“I was acutely aware of his struggles”: Robin Williams’ Son Reveals Late Comedian’s Raging Depression Made Him Abuse Addictions Before Finally Committing Suicide at 63
The Night at the Museum trilogy actor Robin Williams was an improv actor and comedian. He gifted several years of his life to the people for their entertainment. Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, and The Fisher King are some classics he starred in. The jolly and charming front which he kept up for 63 years came to an end in the August of 2014 after he committed suicide after suffering from depression memory loss, and paranoia. After an autopsy, it was found that the actor suffered from undiagnosed Lewy body disease, which led to him such misery.
In 2020, his son Zak Williams came forward with his side of the story.
Robin Williams and his struggle with mental health
Robin Williams battled severe depression till his last breath. The man who made everyone laugh had a dark side that was slowly engulfing him. During his career of four decades, the actor’s abusive relationship with drugs wasn’t unknown to the public. Although he quit after his son’s birth, the struggles he faced did not completely bid him adieu. Zak Williams, his son opened up about his father on The Dr. Oz Show. He explained,
“I was acutely aware of my dad’s struggles with depression, it manifested in addiction at times, and he took great lengths to support his well-being and mental health, especially when he was challenged,”
The actor’s son then further stated how much taking care of his mental health was important to him on a daily basis,
“It was something that was a daily consideration for him.”
He then also added,
“The main thing for me was noticing how he went to great lengths to support himself while he could show up for others. It was clear that he prioritized his mental health throughout most of his life, at least that I experienced with him.”
Robin William’s wife and his three children are now carrying his legacy forward. Despite his struggles, he never failed to make his audience smile and his family hopes the fans remember him for all the good he left behind.
Sam Neil on Robin Williams
Sam Neil, a fellow critically acclaimed actor and a friend of Robin Williams came up with a memoir recently. In Did I Ever Tell You This? he spoke about his friendship with the Dead Poets Society actor in great detail. The two shared screen in the 1999 movie Bicentennial Man. He said,
“We would talk about this and that, sometimes even about the work we were about to do, he was irresistibly, outrageously, irrepressibly, gigantically funny.”
Neil then further pointed out the dichotomy of everybody’s favorite funny man. The Jurassic Park actor stated,
“He had fame, he was rich, people loved him, great kids—the world was his oyster. And yet I felt more sorry for him than I can express. He was the loneliest man on a lonely planet,”
He claimed Williams was the “funniest person” he worked with but “the saddest person” he ever met. Neil then stated how he loved to lift up everybody’s mood on set,
“as soon as he flung open the door, he was on.—Funny stuff just poured out of him. And everybody was in stitches, and when everybody was in stitches, you could see Robin was happy,”
Robin Williams was an unfortunate man with a very fortunate life. People will remember him for all his incredible contributions to the world of cinema.
Source: The Dr. Oz Show
