Robin Williams’ widow speaks: Depression didn’t kill my husband
By Stephanie Gallman, CNN
Updated
10:15 AM EST, Wed November 4, 2015
HOLLYWOOD - NOVEMBER 09: Susan Schneider and Robin Williams arrive at the premiere of Walt Disney Pictures' 'Old Dogs' at the El Capitan Theatre on November 9, 2009 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
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Story highlights
Comedian Robin Williams' widow says Lewy body dementia killed her husband
1.4 million Americans suffer from Lewy body dementia
LBD shares common symptoms with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases
(CNN) —
Comedian Robin Williams’ widow, Susan Williams, said she and her husband “were living a nightmare” in the months leading up to his death.
“My best friend was sinking,” an emotional Williams told ABC’s Amy Robach in an interview that aired Tuesday, her first since Robin Williams killed himself in August 2014.
Williams said she’s spent the last year trying to get to the bottom of what led him to take his own life. Contrary to what most people think, she said, it wasn’t depression, nor was it a re-emergence of his longtime struggles with alcohol and drug addiction.
Robin Williams had no alcohol or illegal drugs in his system; he’d been sober for eight years, his wife said.
What drove her husband to suicide, “was what was going on in his brain,” Williams said.
That “chemical warfare” that doctors conducting Robin Williams’ autopsy discovered was Lewy body dementia.
Though not nearly as well known (or talked about) as Alzheimer’s disease, which accounts for more than half of dementia diagnoses in the United States, Lewy body dementia, or LBD, is the second most common type of progressive dementia.
Nearly 1.4 million Americans are known to have the disease, but because it’s a relatively “young disorder,” Angela Taylor, director of programming for the Lewy Body Dementia Association said, that number is likely much higher.
LBD is caused when normal proteins in the brain begin to aggregate, forming clumps called Lewy bodies that, as they spread, “muck up the ability for the brain to transmit signals,” said Cleveland Clinic neurologist Dr. James Leverenz.
Like Alzheimer’s disease, symptoms of LBD include cognitive problems like confusion, reduced attention span, and memory loss, Taylor said.
But LBD also affects a patient’s movements, as well as their mood, making it a “triple threat,” Taylor said.
“It’s not just memory, it’s not just movement, and it’s not just behavior. It’s a combination of all three, which makes it difficult to diagnose and difficult to treat,” Leverenz said.
’Endless parade of symptoms’
Susan Williams recalls thinking her husband was a hypochondriac, when, starting in November 2013, every month he seemed to complain about a different ailment.
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Robin Williams died August 11, 2014, at age 63. Williams' peers regarded him as a brilliant actor and comedian. His friend David Letterman remembered him as "nothing we had ever seen before." Click through to see moments from the beloved actor's remarkable life.
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Art Streiber/CBS/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams first shot to stardom with Pam Dawber in the sitcom "Mork & Mindy" in September 1978.
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Jim Britt/ABC/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams attends the Robin Williams Opening Party on April 11, 1979, at Studio 54 in New York City.
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Ron Galella/WireImage/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
This 1982 file photo originally released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Williams as T.S. Garp from the film "The World According to Garp."
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Warner Bros./AP
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams and his first wife, Valerie Velardi, join a huge number of photographers packed into singer Paul Simon's apartment to celebrate Simon's wedding to actress Carrie Fisher in New York City on August 16, 1983.
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David McGough/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams, center, takes time out from rehearsal at NBC's "Saturday Night Live" with cast members Eddie Murphy, left, and Joe Piscopo on February 10, 1984. Williams would appear as guest host on the show.
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Suzanne Vlamis/AP
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Robin Williams was honored during 2014's Emmy telecast with a tribute led by friend Billy Crystal, who hosted the "Comic Relief" benefits with Williams and Whoopi Goldberg (seen here in 1986).
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HBO/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams enjoys music through a headset in a scene from the film "Good Morning, Vietnam" in 1987.
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Archive Photos/Moviepix/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams portrayed a teacher in the movie "Dead Poets Society" in 1989, one of his first mostly dramatic roles.
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Touchstone Pictures/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams went to all lengths to stay with his children in the 1993 movie "Mrs. Doubtfire."
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20th Century-Fox/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
From left, Bonnie Hunt, Bradley Pierce, Kirsten Dunst and Williams hold one another in a scene from the 1995 film "Jumanji."
