Login Required

This content is restricted to University of Auckland staff and students. Log in with your username to view.

Log in

More about logging in

Dr Richard Shepherd pieces together the events of Robin Williams' last hours with evidence from the autopsy report to uncover what triggered his tragic suicide.

Primary Title
  • Autopsy: The Last Hours of Robin Williams
Date Broadcast
  • Monday 12 June 2017
Start Time
  • 21 : 30
Finish Time
  • 22 : 30
Duration
  • 60:00
Series
  • 3
Episode
  • 2
Channel
  • TVNZ 1
Broadcaster
  • Television New Zealand
Programme Description
  • Dr Richard Shepherd pieces together the events of Robin Williams' last hours with evidence from the autopsy report to uncover what triggered his tragic suicide.
Classification
  • AO
Owning Collection
  • Chapman Archive
Broadcast Platform
  • Television
Languages
  • English
Captioning Languages
  • English
Captions
Live Broadcast
  • No
Rights Statement
  • Made for the University of Auckland's educational use as permitted by the Screenrights Licensing Agreement.
Subjects
  • Television programs--United Kingdom
Genres
  • Documentary
We have just received word that the Academy Award-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams has died. Tonight, celebrities are sharing their condolences. The world has lost one of, uh, its biggest, uh, stars. Where did they get Sarah Palin? Where did they find her? LAUGHTER Robin Williams was one of the funniest and most gifted comedians of his generation. It's like she came from some sort of reality show, Project Running Mate. 'Here she comes!' LAUGHTER 'Here comes Sarah. Her hobbies are breastfeeding and helicopter hunting.' LAUGHTER His manic energy, lightning wit and wildly inventive improvisation made him world-famous. Mr Williams was last seen alive by his wife at approximately 10.30pm. But on August the 11th 2014, Robin Williams was found dead in a bedroom of his home in Tiburon, California. It was an apparent suicide due to a hanging. CAMERAS SNAP Early news reports jumped to one conclusion. REPORTER: His publicist says as of late, Williams had been battling severe depression. Battle with depression. REPORTER: Battling severe depression. But of people suffering from depression, only a small minority ` less than one in 10 ` take their own lives. Throughout my career, I've sat through many inquests and heard many tales from families about depression and the causes of suicide. And it's my experience that depression is seldom the only feature that is the trigger for the suicide. And we need to investigate this further to come to a complete understanding of what happened that night. Copyright Able 2015 World-renowned forensic pathologist Dr Richard Shepherd has been performing high-profile autopsies for more than 25 years. His expertise has been called on for the Bloody Sunday enquiry, the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, and the inquest into the death of Princess Diana. This is the extensive coroner's report into the death of Robin Williams. And within these 30 pages, if you know how to read them, is a full account of his last days and hours. The report says that he committed suicide, which is, of course, quite correct. But the big question is ` what was going on his body at that time that drove him to take his own life? July 2014. Six weeks before his death, Robin Williams checks into the Hazelden Addiction Treatment Centre on the outskirts of Minneapolis, Minnesota. According to his publicist, he wants to fine-tune and focus on his continued commitment to sobriety. It's his latest effort to stay clean, following a long-running battle with drugs and alcohol. UNEASY TONE At 62, his career as a leading Hollywood man has faltered. Robin Williams was at a crossroads in his career. He was once the king of film, the king of television, the king of stand-up comedy, and now he was none of those. He had huge bills to pay. There was talk of about 30 million in alimony to two ex-wives, and he found himself struggling to really see where his future lay. Los Angeles, 1978. Robin Williams burst to prominence aged 27, playing Mork in the hit TV sitcom Mork & Mindy. He improvised a great many of his lines in that show, and his performance was astonishing; things` something` something people had never seen before. And so I think that that just made people sit up and take notice that we have an artist in our midst who is not only a writer but a great comedic performer. 60 million Americans watch the show every week, making Robin Williams famous almost overnight. It was revealed later that a lot of the, uh, script was left to Robin's whim when it came to his scenes. And so looking at the episodes now is very revealing, realising he's making it up as he goes. Who can do that? I can't. He was fearless. I think his lack of fear made him a great comedian. He didn't care what he looked like, he didn't care what he sounded like, and he certainly didn't care what people thought. Robin Williams' movie career began in 1980. His performance in the 1987 movie Good Morning, Vietnam won him a Golden Globe Award. By 1997, he was at the top of his profession. After a series of critically acclaimed box office hits, he won his only Oscar for Good Will Hunting. In Hollywood, the facts don't lie. When you do over 60 films, pretty much billed as the star turn on each film and they generate over $5 billion, you are a major player. You are an A-list star with real star power. Despite his fame, he was an unassuming member of his community, spending hours browsing a local toy store. I met him in around '87, '88. He'd become a customer of mine. Over the years, we'd become more closer, like friends. Wherever he came in, he don't have a high ego or has to` people has to pay attention of him. He's just like a normal person. You can tell when he finish a new film or maybe got a big pay. He` I always see him, and he always come and pick up a bunch of things. 