In deep depression and beset by money-worries, Robin Williams cut wrist and hanged himself as unwitting wife slept in another room: Assistant found him when he failed to appear next morning
- The legendary actor, 63, was found dead by an assistant at his home in Tiburon, California, at 11.55am on Monday
- His wife Susan Schneider last saw him at 10.30pm Sunday when she went to bed and left Monday morning thinking he was still asleep
- A neighbor who was one of the last people to see the Oscar-winner alive has exclusively told MailOnline that Williams was a ‘shell’ this weekend
- Williams talked about needing taking jobs for the money and reportedly told a friend he had ‘serious money troubles’
- Oscar-winning star had battled depression and addiction to drugs and alcohol for years and spent a stint in rehab last month
By MICHAEL ZENNIE and HEIDI PARKER and SAM WEBB FOR MAILONLINE
Robin Williams hanged himself with a belt Sunday night while his wife slept in a nearby bedroom, it has been revealed.
The 63-year-old Williams was last seen alive about 10.30pm on Sunday by his third wife Susan Schneider when she went to bed. Williams locked himself in a different bedroom, Marin County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Keith Boyd said this afternoon.
By the time an assistant found the Oscar-winning actor’s body at 11.55am on Monday, rigor mortis had set in. It normally takes 12 to 18 hours for a body to stiffen after death.
After going to bed Sunday night, Susan got up and left the house to run errands about 10.30am – believing her husband of three years was still asleep.
An assistant, worried when Williams couldn’t be roused at 11.45am, broke into the bedroom. Williams was found clothed, in a seated position with a belt around his neck.
He had several superficial cuts on the inside of his left wrist. A pocket knife with what appeared to be dried blood was discovered nearby.
Tragic: Troubled actor Robin Williams was found dead at about 11.55am in his bedroom on Monday
+20
Lieutenant Keith Boyd said Williams was found dead about 11.55am on Monday
+20
Susan Schneider, Williams wife since 2011, was the last to see her husband alive when she went to bed about 10.30pm on Sunday. He was found dead less than 14 hours later
Emergency personnel arrived at noon. At 12:02 he was pronounced dead. Toxicology reports are pending and will take two to six weeks.
Police would not comment on whether Williams left a suicide note, though TMZ reports that his family don’t believe he left behind anything explaining his actions.
Police also wouldn’t discuss the circumstances under which Williams and his wife went to bed in separate rooms.
More…
- ‘Serious money trouble’ after $30million divorce bills, a stint in rehab just weeks ago – and ‘depressed’ his TV show was axed in May: The demons that Robin Williams wrestled with before he killed himself
- ‘Stunned and so sad’: Sally Field and Minnie Driver remember their fallen co-star Robin Williams as Hollywood tributes continue to pour in after actor’s suicide
- ‘Closer than brothers’: Robin Williams’ extraordinary friendship with Christopher Reeve from penniless roommates to Hollywood highs and helping save his friend’s life
- Robin Williams checked into Minnesota rehab center to ‘focus on continued commitment’ to sobriety before his tragic death
- Life and times of a beloved funnyman: Robin Williams’ rise to fame and his lifelong battle with drugs and depression
The Mrs Doubtfire and Good Will Hunting star’s suicide comes after decades of battling depression and alcohol and drug addiction. He was also facing significant financial pressures and admitted he was selling a $35million estate in Napa because he could no longer afford it..
Williams was ‘very drawn and thin’ and appeared just a ‘shell’ of his bright public persona this weekend – a few days before he committed suicide, according to his neighbor who was one of the last people to see him alive.
EXCLUSIVE: NEIGHBOR WHO SAW STAR ONE DAY BEFORE DEATH SAYS ‘HE WAS A SHELL’
One of the last people to see Robin Williams alive has said the renowned funnyman was ‘a shell’ when she saw him a day before he killed himself.
A longtime neighbor has exclusively told MailOnline that Williams was withdrawn when she stopped to chat with him this weekend near his home outside Tiburon, California.
Through tears she said: ‘The last time I saw Robin was over the weekend, we would catch up on the street, just casual.
