribute to Williams.
4/10Visitors look at a photograph of Oscar-winning actor and renowned comedian Robin Williams displayed at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., Aug. 12, 2014.
Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead at age 63 on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in northern California, authorities said. As the news spread fans, Hollywood celebrities, and many others who knew him, paid tribute to Williams.
5/10Flowers sit in front of the home of Robin Williams, Aug. 11, 2014, in Tiburon, California.
Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead at age 63 on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in northern California, authorities said. As the news spread fans, Hollywood celebrities, and many others who knew him, paid tribute to Williams.
6/10A photo of the late actor Robin Williams as Mork from Ork hangs with flowers left by people paying their respects, in Boulder, Colorado, Aug. 11, 2014, at the home where his hit 1980s TV series "Mork & Mindy", was set.
Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead at age 63 on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in northern California, authorities said. As the news spread fans, Hollywood celebrities, and many others who knew him, paid tribute to Williams.
7/10A person walks past the marquee of the Laugh Factory with a message in memory of actor/comedian Robin Williams in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, Aug. 11, 2014.
Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead at age 63 on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in northern California, authorities said. As the news spread fans, Hollywood celebrities, and many others who knew him, paid tribute to Williams.
8/10Robin Williams' star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is seen, Aug. 11, 2014, in Hollywood, California.
Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead at age 63 on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in northern California, authorities said. As the news spread fans, Hollywood celebrities, and many others who knew him, paid tribute to Williams.
9/10AJ Polis leaves a flower alongside a placard and a photo of the late actor Robin Williams as Mork from Ork, as people pay their respects at the home where the 1980's TV series "Mork & Mindy", was set, in Boulder, Colorado, Aug. 11, 2014.
Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead at age 63 on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in northern California, authorities said. As the news spread fans, Hollywood celebrities, and many others who knew him, paid tribute to Williams.
10/10Newspapers announcing the death of comedian Robin Williams are stacked on a newsstand in New York, Aug. 12, 2014.
Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was found dead at age 63 on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in northern California, authorities said. As the news spread fans, Hollywood celebrities, and many others who knew him, paid tribute to Williams.
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“Since his passing, all of us who loved Robin have found some solace in the tremendous outpouring of affection and admiration for him from the millions of people whose lives he touched,” Schneider said.
“His greatest legacy, besides his three children, is the joy and happiness he offered to others, particularly to those fighting personal battles,” she added in the statement.
Funeral arrangements are pending, and a full toxicology report will take two to six weeks, local officials said.
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