Robin Williams began his career on the small screen as the alien "Mork" (pictured) in "Happy Days" a 1970s sitcom. This led to a spinoff titled "Mork and Mindy", a sitcom that was on air for four years.
Around 11:55 a.m. local time on Monday, a 911 call came in about Robin Williams who was unresponsive in his home in Tiburon in California. He was pronounced dead at the scene, the Sheriff’s office said. Pictured is Williams with his wife Susan Schneider.
Williams, dubbed as “the funniest man alive” by Entertainment Weekly in 1997, brought audiences hours of laughter, putting his imaginative spin on characters in film and television.
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 laughter he gave to millions,” the actor’s wife Susan Schneider said.
Born in Chicago in 1951, Williams became one of only two students accepted into John Houseman’s prestigious acting program at Julliard, the other being Christopher Reeve, who became a lifelong friend. Pictured is his daughter, Zelda.
He was also lauded for his serious roles. Williams’s performance as Sean Maguire, the therapist who counsels Matt Damon’s math genius in Good Will Hunting (1997), earned him a best supporting actor Oscar.
He used to depart from the script so often that producers intentionally left blank moments on page for Williams to have space to indulge his ad-libbing genius.
Most recently, Williams had starred in the new CBS sitcom The Crazy Ones. It was cancelled after just one season.