Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams was
found dead on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in Northern
California, Marin County Sheriff's Office said. He was 63.
The sheriff's coroner's division said it suspects the death was a
suicide due to asphyxia, but the cause of death is still under
investigation.
"This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world
lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am
utterly heartbroken," Williams's wife Susan Schneider said in a
statement.
Williams, who won an Academy Award for his role as a fatherly
therapist in 1997's "Good Will Hunting," had been suffering from severe
depression recently, his publicist Mara Buxbaum said.
Williams, who introduced his frenetic style on late 1970s TV series
"Mork & Mindy" and had struggled with addiction in the past, had
entered a Minnesota rehabilitation center last month to help him
maintain sobriety.
His representatives at the time said Williams was not using drugs or
alcohol but had gone to the center to "fine-tune and focus" his
sobriety after working a longer-than-usual schedule.
The Marin County Sheriff's office said it received an emergency call
about noon local time on Monday, saying that Williams was unconscious
and not breathing at his home near Tiburon, north of San Francisco.
Fellow comedic actor Steve Martin said in a tweet: "I could not be
more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, great talent, acting
partner, genuine soul."
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