'Oh, it's a big treat for myself,' so he pick up quite a bit of things. (LAUGHS) OMINOUS MUSIC 5th of August 2014. Robin Williams is back home after a stint in an addiction treatment centre. Now 63, he's already succumbing to illnesses typical for a man of his age. Looking at the autopsy report, it's immediately clear that Robin Williams has several health problems. The first thing I notice is he's taking two drugs ` finasteride and Rapaflo. And both of those drugs are used to treat problems associated with an enlarged prostate. PANTING, GROANING (PANTS) Pressure on the bladder caused by the enlarged prostate means you need to go to the bathroom more frequently, especially at night. And so it's quite likely that Robin Williams was getting up several times in the night. These things are very disturbing and very upsetting. (SIGHS) An enlarged prostate was just the beginning of his health problems. I need to look much deeper to understand all of the facets of this man's life, and we still have many, many things to look at before we can be certain we understand why Robin Williams killed himself. The autopsy report reveals other more serious health issues dating back years. The coroner's report tells that he was suffering from significant heart problems. A normal adult male heart weighs about 330g, whereas the autopsy report tells me that Robin Williams' heart weighs 530g,... DRAMATIC TONE ...which means the muscle of the heart is enlarged. And the reason the muscle is enlarged is having to work harder to overcome some underlying disease. CAR HORNS BEEP Five years before his death, 57-year-old Robin Williams was on the road with a new stand-up show and under pressure to make it a commercial success. Robin Williams hadn't been on tour for six years, so this was vital for him. Vital in three areas ` one, for business, to show that he still was an A-list star and could win audiences over with his humour; secondly, for his own confidence, the ability to deliver gags and get people rolling around; and thirdly, for image, to show the world this man can still do it at the highest levels. It went down like a storm. AUDIENCE CHEERS, APPLAUDS But with 26 shows in two months, it was a punishing schedule. (GASPS, PANTS) By the time he reached Florida, he started to experience breathlessness and palpitations. He must've felt awful. He must've been an extremely unwell man wondering what was happening to him. AUDIENCE APPLAUDS The autopsy report shows there's a 9-inch vertical scar in the centre of his chest, and there was evidence of the replacement of his aortic valve. HEARTBEATS THUD The aortic valve helps to regulate blood flow inside the heart and pump oxygenated blood around the body. If the valve is damaged, it may not close properly, and blood pumped out of the heart can flow back through the valve in the wrong direction. This can lead to a number of symptoms ` fainting, abnormal heart rhythm and heart attacks. And if the disease is severe, the only way to treat it is to replace the valve. In March 2009, Robin Williams had cardiac surgery to remove his aortic valve and insert an artificial replacement. The procedure was successful. After six months recovery, he was back on tour. So, his heart was still enlarged, but it seems to have been working reasonably well and the distressing symptoms would've gone. So the surgery would've given him a whole new lease of life. So there's a huge paradox. He got over a major heart disease. He'd been cured of those symptoms, so why would he kill himself? Fairfax, California. Less than two days before his death, he attends the opening of a new exhibition at an art gallery with his third wife, artist Susan Williams. INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS These are the last photographs ever taken of Robin Williams in his final public appearance. He appeared to be calm, he was chatting away. In fact, a lot of people had said that, as far as they were concerned, it was normal Robin and seemed in great spirits. But within 42 hours, Robin Williams would be dead. Despite his apparent ease at the gallery, the autopsy report reveals that his moods are being controlled by a variety of prescription drugs. The toxicology report shows that at the time of this death, Robin Williams had 40 nanograms per millilitre of mirtazapine in his bloodstream. Mirtazapine is a drug that is used to treat major or severe depressive illnesses. CRUNCHING One of the reasons for depression is that the level of neurotransmitters ` chemicals that pass the signals from one nerve to another inside the brain ` are too low. Mirtazapine acts by increasing the levels of two of these neurotransmitters, noradrenaline and serotonin, and so help alleviate the