DISTINCTIVE ROLES”GOOD WILL HUNTING” (1997) – A rare but welcome serious role for Williams, who played the stubborn yet empathetic therapist who was somehow able to help math prodigy Will Hunting (Matt Damon) figure out how to handle his life. Won a supporting actor Oscar.”MRS. DOUBTFIRE” (1991) – Who couldn’t love a bumbling dad who dressed up as a portly nanny – with a latex mask, a wig and a Scottish accent – in order to spend time with his young kids? (A sequel was in the works.)”ALADDIN” (1992) – Will it ever be possible to see a cartoon genie and not think of Williams? Remember him shooting out of that bottle: “Ten thousand years will give you SUCH a crick in the neck!””GOOD MORNING, VIETNAM” (1987) – Williams’ fast-talking style was perfect for the role of a DJ on Armed Forces Radio during the Vietnam War. (First Oscar nomination.)”ONE HOUR PHOTO” (2002) – Another serious role, and it was a creepy one: Williams played a photo counter worker at a huge suburban store who got a little too involved in the lives of his customers when he realized one of them was having an affair.”DEAD POETS SOCIETY” (1989) – Played an unconventional poetry teacher who taught his Vermont boarding school students to stand on their desks, think on their own, and “seize the day.” (Second Oscar nomination.)”THE FISHER KING” (1991) – Williams played a half-mad homeless man, convinced that the Holy Grail was sitting in the Fifth Avenue abode of a billionaire. (Third Oscar nomination).”MORK & MINDY” (1978-1982) – Mork from Ork. Nanu, nanu. What more need be said? This TV series, a spinoff of “Happy Days,” is how many of us first learned of Williams’ sublime nuttiness.”MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON” (1984) – Williams played a Russian – and quite credibly, too – in this film about a comically lovable circus saxophonist, Vladimir, who defects while touring New York (turning himself in at Bloomingdale’s, naturally.)”BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO” (2011) – Appearing on Broadway, Williams gave an admirably thoughtful performance in the role of a tiger – actually, the ghost of a dead tiger – locked up at the Baghdad Zoo at the time of the U.S. invasion in 2003.
This March 27, 2010, file photo shows actor Robin Williams speaking at The 24th American Cinematheque Awards honoring Matt Damon in Beverly Hills, Calif.SAN FRANCISCO – Robin Williams, a brilliant shapeshifter who could channel his frenetic energy into delightful comic characters like “Mrs. Doubtfire” or harness it into richly nuanced work like his Oscar-winning turn in “Good Will Hunting,” died Monday in an apparent suicide. He was 63.
Williams was pronounced dead at his San Francisco Bay Area home Monday, according to the sheriff’s office in Marin County, north of San Francisco. The sheriff’s office said the preliminary investigation shows the cause of death to be a suicide due to asphyxia.
The Marin County coroner’s office said Williams was last seen alive at home at about 10 p.m. Sunday. An emergency call from his house in Tiburon was placed to the Sheriff’s Department shortly before noon Monday.
“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,” said Williams’ wife, Susan Schneider. “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 the focus will not be on Robin’s death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions.”