RIP: Robin Williams July 21, 1951 - August 11, 2014
RIP: Robin Williams July 21, 1951 - August 11, 2014
Robin McLaurin Williams[17][18] was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 21, 1951.[19]
His mother, Laurie McLaurin (c. 1923 September 4, 2001), was a former model from Jackson, Mississippi, whose own great-grandfather was Mississippi senator and governor Anselm J. McLaurin.[20][21]
His father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams (September 10, 1906 October 18, 1987), was a senior executive at Ford Motor Company in charge of the Midwest region.
He was raised in the Episcopal Church (while his mother practiced Christian Science), and later authored the comedic list, "Top Ten Reasons to be an Episcopalian."
Williams attended elementary school in Lake Forest, Illinois and began middle school there. His young friends recall him as being very funny.[28] When Williams's father was transferred to Detroit, the family moved from the Chicago area to a 40-room farm house in suburban Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he was a student at the Detroit Country Day School.[29] He excelled in school and became president of the class. He was on the school's soccer team and wrestling team.[30] In middle school, Williams was bullied and would seek out new routes home to avoid his tormentors.[31] He told jokes to his mother to make her laugh and pay attention to him.[32] Williams spent much of his time alone in the family's large home, playing with his 2,000 toy soldiers. "My only companions, my only friends as a child were my imagination," he said.[33]
Williams's father was away much of the time and, when he was home, Williams found him "frightening". His mother worked too, leaving Williams to be attended to by the maids they employed. Williams claimed his upbringing left him with an acute fear of abandonment and a condition he described as "Love Me Syndrome."[34]
When Williams was 16, his father took early retirement and the family moved to Woodacre, California, where he attended the public Redwood High School in nearby Larkspur. When he graduated in 1969, the senior class voted him both "Most Likely Not to Succeed" and "Funniest."[35]
Williams studied political science at Claremont McKenna College (then called Claremont Men's College) in Claremont, California.[36][37] Williams left Claremont and attained a full scholarship to the esteemed Juilliard School in New York City. In between Claremont and Juilliard, he returned to Marin County and studied theatre for three years at a community college, the College of Marin, where according to drama professor James Dunn, Williams's talent first became evident when he was cast as Fagin in Oliver!.[38]
He had two brothers: Robert Todd Williams, 13 years older than him, born June 14, 1938 ( August 14, 2007) and McLaurin Smith born 1939. "Then there was the war (WWII) and then me, Robin, born 1951."
Williams described himself as a quiet child whose first imitation was of his grandmother to his mother. He did not overcome his shyness until he became involved with his high school drama department.[40] In 1973, Williams was one of only 20 students accepted into the freshman class at Juilliard and one of only two students to be accepted by John Houseman into the Advanced Program at the school that year; the other was Christopher Reeve. William Hurt was another classmate.[41][42] Williams left Juilliard during his junior year in 1976 at the suggestion of Houseman, who told him, "There's just nothing more we can teach you. So you should go out and work."
After his father moved the family to Marin County, Williams began his career doing stand-up comedy shows in California beginning in the early 1970s, including the San Francisco Bay Area. A decade earlier, San Francisco was already a center for a rock music renaissance, hippies, drugs, and a sexual revolution, and Williams was responsible for leading its "comedy renaissance," writes Nachman.[44]:6 Williams says he found out about "drugs and happiness" during that period, adding that he also saw "the best brains of my time turned to mud."[41]
He next went to Los Angeles and continued doing stand-up shows wherever he could.[41]
During one show at the Comedy Club in 1977, TV producer George Schlatter saw him and asked him to appear on a revival of his Laugh-In show.