symptoms of depression. (PANTS) According to the autopsy report, depression wasn't new to Robin Williams. He'd struggled with it for most of his adult life. I'm not always fun to be around, and yet there is this thing of, 'Yeah, the world sees one thing, and what am I like at home?' Different, because I can't always be on. < INTERVIEWER: Mm. TAP RUNS He was always depressed. There was that duality. He wasn't always on, he wasn't always funny, he wasn't always happy. TAP RUNS (SIGHS) He couldn't be. There was no way that a human being could survive that kind of manic life experience on a 24/7 basis. So I think this speaks to that duality that he was a brilliant artist, a maniacally insane genius, uh, and yet there were also the periods of privacy and downtime and silence and contemplation. When I was with Robin, the hints of depression were his not wanting to talk to people, the black face he would get, the wanting privacy, the, uh, ability to be very funny and then be very stern, uh, which is what the real Robin was when I knew him ` was someone who was stern and serious. He was not a barrel of laughs. The comic face you saw, once he left the stage, became very stern, very black, very insular, very shy, and didn't want to talk to people. He was not gregarious. He didn't particularly like people. I had the feeling Robin really didn't want to be around people. Mr Williams come very often. You can tell from his facial expression whether he's happy or when he's not happy. You can tell whether he's in the mood to talk or whether he's not really in the mood to talk. He's just to come to pick up something and he's` Yeah. Yo, Hamon. CAMERAS FLASH < REPORTER: Robin, right here! When I met Robin Williams, he was funny, clever, quick, always looking to make you laugh. But behind that facade, there was a man who you felt was probably ill at ease with the notion of being in the limelight. PHOTOGRAPHERS YELL I compare him to an iceberg ` the 10% above the surface, this hilarious entertainer, but 90% is below the surface, and there's a lot of self doubt, a lot of worries, and that is a Robin that only his family saw. His depression may have had its roots in his childhood. Williams told clinical psychologist Dr Pamela Stephenson-Connolly that it was a tough 'be seen but not heard' upbringing. SOMBRE MUSIC By his late 20s living in Los Angeles, childhood feelings of rejection seemed to spiral into depression, fuelled by drink and drugs. By day, he was in the studio recording Mork & Mindy, but after dark, he threw himself into a life of excess. I drank and did drugs with Robin, and, uh, unfortunately, we did too much of it. UNEASY TONE A wild time with Robin was very wild. What he cared about was cocaine and alcohol. He was friends with the Saturday Night Live crowd, it was the early '80s, the era of disco and sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll, and it became manic. And Robin was a big part of that. Cocaine seemed to compensate for an apparent lack of self-confidence. Robin's mood changed on drugs because he felt secure, he felt virile, he felt confident. He felt loved. He no longer was the insecure Robin asking 'How am I?', 'How did I do?' He wasn't that any more. But on cocaine, his behaviour changed in other ways too. If I was on cocaine right now, we'd be doing the entire interview like this. I'd be over here at the window going, 'They're coming.' MAN LAUGHS > 'I'm OK. Excuse me, Tom, I'll be right back.' But, you know, it was my only chance, really, to shut down so that I didn't have to deal with people. A vicious cycle can develop when a person is using drink and drugs to mask difficult feelings like depression. So they may use the drink and drugs to feel better, which is only temporary. As soon as those chemicals leave the body, there's a backlash which can cause withdrawal depression. And a person feels so much worse, so they start using again to combat those difficult feelings, and you're back in that vicious cycle again. But in 1983, Robin Williams suddenly decided to stop drinking and taking drugs. The basic thing that really sobered me up was that I was about to have my first child. I didn't wanna be going, 'Hey, here's a little switch. Daddy's gonna throw up on you, OK?' Starting a family with the birth of his son Zak had a stabilising effect. In the following decade, his career skyrocketed. OMINOUS TONE 2003, Alaska. Robin Williams was on location filming The Big White. After 20 years of sobriety, he reached crisis point. He turns to alcohol again. He relapses. ICE CLINKS Years later, he would explain what made him start drinking again, and again, depression was at the root of it. What had happened was that Robin felt totally isolated at that point. He felt lost and unable to communicate to anybody how low he was feeling. Robin Williams hinted in an interview with Marc Maron he once briefly contemplated suicide, suggesting he had become weary of life and telling him, 'When I was drinking, there was only one time, even for a moment, when I thought, "Oh, fuck life." 'Then my conscious brain went, "Did you just say fuck life? '"You know, you have a pretty good life as it is right now."' SOMBRE MUSIC In the interview, he wonders what effect alcohol was having on his judgement, asking, 'Can I ask you what you're doing right now, sitting naked in a hotel room with a bottle of Jack Daniels?' "Yes." 