Robin (Mrs Doubtfire) Williams is no more, world mourns

'Robin Williams passed away this morning. He has been battling severe depression of late. This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time," his representative told media.

His wife Susan Schneider issued a statement saying: “This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken."

US President Barack Obama mourned the death saying: "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. ... 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."

Williams caught the eyeballs with his role as the alien Mork in the TV series Mork & Mindy (1978–1982) and then excelled as both stand-up comedian and an actor in films.

His film career included such acclaimed films as The World According to Garp (1982), Good Morning, Vietnam (1987), Dead Poets Society (1989), Awakenings (1990), The Fisher King (1991), and Good Will Hunting (1997), as well as financial successes such as Popeye (1980), Hook (1991), Aladdin (1992), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Jumanji (1995), The Birdcage (1996), Night at the Museum (2006), and Happy Feet (2006). He also appeared in the video "Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin.

Mara Wilson, who played his  screen daughter in Mrs. Doubtfire, tweeted:  'Very sad, very upset, very glad I did not have to hear about this though Twitter. Probably going to be taking some time off it for a while.'

Director Steven Spielberg said: "Robin was a lightning storm of comic genius and our laughter was the thunder that sustained him. He was a pal, and I can't believe he's gone."

Ellen DeGeneres of TheEllenShow tweeted: "I can’t believe the news about Robin Williams. He gave so much to so many people. I’m heartbroken."

 Actress Sally Field, who played his wife in Mrs Doubtfire, said in a statement: "I feel stunned and so sad about Robin. I'm sad for the world of comedy. And so very sad for his family. And I'm sad for Robin. He always lit up when he was able to make people laugh, and he made them laugh his whole life long ... tirelessly."

 Twentieth Century Fox Television, the studio that produced "The Crazy Ones," said in a statement: “Robin Williams was a comedy giant, and although we only knew him personally for a season, he was warm, funny and a true professional."

Robin McLaurin Williams was born in Chicago, Illinois, on July 21, 1951. He grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he was a student at the Detroit Country Day School, and later moved to Woodacre,Marin County, California, where he attended the public Redwood High School in nearby Larkspur, California. Williams studied at Claremont McKenna College (then called Claremont Men's College).

Williams described himself as a quiet child who was initially very shy.

After appearing in the cast of the short-lived The Richard Pryor Show on NBC, Williams was cast by Garry Marshall as the alien Mork in a 1978 episode of the hit TV series Happy Days.

Starting in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Williams began to reach a wider audience with his stand-up comedy, including three HBO comedy specials, Off The Wall(1978), An Evening with Robin Williams (1982), and Robin Williams: Live at the Met (1986). Also in 1986, Williams co-hosted the 58th Academy Awards.

His stand-up work was a consistent thread through his career, as seen by the success of his one-man show (and subsequent DVD) Robin Williams: Live on Broadway (2002). He was voted 13th on Comedy Central's list "100 Greatest Stand-ups of All Time" in 2004.

But it was his role in Mrs. Doubtfire, a 1993 American comedy film, which endeared him to audiences worldwide. Sally Field was his co-star. He had dressed up as a woman in the film playing a housekeeper to stay close to his family after his marriage was on the rocks. 

It was in 1998 that he won an Oscar. Robin Williams won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as psychologist Sean Maguire in Good Will Hunting. Earlier he was nominated thrice for the award but it was that year that he won it finally. 

He winning the award said: "Thank you. Oh man, this might be the one time I’m speechless. Oh… thank you so much for this incredible honor."
 
Williams's daughter Zelda Williams, quoted French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupery, saying: "You - you alone will have the stars as no one else has them ... In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night ... You - only you - will have stars that can laugh."