Robin Williams’ Death From A Disease He Never Knew He Had
Bruce Glikas/Getty ImagesRobin Williams was misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s three months before his death.
Early on in his career as a comedian, Robin Williams struggled with addictions to drugs and alcohol, but he became sober after his friend John Belushi died of an overdose. And though he continued to encounter issues with his drinking in the early 2000s, Williams was known mostly for his happy-go-lucky persona.
Robin Williams made a career out of making people laugh, but his talent extended into dramatic roles as well and solidified him as an Academy Award-winning actor.
But underneath his happy façade, Robin Williams struggled with his mental health, especially later in life. This compounded with physical ailments led the beloved actor to complete suicide on Aug. 11, 2014, in his home in Paradise Cay, California.
Williams had a history of depression, but given the trajectory of his life, seemed like he was always able to bounce back. No one close to him expected he would take his own life.
Three months before that fateful day, Robin Williams was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease but kept the diagnosis private, only telling his wife, Susan Schneider Williams, and their three children.
Still, Williams felt incredibly paranoid, anxious, and depressed though he had no idea why. His wife even suggested to him that they go to a neurocognitive testing facility to identify the root of his issues.
The couple had plans to go to a facility, and his wife said that she felt like he had been “getting better” the night before he died. That night, she went to bed around 10:30 p.m.
The last words her husband ever said to her were, “Goodnight, my love… goodnight, goodnight.”
The next morning, Williams’ personal assistant picked the lock on a door leading to the house’s second bedroom after receiving no response from Williams that morning. Inside the room, the assistant found Williams in a seated position on the floor, one end of a belt tied around his neck and the other secured between a door and the doorframe.
It was later discovered that Williams’ Parkinson’s diagnosis was wrong. He had in fact been suffering from Lewy body dementia, a debilitating brain disease that shares characteristics with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Lewy body dementia heavily affects sleep, behavior, movement, cognition, and control of one’s body. Williams’ had progressed so rapidly and severely, doctors were surprised he could walk or move at all.
“It was not depression that killed Robin,” his wife said. “Depression was one of let’s call it 50 symptoms and it was a small one.”