'Is this maybe influencing your decision?' "Possibly." 'And who's in the bed, there?' "I don't know." Alcohol-fuelled depression had prompted suicidal thoughts once before. Was it doing so again? The telltale signs of long-term alcohol abuse would be evident from the autopsy. Alcohol causes damage to the liver, and this can be seen at an autopsy by fatty change or by scarring of the liver. Robin Williams' autopsy showed no evidence of either of those features, suggesting that his liver, at the time of his death, was not being affected by alcohol. Blood samples were also subject to toxicology tests to check for the use of illicit drugs or alcohol just before his suicide. No alcohol and no cocaine were present, and that shows that he has not taken either of those drugs in the last 24 hours of his life. There's no sign that drinking or drug taking were exacerbating his depression at the time of his death. But in the last few weeks of his life, Robin Williams was troubled by several debilitating illnesses. We know that he had an enlarged heart due to valve disease. He was taking drugs for depression. But my feeling is there is more to his death than that, and we need to investigate further to come to a full understanding of what caused Robin Williams to kill himself on that evening. TENSE MUSIC Forensic tests on his blood and tissue samples yield further clues. The toxicology reveals the presence of a drug called levodopa. Levodopa combined with another drug called carbidopa is the standard treatment for a disease called Parkinson's disease. In November 2013, nine months before his death, Robin Williams was keeping up his public profile, appearing on comedy talk shows and hanging out with his fans. But that month, he'd been diagnosed with Parkinson's... and was battling with disturbing physical changes. (SIGHS) SOLEMN TONE (SPITS) (PANTS) Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological condition that causes deterioration in movement and coordination. (EXHALES) Nerve cells in the region of the brain called the substantia nigra produce a chemical called dopamine. Parkinson's disease can be caused when abnormal proteins called Lewy bodies clump together and kill these nerve cells. This results in low levels of dopamine and causes physical symptoms like tremors and poor mobility. ZAPPING The treatment for that is this combination of dopamine substitutes that increase the level in the brain and override the effect of the damage that's been done to the cells. Levodopa, the drug he was taking, is effective in mitigating the symptoms of the disease, but there is no known cure. When I found out that Robin was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, a shudder went through me, and I was reminded of my father, who had it. I imagine the impact on Robin was devastating. This horrible, debilitating disease ` let's face it, Parkinson's is ugly. I wonder whether he would've just felt so alienated from his own body. You know, this is the palette that he used to express himself to the world. This is the way he emotionally connected with us and made us laugh, made us cry, and it was going, so his identity was going. It would've been absolutely psychologically devastating to him. Robin Williams knew all about Parkinson's disease. His friend, actor Michael J Fox, was diagnosed with it in 1991. Robin was fully cognisant of what Parkinson's would do to him. He chose not to make it public. So I think it was just one more burden, and he dealt with it, and he treated it, but it was not something that he chose to share with fans. So could the diagnosis of Parkinson's, or the continuing effects of the disease on top of his depression, have been enough to trigger suicide? Once Robin was diagnosed with Parkinson's, he had a decision to make ` to retreat or move forward. And obviously, the workload that he embraced, even after being diagnosed, shows that he chose to move forward. And he was about to reprise one of his best-loved roles in a movie that would propel him right back to Hollywood top billing. In April 2014, Fox announced that they were making the sequel to Mrs Doubtfire, with Williams back in the lead role. It was a huge film for him first time round. It earned him a Golden Globe, and the film generated over $200 million in revenue. It showed that his commitment to working beyond 2014 into 2015 was there, and as far as he was concerned, he saw his future in acting. Despite Parkinson's, he had completed four unreleased films, including Night At The Museum 3. Robin Williams had lived with Parkinson's disease for a number of years. He'd been taking the treatment. We know it's not a curable disease, but there are plenty of treatments and ongoing research, with the possibility of a cure in the near future. And I don't think that Parkinson's disease is the trigger that caused him to kill himself. 