‘He was very drawn and thin, he did not look like the Robin who first moved into this community many years ago.
‘He was a shell of himself, exhausted and not in the best spirits, but still the nice guy I had always known. There seemed to be something on his mind.
‘He was not at all like his stage persona, that was not the Robin I knew. He was more quiet and down-to-earth, not over-the-top like he was in the movies. He listened well.
‘He was often quiet and very private.
‘The last time I saw him he seemed to be in a bad place emotionally.’
The longtime resident of the secluded community where Williams lived has exclusively told MailOnline that Williams appeared subdued and preoccupied – especially compared to the up-beat family man who moved into the Tiburon, California, mansion years ago.
Williams’ neighbor told MailOnline through tears: ‘The last time I saw Robin was over the weekend, we would catch up on the street, just casual.
‘He was very drawn and thin, he did not look like the Robin who first moved into this community many years ago.
‘He was a shell of himself, exhausted and not in the best spirits, but still the nice guy I had always known. There seemed to be something on his mind…
‘The last time I saw him he seemed to be in a bad place emotionally.’
Williams struggled with depression and an addiction to cocaine and alcohol for decades. Last month the married father of three was back in rehab ‘fine-tuning’ his sobriety in a year where he had been working on six movies and a TV series.
His publicist also revealed the star had been ‘battling severe depression of late.’
Williams also admitted that he was troubled by his finances. He was reportedly forced to pay $30million during his 2008 divorce from his second wife Marsha Garces, the film producer who is mother to his last two children, and first wife Valerie Velardi.
Last year, he admitted that he was selling his $35million Napa estate because he could no longer afford it. He listed it in April for $29.9million – a $5million markdown from what he paid for it.
He also admitted that he was working many of his recent gigs – including a new TV show for CBS – to make money. He was also working on six movies this year – leaving four of them unfinished.
+20
Fans laid flowers at the gate of Williams’ mansion in a secluded neighborhood at 95 St. Thomas Way outside Tiburon, California
+20
Last time together: On July 21, in what could be the last picture of the comedy giant, Robin Williams posted this photograph to Instagram on his birthday of himself and his Night at the Museum co-star, Crystal the monkey. It was also the last time he was together with all his children
+20
Dearest wish: A shot of the marquee at the Laugh Factory in West Hollywood paying tribute to the late Robin Williams on August 11, 2014 in Los Angeles, California
A source told RadarOnline that Williams confided that he had ‘serious money troubles.’
He told Parade magazine last September: ‘The idea of having a steady job is appealing… There are bills to pay.
‘My life has downsized, in a good way. I’m selling the ranch up in Napa. I just can’t afford it anymore.’
No matter Williams’ current financial state, he made sure to look after his three children, Zachary Pym, 31, Zelda Rae, 25 and Alan, 22.
TMZ reports that he set up trusts for his children in 2009 that were paid in stages. One their 21st birthday, the children each got one third of the trust. Half of the remaining amount was to be doled on out their 25th birthday and the rest on their 30th.
It is not known how much money is in the trusts, but TMZ reports that they will continue to pay out even after the star’s death.
Williams had not been seen in public since his birthday three weeks ago.
Despite his trip to rehab in Minnesota earlier this year, friends tell TMZ that the star’s final attempt at saving himself from his demons might have come too late.
‘Just before he checked in it was obvious … he had not gotten treatment for so long he was too far down the road,’ a source told the gossip site.
+20
Felt around the nation: In Boston, the park bench from Williams’ famous scene in ‘Good Will Hunting.’ They also wrote tributes to his inspiration Oscar-winning character from the film
+20
Poignant: Flowers, messages and other tributes are scattered across the comedian’s star on the Holywood Walk of Fame as fans come to terms with his death
+20
Family: Actor Robin Williams and with then wife Marsha Garces Williams, sons Cody, Zachary with girlfriend Alex, daughter Zelda arrive at the 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2005
Those who knew Williams well also spoke to a disconnect between his on-screen exuberance and the private, withdrawn person he could be in his personal life.
‘I’ve always felt that Robin’s blinding speed and flash of wit was an effort at concealment, rather than revealing,’ Monty Python member Eric Idle said in 2009. ‘He would be talking about something personal or sexual, but it was always in general, not about him.’
