Robin Williams

Robin Williams was a comedian and actor best known for voicing Genie in 1992’s Aladdin and starring in Dead Poets Society (1989), Jumanji (1995), Good Will Hunting (1997) and the Night at the Museum trilogy from 2006 to 2014. Williams won his only Oscar in 1998, earning Best Supporting Actor for Good Will Hunting. He received two Emmy Awards, five Grammys, six Golden Globe Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards throughout his lifetime.

Williams started his stand-up career in 1976, performing his first show in the San Francisco Bay Area at the Holy City Zoo. Williams’ first big role was as the alien Mork in a 1978 episode of Happy Days, which led to a spinoff series titled Mork & Mindy. He went on to star in three HBO comedy specials: Off The Wall (1978), An Evening with Robin Williams (1983) and A Night at the Met (1986). Williams also headlined his own one-man show titled Robin Williams: Live on Broadway in 2002.

Williams welcomed son Zachary in 1999 with his first wife, Valerie Velardi, whom he was married to from 1978 to 1988. He married Marsha Garces in 1989, and the pair welcomed children Zelda and Cody. Williams and Garces separated in 2008, and their divorce was finalized in 2010. He married his third wife, Susan Schneider, in 2011.

Throughout his career, Williams dealt with substance abuse and severe depression. Shortly before his death, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease with early symptoms starting in 2013. He died by suicide in August 2014 at the age of 63. According to his autopsy, Williams had diffuse Lewy bodies which contributed to the severity of his depression and anxiety.