Williams later described the life of stand-up comedians like himself:
It's a brutal field, man. They burn out. It takes its toll. Plus, the lifestylepartying, drinking, drugs. If you're on the road, it's even more brutal. You gotta come back down to mellow your ass out, and then performing takes you back up. They flame out because it comes and goes. Suddenly they're hot, and then somebody else is hot. Sometimes they get very bitter. Sometimes they just give up. Sometimes they have a revival thing and they come back again. Sometimes they snap. The pressure kicks in. You become obsessed and then you lose that focus that you need.[44]:34-35
Drugs and alcohol became his early "demons" during stand-up shows and tours, although he said that he never drank or did drugs while on stage. He occasionally had to perform when he was feeling sick with a hangover from the previous day. Before one show, he remembered that he accepted a line of cocaine that someone gave him, but added that for him, cocaine made him paranoid, saying that "being on stage is not exactly the place to go when you're paranoid. It was a short trip to hell."[48]
At least one critic, Vincent Canby, who often saw Williams perform on stage, worried that his monologues were so intense that at any minute his "creative process could reverse into a complete meltdown." Williams, however, felt secure that he could never run out of ideas when on stage, as he relied on the gift of association while improvising: "All I'm doing is taking and expanding out from an idea. You say a sentence and some word will trigger another word." And as a source for his ideas he felt that the changing world events would always keep him supplied: "The world is changing now, it's beyond arithmetic. It's like into some Malthusian nightmare. In two seconds, governments are gone. Oops, it's Lithuania--no, it's Yugoslavia--no, it's two countries. It's changing that quick. And there's so much to play off."[48]
On June 4, 1978, Robin Williams married his first wife, Valerie Velardi. They met in 1976 when he worked as a bartender at a tavern in San Francisco.[75] Their son Zachary Pym "Zak" Williams was born on April 11, 1983. During Williams's first marriage, he was involved in an extramarital relationship with Michelle Tish Carter, a cocktail waitress whom he met in 1984. She sued him in 1986, claiming that he did not tell her he was infected with the herpes simplex virus before he embarked on a sexual relationship with her in the mid-1980s, during which, she said, he transmitted the virus to her. The case was settled out of court. Williams and Velardi divorced in 1988.[76][77]
On April 30, 1989, he married Marsha Garces, a Filipino American and Zachary's nanny, who was several months pregnant with his child. They had two children, Zelda Rae Williams (born July 31, 1989) and Cody Alan Williams (born November 25, 1991). In March 2008, Garces filed for divorce from Williams, citing irreconcilable differences.[77][78]
Williams married his third wife, graphic designer Susan Schneider, on October 23, 2011, in St. Helena, California.[79] Their residence was Williams's house in Sea Cliff, a neighborhood in San Francisco, California.[77][80][81]
Of what gives him a sense of wonder, Williams stated, "My children give me a great sense of wonder. Just to see them develop into these extraordinary human beings."
Robin McLaurin Williams[17][18] was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 21, 1951.[19]
His mother, Laurie McLaurin (c. 1923 September 4, 2001), was a former model from Jackson, Mississippi, whose own great-grandfather was Mississippi senator and governor Anselm J. McLaurin.[20][21]
His father, Robert Fitzgerald Williams (September 10, 1906 October 18, 1987), was a senior executive at Ford Motor Company in charge of the Midwest region.
He was raised in the Episcopal Church (while his mother practiced Christian Science), and later authored the comedic list, "Top Ten Reasons to be an Episcopalian."
Williams attended elementary school in Lake Forest, Illinois and began middle school there. His young friends recall him as being very funny.[28] When Williams's father was transferred to Detroit, the family moved from the Chicago area to a 40-room farm house in suburban Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he was a student at the Detroit Country Day School.[29] He excelled in school and became president of the class. He was on the school's soccer team and wrestling team.[30] In middle school, Williams was bullied and would seek out new routes home to avoid his tormentors.[31] He told jokes to his mother to make her laugh and pay attention to him.[32] Williams spent much of his time alone in the family's large home, playing with his 2,000 toy soldiers. "My only companions, my only friends as a child were my imagination," he said.[33]
Williams's father was away much of the time and, when he was home, Williams found him "frightening". His mother worked too, leaving Williams to be attended to by the maids they employed. Williams claimed his upbringing left him with an acute fear of abandonment and a condition he described as "Love Me Syndrome."[34]
When Williams was 16, his father took early retirement and the family moved to Woodacre, California, where he attended the public Redwood High School in nearby Larkspur. When he graduated in 1969, the senior class voted him both "Most Likely Not to Succeed" and "Funniest."[35]
Williams studied political science at Claremont McKenna College (then called Claremont Men's College) in Claremont, California.[36][37] Williams left Claremont and attained a full scholarship to the esteemed Juilliard School in New York City. In between Claremont and Juilliard, he returned to Marin County and studied theatre for three years at a community college, the College of Marin, where according to drama professor James Dunn, Williams's talent first became evident when he was cast as Fagin in Oliver!.[38]
He had two brothers: Robert Todd Williams, 13 years older than him, born June 14, 1938 ( August 14, 2007) and McLaurin Smith born 1939. "Then there was the war (WWII) and then me, Robin, born 1951."
