On August 11, 2014, the world mourned the loss of one of the greatest talents in Hollywood history when Robin Williams died by suicide at the age of 64. We lost the actor behind modern classics like Dead Poets Society, Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji and Good Will Hunting (among many more) on that day seven years ago, but for his three children, they lost a father. Now the eldest, Zak Williams, is paying tribute on the anniversary of his death.
Zak Williams is 38 and the CEO and co-founder of the wellness company PYM, which was created following the tragic death of his father. Williams took to Twitter to share a touching post about Robin Williams from his perspective:
Robin Williams began his career as a standup comedian in the ‘70s before finding mainstream success on Mork & Mindy. In the late '80s, his movie career became more prominent with roles in Good Morning, Vietnam and Dead Poets Society before finding a string of successes throughout the ‘90s and remaining prominent into the 2010s. Through Williams career, he brought heart, laughter and important topics to light.
As the November 2014 autopsy confirmed, Robin Williams died of “asphyxia due to hanging.” The actor had been suffering from anxiety and depression up to his death along with reportedly having Lewy body disease, which is a type of progressive dementia that creates a decline in mental abilities.
Robin Williams’ birthday was just three weeks ago as well, which would have marked his 70th if he was still alive today. Zak Williams also took to social media then to share that he was missing his father especially on the memorable date. As the mental health advocate shared to Oprah and Prince Harry on their AppleTV+ series The Me You Can’t See, the death of his father affected him personally:
From my end it was hard to separate initially the process of privately grieving versus sharing the grieving with the general public, both the American public and the world. I found myself extremely emotionally disregulated and feeling vulnerable and exposed when I wasn't ready to be vulnerable. And that created a major challenge for me.
Zak Williams has dealt with his own bouts of depression and anxiety, especially in the wake of his father’s suicide. As he shared on the site for his company PYM, the tragedy led him to self-medicate with alcohol and cannabis products before he decided to get sober. He then created his company out of products made from botanical adaptogens and amino acid complexes that can apparently “help recalibrate our body and brain so it can heal itself.”
We miss Robin Williams greatly, but thankfully, we do have his many incredible movies and TV appearances to look back on the anniversary of his death. Our thoughts are with the Williams family today as they continue to remember the loss of a legend, husband and father.