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TriStar/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Comedians and co-hosts, from left, Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg and Williams sing and dance the 1940s-era opening number to "Comic Relief VII" on November 11, 1995, in Los Angeles.
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Mark J. Terrill/AP
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Jay Leno laughs as Williams jokes around during a taping of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on November 13, 1995, at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.
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Lennox McLendon/AP
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams and Nathan Lane starred in the film "The Birdcage" in 1996.
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United Artists/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams visits a sick child in a scene from the film "Patch Adams" in 1998.
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Universal/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams and his wife, Marsha, pose for photographers with their daughter, Zelda, as they arrive at the premiere of the film "Patch Adams" in December 1998 in New York City.
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Jeff Christensen/Reuters/Landov
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams wears a clown nose as he places his hands in concrete during a ceremony outside Mann's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in 1998. In the critically acclaimed "Patch Adams," he played a doctor who used humor to help heal his patients
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Vince Bucci/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Actor-writers Matt Damon, left, and Ben Affleck, right, pose with Williams, holding the Oscars they won for "Good Will Hunting" at the 70th annual Academy Awards in 1998. Damon and Affleck won for best original screenplay, and Williams won for best supporting actor.
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HAL GARB/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams donates blood at the Irwin Memorial Blood Center in San Francisco on September 11, 2001.
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Justin Sullivan/AP
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
U.S. Postal Service team rider Lance Armstrong rides with Williams during training on a rest day of the 89th Tour de France cycling race in Vaison La Romaine on July 22, 2002.
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Reuters/Landov
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams plays Rainbow Randolph in the 2002 black comedy "Death to Smoochy."
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Courtesy Warner Brothers
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams and Oscar host Billy Crystal perform at the 76th Academy Awards show in 2004.
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Timothy A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams poses for pictures with U.S. soldiers at the main U.S. base at Bagram, Afghanistan, on December 16, 2004.
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Emilio Morenatti/AP
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams in 2007's "License to Wed."
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Couresy Warner Bros.
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams and Susan Schneider arrive at the premiere of "World's Greatest Dad" in Los Angeles on August 13, 2009.
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Matt Sayles/AP
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams at the pre-premiere party for "Happy Feet Two" at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London on November 20, 2011.
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Ian West/AP
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Williams poses for photographs in Sydney, Australia, on December 5, 2011. He and Australian director George Miller were in Australia to promote "Happy Feet Two."
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Tracey Nearmy/EPA/Landov
Photos: Remembering Robin Williams
Upon his death, Williams' wife, Susan Schneider, said, "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."
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CARL COURT/AFP/Getty Images
Like a game of “whack-a-mole,” Robin Williams was wrought with a severe pain in his gut, sleeplessness and constipation, she said.
After months of heightened anxiety and paranoia about his health, Susan Williams said, Robin Williams felt a small “sense of relief” when he was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s disease in May 2014.
While Parkinson’s disease, which like Alzheimer’s has no cure, is hardly good news, Susan Williams said it was nice to have a possible answer for her husband’s seemingly “endless parade of symptoms.”
Parkinson’s, a nervous system disorder that affects movement, could be blamed for the tremor in Robin Williams’ left hand, but Susan Williams said it didn’t explain everything.
Susan Williams breaks down as she remembers what she witnessed on July 24, 2014, just months after Robin Williams was diagnosed with Parkinson’s.
She was in the shower when she noticed her husband lingering by the sink. She opened the door to find him holding a bloodied towel, a severe gash on his head.
“Robin, what happened?” she screamed.
She said he motioned toward the door, and said just two words, “I miscalculated.”
As Lewy bodies form and take over different parts of the brain affecting body movement, mind and mood, patients suffering from LBD experience symptoms of a person with both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, conditions that alone are devastating.
Because Robin Williams was a very active and very successful person, it’s understandable that he would have grown depressed about his “changing capacity to do things he used to do,” Leverenz said.
Susan Williams said she believes her husband was losing his mind, and “he was aware of it.”
Photos: I met Robin Williams
When Williams came to Oklahoma City during his Weapons of Self-Destruction tour in 2009, Dan McMaster got to see the star. "I told him that I have waited 30 years for this moment," he said. Afterward, McMaster saw Williams had signed his pass, "Dan, an honor for me too, Robin."