Williams described himself as a quiet child whose first imitation was of his grandmother to his mother. He did not overcome his shyness until he became involved with his high school drama department.[40] In 1973, Williams was one of only 20 students accepted into the freshman class at Juilliard and one of only two students to be accepted by John Houseman into the Advanced Program at the school that year; the other was Christopher Reeve. William Hurt was another classmate.[41][42] Williams left Juilliard during his junior year in 1976 at the suggestion of Houseman, who told him, "There's just nothing more we can teach you. So you should go out and work."
After his father moved the family to Marin County, Williams began his career doing stand-up comedy shows in California beginning in the early 1970s, including the San Francisco Bay Area. A decade earlier, San Francisco was already a center for a rock music renaissance, hippies, drugs, and a sexual revolution, and Williams was responsible for leading its "comedy renaissance," writes Nachman.[44]:6 Williams says he found out about "drugs and happiness" during that period, adding that he also saw "the best brains of my time turned to mud."[41]
He next went to Los Angeles and continued doing stand-up shows wherever he could.[41]
During one show at the Comedy Club in 1977, TV producer George Schlatter saw him and asked him to appear on a revival of his Laugh-In show.
Williams later described the life of stand-up comedians like himself:
It's a brutal field, man. They burn out. It takes its toll. Plus, the lifestylepartying, drinking, drugs. If you're on the road, it's even more brutal. You gotta come back down to mellow your ass out, and then performing takes you back up. They flame out because it comes and goes. Suddenly they're hot, and then somebody else is hot. Sometimes they get very bitter. Sometimes they just give up. Sometimes they have a revival thing and they come back again. Sometimes they snap. The pressure kicks in. You become obsessed and then you lose that focus that you need.[44]:34-35
Drugs and alcohol became his early "demons" during stand-up shows and tours, although he said that he never drank or did drugs while on stage. He occasionally had to perform when he was feeling sick with a hangover from the previous day. Before one show, he remembered that he accepted a line of cocaine that someone gave him, but added that for him, cocaine made him paranoid, saying that "being on stage is not exactly the place to go when you're paranoid. It was a short trip to hell."[48]
At least one critic, Vincent Canby, who often saw Williams perform on stage, worried that his monologues were so intense that at any minute his "creative process could reverse into a complete meltdown." Williams, however, felt secure that he could never run out of ideas when on stage, as he relied on the gift of association while improvising: "All I'm doing is taking and expanding out from an idea. You say a sentence and some word will trigger another word." And as a source for his ideas he felt that the changing world events would always keep him supplied: "The world is changing now, it's beyond arithmetic. It's like into some Malthusian nightmare. In two seconds, governments are gone. Oops, it's Lithuania--no, it's Yugoslavia--no, it's two countries. It's changing that quick. And there's so much to play off."[48]
On June 4, 1978, Robin Williams married his first wife, Valerie Velardi. They met in 1976 when he worked as a bartender at a tavern in San Francisco.[75] Their son Zachary Pym "Zak" Williams was born on April 11, 1983. During Williams's first marriage, he was involved in an extramarital relationship with Michelle Tish Carter, a cocktail waitress whom he met in 1984. She sued him in 1986, claiming that he did not tell her he was infected with the herpes simplex virus before he embarked on a sexual relationship with her in the mid-1980s, during which, she said, he transmitted the virus to her. The case was settled out of court. Williams and Velardi divorced in 1988.[76][77]
On April 30, 1989, he married Marsha Garces, a Filipino American and Zachary's nanny, who was several months pregnant with his child. They had two children, Zelda Rae Williams (born July 31, 1989) and Cody Alan Williams (born November 25, 1991). In March 2008, Garces filed for divorce from Williams, citing irreconcilable differences.[77][78]
Williams married his third wife, graphic designer Susan Schneider, on October 23, 2011, in St. Helena, California.[79] Their residence was Williams's house in Sea Cliff, a neighborhood in San Francisco, California.[77][80][81]
Of what gives him a sense of wonder, Williams stated, "My children give me a great sense of wonder. Just to see them develop into these extraordinary human beings."
