Remembering Robin Williams (1951-2014)

Updated August, 12, 2014.

Prolific comedian and actor Robin Williams has died at age 63. He was found unresponsive in his Marin County home, in an apparent suicide.

Appearing on KCRW’s The Treatment, Williams said he was an outsider who found a craft he loved. “I like doing supporting parts the best, you’re not carrying the burden of the movie. And you can make a character and do all the details because you have more time and you’re not under the same pressures,” he said.

The actor was nominated for three Academy Awards.

On Press Play, stand-up comic Paul F. Tomkins said “he was free. “He could not be contained, but he wasn’t trying to wreck anything,” said Tomkins, “He was just being silly. It was hugely inspiring and comforting to me as kid.

Los Angeles Times’ critic Kenneth Turan met Williams right after he got cast in “Mork & Mindy,” at a stand-up show. “He was jaw-dropping,” said Turan. “He was always doing, thinking, moving, connecting.”

His press representative, Mara Buxbaum, issued this statement: “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.”

KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis remembers Williams’ career with Kim Masters, host of KCRW’s The Business:

Joe Morgenstern is the Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic for The Wall Street Journal, and also reviews movies at KCRW. He spoke to KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis about his experience interviewing Williams for a New York Times story in 1990, titled “More Than a Shtick Figure.”

The comedian made generations of fans laugh and cry in everything from “Mork and Mindy” to “Good Morning, Vietnam;” from “Dead Poets Society,” to “Mrs. Doubtfire.”

Fans and fellow actors are responding on Twitter, as the Los Angeles Times reports.

“I could not be more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, great talent, acting partner, genuine soul,” Steve Martin tweeted.