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CNN iReport/Dan McMaster
Photos: I met Robin Williams
While serving in Afghanistan in 2002, Dan Shelor attended one of the comedian's performances for the USO. After the show, Shelor had the privilege of sitting next to Williams on a flight to Manas, Kyrgyzstan. During the flight, Shelor told Williams he was flying to Manas to find a woman he had met before, and was hoping to win her heart over.
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CNN iReport/Dan Shelor
Photos: I met Robin Williams
Jonathan Robbins first met Williams as an extra on the set of "Good Will Hunting," but saw him again years later in New York after the 2011 performance of "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo," a play Williams acted in. After the show, Williams signed a photo of the pair of them together on the set.
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CNN iReport/Jonathan Robbins
Photos: I met Robin Williams
Aurora Contreras of the U.S. Navy says meeting Robin Williams aboard the USS Harry S. Truman was one of her fondest memories from her 2004 deployment in the Persian Gulf. Contreras is shown kneeling to the left of the soldier whom Williams was standing behind. "To see him there was a major highlight of our time onboard," she said.
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CNN iReport/Aurora Contreras
Photos: I met Robin Williams
Eric Forst met Williams and former U.S. astronaut Buzz Aldrin at a charity function in Canada in 2005. He loved watching Williams and Aldrin interact. "(Williams) was this humble person who found himself speechless when another American icon had asked him for his autograph," he said.
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CNN iReport/Eric Forst
Photos: I met Robin Williams
After finishing a set at Los Angeles' Comedy Store in 2006, Kirk Bovill realized Williams was watching from the back entrance. Their producer invited Williams to come on stage, and he did a set with the whole group.
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CNN iReport/Kirk Bovill
Photos: I met Robin Williams
In 1996, Mark Webb was working with Robin Williams on the movie "Father's Day." Webb's son, Tyler, was playing with his Genie puppet on set when Williams walked over and did an impromptu puppet show for the boy and the 300 people who had gathered to watch.
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CNN iReport/Mark Webb
Photos: I met Robin Williams
Todd Tuttle took what he called "a special selfie" with Williams in 1999. Tuttle ran into Williams at the Los Angeles restaurant Spago. Afterward, he said he witnessed Williams giving money to a homeless man nearby.
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CNN iReport/Todd Tuttle
Photos: I met Robin Williams
Nancy Marron-Asti met Williams while working on the set of the 1989 film "Dead Poets Society." On set, the pair shared jokes, laughs and family stories with one another. After filming ended, she was inspired to go into teaching.
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CNN iReport/Nancy Marron-Asti
Photos: I met Robin Williams
At age 9, Stephanie Wilson, left, met Robin Williams while at a camp for sick children. In 1999, she got to perform with the comedian at a fundraising gala. "He was hilarious. I wish he had known how much we appreciated him," she said.
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CNN iReport/Stephanie Wilson
Photos: I met Robin Williams
Serni Solidarios ran into Robin Williams in 1986 on the streets of New York and asked him if he would be interested in performing at a university concert. Months later Williams honored the invitation. "I've staged other great legends, but Robin's zaniness and sheer improvisational speed was unmatched," he said.
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Courtesy Serni Solidarios
Photos: I met Robin Williams
During the filming of 1991's "Hook," Devra Hamilton's son Daryl played one of the "Lost Boys." She and her family met Williams while on set. "He struck me as a man who was kind and cared about children," she said.
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courtesy devra hamilton
Photos: I met Robin Williams
While stationed in Pakistan in 2002, "lifelong fan" Del Dayrit was thrilled to meet the comedic actor. Although they only spoke briefly, Dayrit said he could tell "how genuine and sincere [Williams] is as a human being."
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Courtesy Del Dayrit
Photos: I met Robin Williams
After being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, David Buist, pictured here in 2004, connected with Williams through his uncle, getting occasional calls from the actor while in treatment. The two met in person after Williams invited Buist to a stand-up performance.
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Courtesy Garry Kravit
His decision to use a belt to hang himself from his bedroom door was, in Susan Williams’ opinion, his way of taking his power back, a painful choice for which she immediately forgave him.
After emergency responders realized they couldn’t revive him, Susan Williams got to see him.
“And I got to tell him, ‘I forgive you 50 billion percent, with all my heart. You’re the bravest man I’ve ever known.’”