On August 11, 2014, Robin Williams was found dead by suicide in his California home, but the reason behind his demise was far more complicated than depression.
PA Images/Alamy Stock PhotoRobin Williams died in 2014 after suffering from a devastating brain disease.
Robin Williams loved to make people laugh. From TV shows like Mork & Mindy to classic movies like Mrs. Doubtfire, he delighted audiences with his zany comedic style. So it came as a huge shock to the world when Robin Williams died at his home in Paradise Cay, California on August 11, 2014 — especially when it was revealed that the beloved actor and comedian had died by suicide.
So how did Robin Williams die? And what were the underlying causes of his death?
The answer is more complicated than it initially seemed. Despite early news reports that claimed Williams had been suffering from depression, his autopsy turned up a surprising result. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s — but he actually had a disease called Lewy body dementia, which may have caused his alarming symptoms leading up to his death.
Here are the answers to some of the most troubling questions about Robin Williams’ death, from when he died by suicide to how Lewy body dementia may have impacted his mental health during his final months.
When Did Robin Williams Die?
Robin Williams died on August 11, 2014, in Paradise Cay, California. He was last seen alive the night before, at around 10:30 p.m., by his wife Susan Schneider. According to the book Robin by Dave Itzkoff, they told each other goodnight, as usual. Then, Williams went to his room (they had separate bedrooms) with his iPad, apparently to do some reading before bed.
Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic/Getty ImagesRobin Williams and his wife, Susan Schneider, in 2012.
When Schneider woke up, the door to Williams’ room was closed. She assumed that he was sleeping and decided to let him get some rest. She left the house on the morning of August 11th to run some errands.
How Was Robin Williams Discovered?
By the time Schneider left, Robin Williams’ longtime assistant, Rebecca Erwin Spencer, and her husband, Dan, had come over to the house. At 11 a.m., they became concerned that Williams hadn’t gotten out of bed. Itzkoff writes that Rebecca slipped a note under Williams’ door, but didn’t get a response. At that point, her husband decided to try to find a step stool so that he could look into Williams’ bedroom from the outside of the home.
As Dan searched for a step stool, Rebecca successfully jimmied the lock on Williams’ bedroom door. She opened it, and found Robin Williams dead inside. His body was “cold to the touch” and rigor mortis had already set in, suggesting that he had been dead for about three to four hours.
How Did Robin Williams Die?
Robin Williams died by suicide — specifically, “asphyxia due to hanging.”
How Did Robin Williams Kill Himself?
Jacob ElliottThe California house where Robin Williams died.
According to SFGATE, Marin County Sheriff’s Lt. Keith Boyd told the media that Robin Williams was found clothed, in a seated position, with a belt around his neck. One part of the belt was around his throat, and “the other end of the belt wedged between the clothes closet door and the door frame,” Boyd explained, adding, “His right shoulder area was touching the door, with his body perpendicular to the door and slightly suspended.”
Investigators also found superficial cuts on Williams’ left wrist, and a pocket knife with dried blood on it, which he had apparently used to cut himself.
How Old Was Robin Williams When He Died?
Robin Williams died at the age of 63, just shortly after his birthday that year. (Robin Williams was born on July 21, 1951.)
Why Did Robin Williams Kill Himself?
Robin Williams had been struggling in the months before his death. Itzkoff writes that he began to experience a number of disturbing physical ailments in October 2013, which included stomach cramps, vision problems, tremors, and a stooped posture. His friends, including Billy Crystal, recalled that Williams seemed “thin,” “frail,” “quiet,” and overly emotional and affectionate.
Williams seemed to be struggling professionally, too. He seemed “flat” on his show, The Crazy Ones, which was canceled in 2014 after just one season, and Williams’ makeup artist on the set of Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb recalled that he seemed completely worn out. He often had trouble remembering his lines, and at one point, he tearfully exclaimed, “I don’t know how anymore. I don’t know how to be funny.”
In May 2014, Williams was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. This seemed to offer an answer for why his health had suffered, but it did little to help his anxiety and paranoia. Just months later, Williams died by suicide.
Though Williams had not left a suicide note, his publicist announced that the actor had been battling “severe depression” before his death. This led many to believe that Williams’ depression directly led to his demise.
However, his autopsy turned up a surprising result.
What Did Robin Williams Die From?
Robin Williams/InstagramThis is one of the last photos that Robin Williams posted on his Instagram before he died by suicide in August 2014.
Robin Williams’ cause of death was asphyxia by hanging and he died by suicide. However, his autopsy revealed that he was also suffering from an undiagnosed case of Lewy body dementia (LBD) before he died. Williams’ doctors had previously diagnosed him with Parkinson’s, which bears some resemblance to LBD, but LBD can only be definitively diagnosed during an autopsy — and it may explain some of the actor’s more troubling symptoms.
“What many people do not know is that depression was not the underlying cause of Robin’s suicide,” the Lewy Body Dementia Association wrote, “rather, it was a little-known brain disease called Lewy body dementia.”
