Robin Wiliams has died.
The Academy Award-winning star of Good Will Hunting – a comedy fan’s favorite thanks to turns on such beloved TV shows like Mork & Mindy and the short-lived The Crazy Ones, and an everything’s fave thanks to his diverse work on projects that ran the gamut, like Popeye, The World According to Garp, Moscow on the Hudson, Good Morning, Vietnam, Dead Poets Society, Hook, Aladdin, Toys, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, The Birdcage, Flubber, Patch Adams, One Hour Photo, Insomnia, August Rush, Lee Daniels’ The Butler, and the Night at the Museum movies – reportedly committed suicide today.
He was found this morning in his California home. He was 63.
The actor, whose life-long battle with alcohol and drugs wasn’t a secret, had checked into rehab last month, to keep working on his sobriety (he last relapsed in 2006), and is understood to have been feeling severely depressed as of late.
To echo what 20th Century Fox (the studio behind the upcoming Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb) had to say in the wake of the sad, sad news, Williams definitely will be missed. Not only by his peers, of which he had many (seriously, the guy pretty much worked with all of Hollywood during his career, which he kicked off back in the late ’70s) but by his fans as well. Of which he had more.
Williams, who always went for broke, sure made us smile and made us laugh. #illmissyougenie
It’s a real shame he won’t be around to that anymore. ’Cause it almost feels like today, the laughter died a little bit, too.
Photo: FansShare.com.
Update 1: Following the news of his passing, President Barack Obama issued a statement lamenting the loss of Robin Williams, noting how, through his work, the actor “ended up touching every element of the human spirit,” and offering his family’s condolences to Williams’.
Update 2: Click here for reactions from friends, peers, and co-stars past of the actor’s, like Lance Armstrong, Sarah Michelle Gellar (who has called his Crazy Ones on-screen dad, “the Father I had always dreamed of having”), Steve Martin, Cher, Kelly Clarkson, Kevin Spacey, Kathy Griffin, George Lopez, and Rita Wilson, among others.
And here for remembrances by Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Hank Azaria, Jennifer Lopez, Josh Charles, Jimmy Fallon, and Mindy Kaling, among others.
Update 3: Now click here to find out what projects Williams left on his docket, including a planned sequel to Mrs. Doubtfire.
Update 4: Ben Affleck also publicly remembered Williams, a day after his passing, by saying, “Robin had a ton of love in him. He made Matt [Damon] and my dreams come true [by starring in Good Will Hunting, which they wrote]. What do you owe a guy who does that? Everything.”
Update 5: For his part, Matt Damon has said that, “Robin brought so much joy into my life and I will carry that joy with me forever. I was lucky to know him and I will never, ever forget him.”
Update 6: Click here to read what Williams’ children, including his actress-daughter Zelda, had to say about their loss.
Update 7: The Broadway community also joined in on the fun of remembering Robin Williams in the days following the actor’s leaving us.
Tony winner James Monroe Iglehart, who plays the Genie in Aladdin, led an audience sing-along rendition of “Friend Like Me” at the end of the Aug. 12 show, and the Great White Way dimmed its lights for one minute the evening of Aug. 13.
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