Oscar-winning comedian Robin Williams dies at 63 in apparent suicide

FILE - This 1978 file photo originally released by ABC shows actor Robin Williams on the set of ABCs "Mork and Mindy."  Williams, whose free-form comedy and adept impressions dazzled audiences for decades, has died in an apparent suicide. He was 63. The Marin County Sheriff’s Office said Williams was pronounced dead at his home in California on Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. The sheriff’s office said a preliminary investigation showed the cause of death to be a suicide due to asphyxia.
FILE - This 1978 file photo originally released by ABC shows actor Robin Williams on the set of ABCs "Mork and Mindy." Williams, whose free-form comedy and adept impressions dazzled audiences for decades, has died in an apparent suicide. He was 63. The Marin County Sheriff’s Office said Williams was pronounced dead at his home in California on Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. The sheriff’s office said a preliminary investigation showed the cause of death to be a suicide due to asphyxia.

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — Oscar-winner Robin Williams, whose free-form comedy and adept impressions dazzled audiences for decades, has died in an apparent suicide. He was 63.

The Marin County sheriff's office says Williams was pronounced dead at his home in California on Monday. The sheriff's office says a preliminary investigation shows the cause of death to be a suicide due to asphyxia.

"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," said Williams' wife, Susan Schneider.

Williams' press representative, Mara Buxbaum, said the actor had been battling severe depression recently.

Williams shot to fame in the late '70s as the alien in TV's Mork and Mindy. He conquered the big screen in comic films such as Good Morning, Vietnam and Mrs. Doubtfire. But he won his Academy Award in a serious role — as the therapist in Good Will Hunting.

His performing style was at its purest in his standup act, as he impersonated a Russian immigrant or parodied anyone from John Wayne to Keith Richards.

Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more on this story.

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