|
 Williams, 63, was found dead by his personal assistant at
midday on Monday in a bedroom. He was suspended from a belt
wedged between a closet door and a door frame, in a seated
position just off the ground, Marin County's assistant chief
deputy coroner, Keith Boyd, told a news conference.
"Mr. Williams' personal assistant became concerned at
approximately 11:45 a.m. when he failed to respond to knocks on
his bedroom door," Boyd said.
"His right shoulder area was touching the door with his body
perpendicular to the door and slightly suspended. Mr. Williams
at that time was cool to the touch with rigor mortis present in
his body," Boyd added.
The official preliminary cause of death was asphyxia due to
hanging, he said, and conclusion of the investigation is still
weeks away.
Officials also found a pocket knife near Williams and
superficial cuts on his left wrist with dried red material that
matched what was on the knife blade. It was not yet known if it
was his blood.
Williams had been open about his struggles with alcohol and
cocaine and in the past months had entered a rehabilitation
center to help him maintain sobriety. But many questions
remained over what could have led him to take his own life.
Williams' publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said on Monday that he had
been suffering from severe depression, and Boyd acknowledged
that he had been seeking treatment without giving more details.
His tragic end stood in stark contrast to the many on-screen
characters he portrayed who encouraged those around them to tap
into their own inner vitality, a wellspring of creativity to
which he himself gave full vent in films such as "Good Morning,
Vietnam" and "Dead Poets Society."
Williams was last seen alive by his wife, Susan Schneider, on
Sunday night when she retired for the evening. She left the next
morning around 10 a.m., thinking that her husband was still
asleep.
Boyd would not say whether Williams had left a suicide note, nor
if any drugs or alcohol were involved. The full toxicology
report would take two to six weeks, he said.
In addition to his wife, Williams is survived by three grown
children - daughter Zelda, and sons Zachary and Cody.
"Yesterday, I lost my father and a best friend and the world got
a little grayer. I will carry his heart with me every day. I
would ask those that loved him to remember him by being as
gentle, kind, and generous as he would be. Seek to bring joy to
the world as he sought," Zachary Williams, known as Zak, said in
a statement on Tuesday.
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Funeral arrangements are pending. His body has been released by the
coroner in neighboring Napa County.
'THANKS CHIEF'
Tributes poured out from actors, comedians, politicians and
generations of fans, including President Barack Obama, who called
him a "one-of-a-kind" actor.
A force of manic energy, Williams long ago established himself as
one of the world's most beloved comedians, who took audiences on
wild flights of imagination that often stressed one simple message:
Seize the day.
His improvisational stand-up routine broke all rules, whether he was
giving a comedic account of a nuclear accident in the style of
Shakespeare or grabbing a camera from an audience member and
pointing the lens down his pants.
Ben Affleck, whose breakthrough role came alongside Williams and
Matt Damon in 1997's "Good Will Hunting," for which Williams won his
only Oscar, said he was heartbroken.
"Thanks chief - for your friendship and for what you gave the
world," Affleck wrote on his Facebook page. "Robin had a ton of love
in him. He personally did so much for so many people. He made Matt
and my dreams come true. What do you owe a guy who does that?
Everything."
Spontaneous acts of tribute sprang up at landmarks from his career.
In Boston, scores of people jotted tributes in chalk to Williams
near a bench in the lush Public Garden downtown, which was featured
in "Good Will Hunting."
Mourners hung signs, including "You will be missed" and "RIP Robin"
on the wooden fence of the home in Boulder, Colorado, where parts of
the intro credits for his breakout 1970s TV comedy, "Mork & Mindy,"
were filmed.
On the Hollywood Walk of Fame, fans congregated around Williams'
star, leaving flowers and candles to honor the actor.
Interest in his film work spiked on Tuesday, with "Dead Poets
Society" as well as "Mrs. Doubtfire" and "Good Morning, Vietnam"
making it into the Top 20 in the iTunes movie chart.
(Additional reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy and Alex Dobuzinskis in Los
Angeles, Scott Malone in Boston and Daniel Wallis in Denver; Writing
by Mary Milliken; Editing by Sandra Maler and Jan Paschal)
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