Actor Robin Williams Dies at 63

4 minute read

Updated 9:30 p.m. E.T.

The Oscar-winning comedian and actor Robin Williams has died at 63, according to police in Marin County, Calif.

A statement from the assistant chief deputy coroner of Marin County announced on Monday that the coroner divisions of the sheriff’s office “suspects the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia, but a comprehensive investigation must be completed before a final determination is made.”

Williams’ wife Susan Schneider released a statement saying she was “utterly heartbroken” and hoped “that the focus will not be on Robin’s death.”

“This morning I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings,” she said in the statement. “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 laugher he gave to millions.”

President Barack Obama issued a statement on Williams’ passing later in the day:

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.

In a statement confirming his death, Williams’ publicist said the actor “had been battling severe depression of late.”

Williams had entered a rehab facility earlier this year to “fine-tune and focus on his continued commitment” to sobriety, according to a rep, after struggling with alcohol and drugs in the 1980s and then again around the time he sought more help in 2006.

The comic broke out on the television series Mork & Mindy and won an Academy Award for his role in Good Will Hunting. He had memorable roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Dead Poets Society, Patch Adams, Hook, Jack and Good Morning, Vietnam. He also voiced the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin.

“Robin was a lightning storm of comic genius and our laughter was the thunder that sustained him,” director Steven Spielberg told Entertainment Weekly. “He was a pal and I can’t believe he’s gone.”

Williams, whom many celebrities mourned on Twitter, spoke about his career beginnings with TIME in 2011.

“When I went home from Juilliard [in 1975], I couldn’t find acting work,” he said. “I took a comedy workshop that was in the basement of a church that had lesbian poetry and stand-up, which is a great double. Eventually I got gigs in TV and movies, and then the rest is somewhat history.”

Williams left behind a number of movies, including the third Night at the Museum film, due in December, and Merry Friggin’ Christmas, due in November. He was set to reprise the role of Mrs. Doubtfire in the sequel to the 1993 movie.

“There really are no words to describe the loss of Robin Williams,” Fox, the studio behind Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, said in a statement, Entertainment Weekly reports. “He was immensely talented, a cherished member of our community, and part of the Fox family. Our hearts go out to his family, friends and fans. He will be deeply missed.”

The mayor of San Francisco, a city where Williams found early success with his stand-up comedy, said the city “mourns the profound loss of Robin Williams, who inspired us with his comedy and art.”

“His legacy has had a deep and inspiring impact on our city and on our residents,” Mayor Edwin M. Lee said in a statement. “Despite his success, he has never forgotten San Francisco. He was a philanthropist who gave generously, and he was a friend of the city.”

TIME television critic James Poniewozik remembers Williams’ defining television role here.

TIME film critic Richard Corliss reflects on the actor’s transition from comedic roles to dramatic ones here.

Robin Williams' Life in Pictures

Robin Williams life in pictures
Robin Williams in the 8th grade at Detroit Country Day School in Birmingham, Mich. in 1965.Courtesy Williams Family
Robin Williams life in pictures
In the 8th grade, Robin Williams, #15, played on the basketball team at Detroit Country Day School.Seth Poppel—Yearbook Library
Robin Williams life in pictures
Robin Williams in high school.Courtesy Robin Williams
Robin Williams Popeye 1980
Williams' played the spinach-loving sailor Popeye in its eponymous 1980 film.Paramount/AP
Robin Williams life in pictures
Robin Williams in September of 1981Steve Ringman—San Francisco Chronicle/Corbis
Robin Williams life in pictures
Robin Williams with his mom, Laurie Williams, during the premiere of "Moscow on The Hudson" at Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif in 1984.Ron Galella—Wire Image/Getty Images
Robin Williams life in pictures
Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve at Silver Friedman's "The Original Improvisation" in New York in 1988.Jim Demetropoulos—Retna Ltd./Corbis
Robin Williams life in pictures
Robin Williams, third from right, dressed as a cheerleader on Nov. 12, 1979 with the Broncos' Pony Express cheerleaders during the filming of an episode of "Mork & Mindy," in Denver.AP
Robin Williams 1987
Robin Williams played radio DJ Adrian Cronauer in director Barry Levinson's comedy drama, Good Morning Vietnam in 1987.Touchstone Pictures/AP
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Williams taught a generation to seize the day, to make their lives extraordinary, as John Keating in Dead Poets Society.Buena Vista Pictures
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Williams played a grown up version of Peter Pan in the 1991 family classic Hook.TriStar Pictures
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Williams lent his substantial talents to voicing Genie in Disney's 1992 animated film Aladdin.Disney
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Household chores were no match for Robin Williams as he donned layers of prosthetics to play Mrs. Doubtfire in the 1993 movie of the same name.20th Century Fox
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Williams starred as Alan Parrish, a boy stuck inside a board game for twenty-six years in the 1995 film Jumanji.TriStar Pictures
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Starring opposite a young Matt Damon, Williams played Dr. Sean Maguire, in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting.Miramax
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Williams played a living android in the 1999 film Bicentennial Man.Buena Vista
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Williams took on the likeness of Teddy Roosevelt in Ben Stiller's Night at the Museum.20th Century Fox
Robin Williams Death
Robin Williams and his family are seen with their dogs on May 2005. From left to right: Kiwi (poodle), son Cody Williams, Robin Williams, daughter Zelda Williams, Marsha Williams and Mizu (poodle)Lacy Atkins—Emily Scott Pottruck/Trails of Devotion

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Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com