Jamie Masada, a US comedy club pioneer, said: ‘He was always in character – you never saw the real Robin. I knew him 35 years, and I never knew him.’
Even the neighbor who spoke to MailOnline said his demeanor was different in person.
‘He was not at all like his stage persona, that was not the Robin I knew. He was more quiet and down-to-earth, not over-the-top like he was in the movies. He listened well,’ she said.
‘He was often quiet and very private.’
He drove a beat-up Jeep, not a flashy car and kept a low-profile in the neighborhood – despite living in a home worth millions.
‘UTTERLY HEARTBROKEN’: ROBIN WILLIAMS’ WIFE PAYS TOUCHING TRIBUTE TO ‘MY HUSBAND AND BEST FRIEND’
Robin Williams’ wife revealed that he had died and released a moving statement.
Susan Schneider said: ‘This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one if its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken,’ she began.
‘On behalf of Robin’s family, we are asking for privacy during our time of profound grief. As he is remembered, it is our hope that the focus will not be on Robin’s death but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions.’
Shortly afterwards his daughter Zelda, 25, tweeted an excerpt from Antoine De Saint-Exupery’s novella The Little Prince which read: ‘You – you alone will have the stars as no one else has them… In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night… You – only you will have stars that can laugh.’
Friends and colleagues such as Steven Spielberg, Steve Martin, Danny DeVito and Ben Stiller all took to social media to express their grief and offer condolences to Williams’ third wife and three children, Zachary Pym, 31, Zelda Rae, 25 and Alan, 22.
President Obama issued a touching tribute to the actor and comedian, and said: ‘Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan and everything in between. But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien – but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit.
‘He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most – from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets. The Obama family offers our condolences to Robin’s family, his friends, and everyone who found their voice and their verse thanks to Robin Williams.’
The Los Angeles’ Laugh Factory, where he inspired countless other comedians, issued their own tribute to the Oscar winning actor and entertainer by changing their banner to read ‘Robin Williams Rest in Peace. Make God Laugh.’
The star’s 25-year-old daughter Zelda Williams tweeted a poignant quote shortly after her about her loss.
She posted an exerpt from Antoine De Saint-Exupery’s novella The Little Prince which read: ‘You – you alone will have the stars as no one else has them… In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night… You – only you will have stars that can laugh.’
She finished the post with the words: ‘I love you. I miss you. I’ll try to keep looking up, Z.’
Williams’ last tweet and Instagram post came on July 31, – 11 days before his apparent suicide – in which he wished Zelda a happy 25th birthday, posting a picture of himself with her as a child. ‘Quarter of a century old today but always my baby girl,’ he wrote.
Outside the family home in a neighbourhood of low-slung houses with water views, people left flowers and talked about the man who rode his bike around and had a smile and a wave for children on the street.
‘It wasn’t like having a celebrity,’ said Sonja Conti who said the actor would often ask about her dog and nicknamed him ‘Dude.’ ‘He was just a normal, nice guy. People left him alone.’
Another neighbour, Kelly Cook, 50, described Williams as a ‘private man’ who would often be seen cycling around the area.
She said her children would call him ‘the funny man’ and he would often speak to them when he was out walking his pug called Lenny.
+20
+20
Poignant tweet: Zelda Williams posted an Antoine De Saint-Exupery quote from The Little Prince on Monday following her father Robin Williams’s death
+20
Final post: Williams celebrated his daughter Zelda Rae’s 25th birthday on July 31, posting a touching black and white photo of himself cradling his baby girl
He admitted he returned to TV after nearly three decades because two divorces have left him short of cash.
The comic’s breakups cost him £30million and he claims to need a ‘steady job’. He was also selling his $30million California ranch due to his sizeable alimony payments.
Williams said: ‘Divorce is expensive. I used to joke they were going to call it “all the money”, but they changed it to “alimony”.
‘It’s ripping your heart out through your wallet.’
His marriage to Valerie Velardi ended in 1988 after the pair had been together for 10 years. The actor then wed his son’s nanny Marsha Garces with whom he stayed for 19 years and had two children with.
