The legendary actor Robin Williams left an indelible mark on the childhoods of many others. The exuberant actor is cherished for his work bringing to life one-of-a-kind characters that both thrilled and reassured young viewers in films such as “Mrs. Doubtfire,” “Flubber,” and “Aladdin.” His body of work includes all of these films. Whether it was by coating his face in pie topping or just embellishing on the tight surroundings of a genie’s lamp, Williams always managed to make the audience laugh with his well-timed flare for the bizarre. He never failed to make the audience laugh.
Williams was, without a doubt, also a skilled performer on the dramatic stage. In films such as “Good Morning, Vietnam,” “Dead Poets Society,” and “Good Will Hunting,” he was lauded for playing hard parts with an unbounded capacity for empathy and compassion. This earned him widespread acclaim. Overall, Williams was a talented performer who excelled in a variety of areas, and he justifiably deserves a place among the group of performers who have had an indelible impact on Hollywood. He was a singularly exceptional talent, and there is no question that the legacy he left behind will be felt for many years to come.
In spite of all of these talents, the first reporting of Williams’ passing in 2014 was more sensationalist than it was truthful. In an interview given in 2015, Williams’ widow, Susan Schneider, attempted to set the record straight over the terrible demise of her late husband, actor Robin Williams.
Since Williams’ death, she had devoted the last year of her life to attempting to figure out what had happened to her husband. During the course of the conversation, Schneider discussed the late actor’s last years in depth, shedding light on the struggles that the great comic went through while coping with the signs of dementia. At the time of his passing, Williams was in the process of obtaining a more precise diagnosis and was scheduled to undergo tests. Schneider had high hopes that bringing this matter into the open would aid in the audience’s comprehension of how Williams’ health had contributed.
In 2011, Schneider and Williams became husband and wife after having been together for only a few years. Schneider reflected on their marriage and remembered thinking to himself, “It was all I had ever hoped a love might be.” She continued, through tears, by adding that the foundation of their marriage had been “simply honor love and respect.” The sudden onset of Williams’ health issues threw a wrench into his previously carefree state of contentment.
When asked about the beginning of the issue, Schneider said, “In November of 2013, he had some abdominal discomfort. The next month, I noticed yet another symptom. It seemed like there was a never-ending parade of symptoms, but not all of them would present themselves at the same time.” Due to the complexity of Williams’ condition, an incorrect diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease was made in the beginning. The couple tried to locate Williams’ support or relief. She was able to recollect, “It was quite similar to the game of whack-a-mole. Which symptom is bothering you the most at the moment?” Williams seemed to be suffering from an unknown assault of bodily and emotional torment at the time of the event. Schneider recalls being perplexed by the events and expressing his confusion by adding, “I began to wonder if or not my spouse was a hypochondriac. We’ve exhausted all of our options, but there doesn’t seem to be any clear solution.”
Even more concerning was Williams’ growing disorientation and inability to operate without assistance, which prompted Schneider to wonder whether or not her husband was safe while he was on his own. Schneider recalled one incident, claiming at the time that “I was in the midst of taking a shower when all of a sudden I saw him hanging around the sink for a while. I opened the door because something didn’t seem quite right, and there was blood on the floor. This towel was covered in so much blood, and all he was doing was resting his head on it. What just occurred is that I yelled the name “Robin.” What did you do?” He had “miscalculated” the situation.
In his recollection of the event, Schneider stated, “When he pointed to the door, I asked him whether he had struck his head, and he confirmed that he had. The only thing he could say in return was, “I misjudged.”” It was obvious that the actor was having trouble. Schneider continued by describing how at the time, what “was going on inside of his head” was a kind of “chemical warfare that no one knew about.” As his wife, Schneider witnessed Williams suffer. She expressed her concern by saying, “My dearest buddy was drowning.”
Lewy body dementia is a devastating brain condition that impairs a person’s mobility, mood, thinking, and behavior. The autopsy on Robin Williams would eventually establish that the actor was suffering from Lewy body dementia. During the interview, Dr. Dan Kaufer, head of the Memory Disorders Program at the University of North Carolina, elaborated on the diagnosis by saying, “The symptoms of Lewy body dementia may vary greatly from patient to patient due to the complexity of the disease. You’ll notice really profound changes in your thoughts, emotions, and behavior as a result.”
Schneider thought that the ailment revealed a significant amount of her husband’s troubles during his last months after finally receiving a definite diagnosis. When she became aware of the role that the illness played, she claimed, “Lewy body dementia murdered Robin. It was the cause of his passing away. To that end, I have devoted the most of my time over the last year to investigating the circumstances surrounding the passing of my spouse.” She gave the following response when she was asked whether she thought Williams was “losing his mind” as a consequence of the LBD: “Yes, without a doubt. And he was aware of it; yet, up until the previous month, he was able to hold it together as best he could; however, in the most recent month, he was unable to. It was like the dam cracked.” She went on to declare that “And I don’t blame him one bit,” continuing her previous statement.
Schneider continued, stating that her husband was supposed to undergo more neurological testing before he passed away, but that he never had the chance. Even though the actor was fully aware of his health declining, Schneider said that her husband was “not yet ready to reveal publicly” the findings of his diagnosis. This was despite the fact that the actor had been well aware of his health worsening. When Williams died away, the couple was quietly figuring out how to navigate the changes in their life.
Schneider reflected back on that evening, stating “While I was getting ready for bed, he wished me a “good night, my darling.” And so I greeted my beloved with “good night, my love,” but it happened once more.” Williams had been messing about with his iPad, expressing the very human dissatisfaction that comes with dealing with technology, and Schneider had thought to himself, “he’s getting better.” The conversation came to an end when Williams “said, ‘good night, good night,’ that was it.”
After his passing, Schneider issued a statement in which she touched on her late husband’s inner struggles. She said, “[Robin Williams’] greatest legacy, other than his three children, is the love and happiness he brought to others, especially to those suffering personal battles.” She continued, addressing those who may be in a situation that was comparable to that of her husband, and added, “It is our hope in the wake of Robin’s tragic passing that others will find the strength to seek the care and support they need to treat whatever battles they are facing so that they may feel less afraid.”
Even while the events of that night and the following morning would definitely influence Schneider’s thoughts of her late husband, she also lovingly remembered the time she spent off-screen with a guy that the majority of people only knew when he was in front of the camera. When she thought back to the time they had spent together, she would say things like, “My favorite movie of Robin Williams was Robin Williams being a human being, not an actor… it was the finest movie in the world.”