10th of August 2014 ` the day before he's found dead. According to the autopsy report, Robin is at home with his wife, Susan. Over the years, he's amassed an extensive collection of valuable wrist watches, and now, according to his wife, he stuffs a number of them into a sock. FOREBODING MUSIC WATCHES CLINK Robin Williams then drove them in the sock to a friend's house... CAR HORNS HONK, SIRENS WAIL ...and asked his friend to take care of them. (KNOCKS ON DOOR) This is a very peculiar incident that his wife describes as typical of the increasing paranoia that he'd been suffering. Somebody experiencing paranoid feelings may fear that they're in danger and under threat, whether it's psychological or physical or financial harm could be coming their way. The autopsy report reveals further evidence that Robin Williams' mental state is deteriorating. A drug called quetiapine was found in his bedroom. This is a very powerful drug used to treat mania and other severe psychiatric conditions. The prescription for this drug is from seven days before his death. So had there been a change in his symptoms that made him go to the doctor, and could that be related to the reports of his paranoid behaviour? CRICKETS CHIRP 10pm. Robin Williams has returned home. His wife reports that he seemed OK. She is preparing for bed alone in the master bedroom. According to the coroner's report, her husband is in a separate room because he has had a hard time sleeping. TENSE MUSIC SUSAN: Are you looking for something? 10.30pm. He takes his iPad from the bedside drawer and leaves the room. The coroner's report recalled Susan thinking he's in a good mood. It's the last time anyone sees Robin Williams alive. FOOTSTEPS SHUFFLE From that point on, the precise sequence of events is unknown. But the autopsy reveals 10 small cuts to his arm, probably made by a pocketknife. According to the autopsy, these cuts are made sometime between 10.30pm and 11am the next day. FOREBODING TONE (GASPS) (PANTS) (CRIES) (CRIES, PANTS) (GROANS) The multiple cuts to the left wrist are not evidence of superficial injuries associated with self-harm. In my opinion, these are tentative or hesitation injuries associated with the beginning of a serious suicidal attempt. (GROANS, GASPS) But it will be the first time the individual has felt the pain that has been caused by the injuries. And in this case, I think Robin Williams has assessed the pain and has stopped. (PANTS, SOBS) DNA analysis confirms the blood on the knife blade is Robin Williams' blood. (PANTS) The coroner's report says a damp white washcloth with reddish stains on it is found in the bathroom ` a discovery consistent with the idea that even when he seems intent on taking his own life, he still takes the time to clean up. (GROANS) (PANTS) As strange as it may seem, for Robin Williams at that moment, he considers that he is behaving entirely rationally. CRICKETS CHIRP Despite having failed using the first attempt, he's still able to make the rational decision to use a different method and to try again. SOMBRE MUSIC CLOTHES HANGERS RATTLE SOMBRE MUSIC CONTINUES DOOR CLOSES (LOCKS DOOR) (BANGS DOOR, GROANS) BELT RUSTLES SOLEMN MUSIC When a beloved celebrity known to virtually everyone dies suddenly and tragically, it can have the feeling of a death in the American family. Just hearing the news anchor say, 'Robin Williams is dead. We're getting reports in confirming this,' it took my breath away. I fell to the floor and I sat in the floor of the IMAX, and I was stunned. I was, at first, utterly surprised. Shocked. To be honest at all, it's a bit hard for me to believe that's the truth that he's gone. We're mourning the loss of such a great man. The` The world has lost one of it's biggest, uh, stars. I love the man. I loved his work. He was bedazzling. His contribution to pop culture and the impact he had on me watching his films, watching his talent, his emotional connection with me and millions of others around the world, really meant that time stood still for that moment. As news of his suicide sinks in, the world waits for investigators to explain why the life of one of America's greatest comic talents should end so tragically. No one expected the revelations that would follow. And here, very deep in the autopsy report, is evidence of a terminal condition that no one knew about ` not even Robin Williams himself. Just before midday on the 11th of August 2014, Robin Williams' body is discovered at his home in Tiburon, California. He's found hanging from a belt secured to a closet door inside his stepson's bedroom. Once the pressure of the ligature is applied to the neck, he would've become unconscious in between five and 15 seconds. Following that, there would've been increasing damage to the brain caused by lack of oxygen and blood. And death occurs within about three to five minutes following the suspension. The key priority to examining a sudden death such as this is the examination of the scene. How the ligature is attached to the high point, how the ligature is present around the body, and all of the other features in the vicinity ` that's the key step in understanding a hanging. One feature of the scene that's particularly odd is the cloth towel looped over the belt. CAMERA SNAPS This feature is usually synonymous with a practise known as autoerotic asphyxiation. Autoerotic asphyxiation is the deliberate application of pressure to the neck in order to stimulate and heighten sexual experience. The towel is used to prevent bruising around the neck. It is a possibility considered by the investigating officer, who asked Susan Williams whether her husband had any previous history of autoerotic asphyxiation. She states he did not. But the investigator is told Williams played a character