The couple divorced in 2008. Williams is now married to graphic designer, Susan Schneider.
+20
Thank you for the laughter: A woman leaves flowers outside the home of actor and comedian Robin Williams in Tiburon, California August 11, 2014
+20
Last seen: The comedian was last seen in public in June at San Francisco Zoo where he fed a howler monkey that was named ‘Robin’ after him
+20
Inside: These real estate pictures show the interior of the home in Tiburon, California which is owned by Robin Williams and his family and where the comedy legend was found dead on Monday (pictures date from before Williams purchased the home)
FANS TURN PARK BENCH FROM FAMOUS SCENE IN GOOD WILL HUNTING INTO TRIBUTE FOR ROBIN WILLIAMS
The bench in Boston where a memorable scene from Good Will Hunting was filmed has been turned into a memorial for the film star.
The seat is by a lake in the city’s Public Gardens and formed the backdrop of the famous monologue delivered by his character Sean Maguire, a psychiatrist reaching out to troubled genius janitor Will.
In a much-loved scene from the film, which earned Williams a best supporting actor Oscar, Maguire, a widower, calmly takes apart his young, talented patient’s intellectual aloofness and cynical attitude.
+20
Heartbreak: A still from the scene in Good Will Hunting where Williams, portraying psychiatrist Sean Maguire, delivers a famous monologue about life and love to his troubled yet brilliant patient Will
Tribute: Quotes from Williams’ career have been chalked around the bench and flowers placed at the site
Maguire says: ‘You’re a tough kid. And I’d ask you about war, you’d probably throw Shakespeare at me, right? “Once more into the breach, dear friends”.
‘But you’ve never been near one. You’ve never held your best friend’s head in your lap, and watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help.
‘I’d ask you about love, you’d probably quote me a sonnet. But you’ve never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable… to have that love for her, be there forever, through anything, through cancer.
‘And you wouldn’t know about sleeping sittin’ up in the hospital room for two months, holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes that the terms ‘visiting hours’ don’t apply to you.
‘You don’t know about real loss, ’cause that only occurs when you’ve loved something more than you love yourself.’
Now fans have written quotes from the film in chalk on the floor around the bench, such as the monologue’s final challenge: ‘Your move, chief’.
Another wrote: ‘Sorry guys, I went to see about a girl’ in reference to the scene where Williams talks about the moment he met his beloved wife.
Flowers have also been placed at the site.
+20
Father and daughter: Actress Zelda Williams and father actor Robin Williams attend the House Of D film premiere at Loews Lincoln Square in New York in 2005 and (right) Zelda seen in November, 2013
‘VERY SAD, VERY UPSET’: COMEDY LEGEND’s ONSCREEN MRS. DOUBTFIRE DAUGHTER MARA WILSON LEADS TRIBUTES
Tributes were pouring in after the shocking news of Robin Williams’ death broke on Monday.
+20
Two decades on: Mara Wilson was six-years-old when she starred with Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire and took to Twitter on Monday to express her grief at Robin Williams’ death
Mara Wilson, who played his on-screen daughter in Mrs Doubtfire, was amongst the first to pay their respects to the late actor, whose tragic death aged 63 at his Tiburon, California home is being treated as suspected suicide.
The actress, who is now 27, was devastated. She tweeted: ‘Very sad, very upset, very glad I did not have to hear about this though Twitter. Probably going to be taking some time off it for a while.’
Sally Field, who also starred in the movie, said in a statement: ‘I feel stunned and so sad about Robin. I’m sad for the world of comedy. And so very sad for his family. And I’m sad for Robin.
‘He always lit up when he was able to make people laugh, and he made them laugh his whole life long…. tirelessly. He was one of a kind. There will not be another. Please God, let him now rest in peace
Robin’s representative told MailOnline: ‘Robin Williams passed away this morning. He has been battling severe depression of late.
‘This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2723126/EXCLUSIVE-He-shell-Robin-Williams-drawn-just-one-day-hanged-California-mansion-no-note.html#ixzz3AQLlVlPo
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