What Is Lewy Body Dementia?
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Lewy body dementia is a type of dementia caused by an accumulation of proteins called “Lewy bodies” in the brain. It’s a progressive condition that worsens over time, and can cause numerous symptoms related to movement, cognitive function, sleep, and the nervous system. Crucially, it can also cause behavior and mood changes.
There is no cure, but there are treatments that can manage the disease.
“In the last year of his life, Robin experienced a startling pattern of behavior,” the Lewy Body Dementia Association said of Williams’ experience with the condition. “His friends, family, and film colleagues could tell he was not himself as he began exhibiting symptoms like confusion, forgetfulness, paranoia, hallucinations, anxiety, personality changes, and difficulty with movement. Robin could tell something was wrong, too, but he did not know what was happening to him, why it was happening, or how to stop it.”
What Are The Stages Of Lewy Body Dementia?
Tulemo/Wikimedia CommonsA photomicrograph of a Lewy body (indicated by arrow).
Lewy body dementia can be divided into seven stages. In the first stage, there are few noticeable symptoms. In the second, there is mild cognitive decline, such as forgetfulness. In the third stage, this decline continues in the form of memory loss and concentration problems.
Most people are diagnosed around stage four, when their cognitive decline becomes more obvious. In stage five, cognitive decline becomes severe. In stage six, patients experience significant memory loss, changes in personality, and sometimes the loss of speaking abilities. By stage seven, patients are unable to communicate and may lose the ability to walk.
At the time of his death, Robin Williams was in an advanced stage of LBD. And to his widow, Schneider, the diagnosis made perfect sense.
“The doctors said to me after the autopsy: ‘Are you surprised that your husband had Lewy bodies throughout his entire brain and brain stem?'” she said in 2021. “I didn’t even know what Lewy bodies were, but I said: ‘No, I’m not surprised.’ The fact that something had infiltrated every part of my husband’s brain? That made perfect sense.”
She believes that her husband died by suicide after he became extremely paranoid about an upcoming visit to a neurocognitive testing facility. Schneider told The Guardian that she thinks he thought: “I’m going to get locked up and never come out.” Amidst his panic, he ended his life.
How Many Kids Did Robin Williams Have When He Died?
AFF/Alamy Stock PhotoRobin Williams and his daughter Zelda, one of his three children, in 2006.
When Robin Williams died, he had three children: Zak, Zelda, and Cody Alan. Williams had Zak with his first wife, Valerie Velardi, in 1983. He had Zelda and Cody with his second wife, Marsha Garces, in 1989 and 1991, respectively.
“I lost my father and a best friend and the world got a little grayer,” Zak said after his father’s death. “I will carry his heart with me every day. I would ask those that loved him to remember him by being as gentle, kind, and generous as he would be. Seek to bring joy to the world as he sought.”
Who Inherited Robin Williams’ Fortune?
Robin Williams’ net worth at the time of his suicide was over $100 million, according to The New York Times. Though he left most of his estate to Zak, Zelda, and Cody, Williams also specified that Schneider should receive their home as well as enough money to maintain it during her lifetime.
However, Williams’ children and Schneider clashed over some details of the estate. They were eventually able to come to an agreement in 2015.
rulenumberone2/Wikimedia CommonsA tribute to Robin Williams at the San Francisco home used for the filming of his movie Mrs. Doubtfire.
Was Robin Williams Buried Or Cremated?
Robin Williams was cremated after his death.
Where Is Robin Williams Buried?
Robin Williams was not buried; his ashes were scattered over the San Francisco Bay, which is not far from where he lived.
What Celebrities Went To Robin Williams’ Funeral?
Hundreds of people attended a private event at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre to honor Robin Williams. They included celebrities like Bette Midler, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, George Lucas, Penny Marshall, Danny DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Gus Van Sant, Chris Columbus, Jeff Bridges, Minnie Driver, Marlo Thomas, Josh Groban, Seth Green, Eddie Izzard, Richard Lewis, and Pam Dawber.
Who Gave Robin Williams’ Eulogy?
Multiple people spoke at the event to honor Robin Williams’ life, including his close friend Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Bobcat Goldthwait, Bonnie Hunt, Eric Idle, Admiral Mike Mullen, Williams’ three children, and his wife, Susan.
What Was Robin Williams’ Last Movie?
20th Century Fox/YouTubeRobin Williams in Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.
Robin Williams’ last live-action movie that he filmed before his death was Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, which was released in December 2014. He also did voiceover work in Absolutely Anything (2015), and his voice was later used in the short film Once Upon a Studio (2023).
How Old Would Robin Williams Be Today?
As of August 2024, Robin Williams would be 73 years old.
After reading about Robin Williams’ death, go inside the shocking death of John Candy at the age of just 43. Or, read about the tragic overdose of John Belushi, the SNL star who died at the young age of 33.
