Oscar-winning comedian Robin Williams, who died by suicide at the age of 63 in 2014, was “frustrated” with his attempts to find mental health help, according to his son.
Zak Williams, 43, said on The Squeeze podcast that his father shared his struggle with him during his final days. “The days, weeks, months prior to him dying by suicide, I was really feeling for him because he was having a frustrating time and was seeking support and was just trying to figure out what it was that would be most helpful to kind of help him experience some relief,” Williams said.
Robin Williams was found dead after hanging himself in his Tiburon, California, home by his personal assistant on the morning of August 11, 2014.
The actor and comedian was suffering from severe depression and an advanced stage of Lewy body dementia, which was only discovered during the autopsy. He was erroneously diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease prior to his death.
His son Zak, one of the late actor’s three children, said he thinks his father may have found help if he had kept searching a little longer. “That was hard for me because I don’t think he was far off from finding something that would have felt like it was more helpful for him,” he shared.
Zak Williams also shared some of his own struggles since his dad’s death.
“The main thing for me is just I loved him so much, and I couldn’t have told him enough, and for someone who was such a loving human being and just giving his heart to the world, I had hopes that he would have found some peace,” he said. “For me there’s some unresolved considerations relating to that.”
Zak also spoke about his father’s experiences on The Genius Life podcast in 2021. “What he was going through didn’t match one-to-one [with what] many Parkinson’s patients experience,” he said at the time, which he added was “hard” for his dad. The medication didn’t help, he said. “Those drugs are no joke. They’re also really hard on the mind and the body.”
If you or a loved one is struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing or texting 988.