Replies
According to the preliminary result of the forensic investigation, Robin Williams\' cause of death was asphyxiation by hanging, Lt. Keith Boyd of the Marin County Sheriff\'s Office said during a press conference on Aug. 12.
The 63-year-old actor was found dead in his home in Tiburon, California, near San Francisco on Aug. 11.
[Warning: Graphic Details]
According to Boyd, Williams was last seen by his wife around 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 10, and was found by his assistant at approximately 11:45 a.m. the next day. Williams was found in a seated position, suspended slightly above the ground with a belt around his neck, Boyd explained. A pocket knife was also found and superficial cuts to his wrist were visible.
When asked if Williams left behind a note, Boyd replied, Were not going to discuss the note ... at this time.
Boyd stressed that their investigation into the actor\'s death is an ongoing one, and toxicology tests will determine if Williams had any substances in his system at his time of death.
Robin even looks like his ancestor, Governor Anselm McLaurin - He was the governor of Mississippi in 1894.
McLaurin, Robin\'s older brother (born 1947), age 67 - previously said that Robin Williams (born 1951) and Todd (born 1939), their other half-brotherwho shared the same father as Williamsused to meet up with their families every year.
All three of us grew up as only children Todd, myself and Robin. I was adopted by my mothers parents (Robin\'s grandparents) after her divorce from her first marriage. Todd grew up with his father who was married to my biological mother later on, when he was already a teenager.
We all get along famously. Todd is no blood relation to me, but were real close, he told the Chicago Tribune in 1991.
Carrie Fisher: Robin was very open about his struggles with alcohol and cocaine, as well as stints in rehab. Its fun to be brilliant, but who are your peers? Who was his peer? asked Fisher. Its incredibly lonely to be that. And he didnt have a choice. And thats why you take drugs, so you can slow up and smell the roses just to know that they are there, and its not all you. Drugs for a lot of people kept them alive. Without them they wouldve committed suicide. Not that I think that in any way drugs are positive. But I can certainly understand what drove his need for them, his appetite for them.
It is sad, he gave so many the gift of laughter. I can ot judge the man but I do fee compassion for him.It is a horrible thing his loved ones have to live with, May they find comfort and turn to the Lord!
thanks annie. i\'m STUNNED that he did this. makes me wonder if he was on antidepressants and it had this kind of side effect. some of them do.
That is true. he fought it this long I cant help to winder myself.Did he mix prescriptions with something else or maybe it was a medication that made him worse. Especially with the way he did end his life.
That print was really tiny. But it was a very interesting read.
Robin Williams had PARKINSON\'S DISEASE! never knew this. maybe it was starting to get bad and he decided not to go through it. His choice. His terms. ?
\"Depression is a symptom of Parkinson\'s disease, separate from the emotional response that comes with a diagnosis. As many as 50 percent of people with Parkinson\'s show clinically significant symptoms of depression at some point in their disease course. Depression in Parkinson\'s may be due to the underlying changes in brain chemistry and circuitry from the disease itself. Evidence for this includes the fact that depression can predate a Parkinson\'s diagnosis by a decade or more. More information is available on our Depression and Anxiety page. The Michael J. Fox Foundation continues to pursue a single, urgent goal: the eradication of Parkinson\'s disease. Explore our website for more information, connections to the Parkinson\'s community, and resources for living with Parkinson\'s disease.\"
Williams\'s widow, Susan Schneider, broke the surprising news about her late husband in a statement on Thursday. She also addressed claims that Williams, who dealt with drug and alcohol addiction for decades, was using again in his final days.
\"Robin\'s sobriety was intact and he was brave as he struggled with his own battles of depression, anxiety as well as early stages of Parkinson\'s disease, which he was not yet ready to share publicly,\" Schneider said. \"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.\"
Fox, 53, stayed silent about his 1991 Parkinson\'s diagnosis for seven years before speaking about it publicly. Last September, he described the tough period that followed.
\"My first reaction to [the diagnosis] was to start drinking heavily,\" he told Howard Stern on Stern\'s Sirius XM Radio show. \"I used to drink to party, but now I was drinking alone and ... every day. Once I did that it was then about a year of like a knife fight in a closet, where I just didn\'t have my tools to deal with it.\"
Fox credited his wife, Tracy Pollan, as well as therapy and Alcoholic\'s Anonymous with helping him through.
I have nothing to say, but I was here. *HUGS*