in World's Greatest Dad who discovers his son accidentally dies from autoerotic asphyxiation, and he may have gleaned information from the scene. The typical features of an autoerotic hanging are nudity, erotic material, sometimes cross-dressing, sometimes bondage, and sometimes the presence of a soft material between the ligature and the neck. In this case, the only feature that was present was a towel, but that doesn't add up to this being an autoerotic asphyxiation. It's more likely that he was scared that hanging would hurt him, and so he put the towel between the belt and his neck to stop the pain. TENSE MUSIC No suicide note is found, though this isn't unusual. Fewer than half of people who commit suicide leave a note. An investigation of his text messages, emails and web browsing reveals no hint he was contemplating suicide. But two tabs left open in his web browser do reveal a vital clue. In the hours before his death, Robin Williams was reading about two drugs ` Lyrica and propranolol. Lyrica is a drug used to treat severe pain and sometimes has a role in treating convulsions and epilepsy. Propranolol can be used to treat high blood pressure, but is also quite useful in the treatment of anxiety. There's no evidence in the autopsy report that Robin Williams had been prescribed these medications. No trace of either is found in his body, so why was he reading about them? His interest in these drugs suggests to me that he could well have been aware that there was something else wrong with him, something that was affecting his mind, something he couldn't put his finger on. In fact, the autopsy report shows Robin Williams was right. There was something very seriously wrong with him that had not yet been diagnosed. Following his death, samples of his brain tissue were sent to a lab for routine examination by neuropathologists. When they looked at the brain under the microscope, they found that Lewy bodies, these collections of abnormal proteins within the cells, were present within the part of the brain that cause Parkinson's disease, and that was expected. What they didn't expect to see was the presence of Lewy bodies throughout Robin Williams' brain... DRAMATIC NOTES ...which indicated a totally different disease process. Lewy bodies are the abnormal collection of proteins within the brain cells, and as the collections build up, the brain cells stop working. And as the brain cells stop working, that part of the brain ceases to function correctly. And it progresses inexorably, and the deterioration is most noticed in the higher functions ` memory and thought and planning. The presence of these additional Lewy bodies indicates that Robin Williams wasn't just suffering from Parkinson's disease. He was suffering from another condition, one that was even more serious. Robin Williams was suffering from undiagnosed dementia. DISSONANT TONE Dementia is a chronic ongoing decline in the function of the brain, leading to loss of mental agility, language skills, memory, and in the end, the fundamental capacity to care for oneself. The discovery of this vital neurological evidence is the breakthrough for Dr Shepherd. The diagnosis of Lewy body dementia completely changes our understanding of Robin Williams' last hours. Sufferers are known to experience depression. Lewy body dementia can cause physical deterioration and Parkinson-like symptoms of stiffness, rigidity and tremors. A sudden intense and frequent need to urinate is often a feature of Lewy body dementia, and would have exacerbated Robin Williams' prostate condition. It can cause sleeping disorders and insomnia, which may explain why Robin Williams was sleeping in his stepson's bedroom. Other features of the disease are anxiety, delusions and paranoid tendencies ` imagining things that aren't happening and hearing things that aren't there. Fluctuations in cognition leading to periods of confusion followed by periods of alertness may explain why his wife describes this change in his mood during the day of his death. Lewy body dementia can affect reasoning and emotion, can cause episodes of confusion and impaired decision making. Sufferers can even hallucinate and act out their nightmares. TENSE MUSIC Many of the disease processes that Robin Williams suffered ` his psychological, his physical disease process ` can all be explained by this one disease in his brain, the Lewy body dementia. And that, I think, is the driver that caused him in the end to take his own life. Lewy body dementia has not received as much attention as other forms of the disease, but it's the most common type of dementia after Alzheimer's, and the most frequently misdiagnosed. Roughly seven million people have the condition worldwide. AUDIENCE LAUGHS, APPLAUDS I think Robin touched people because he talked about the truth. His comedy will always` was about truth. Things we` we were unable to laugh at within our own lives, he helped us to do that. LAUGHTER, WOMAN HOLLERS We aren't often blessed with someone like Robin Williams. And I think rather than mourn, we should be grateful that we had him at all. The world will remember all the joy, all the kindness he bring to all the neighbourhood here, and then the movie magic he create, as there's no two Robin Williams. There's only one. He made an enormous amount of people feel a little less alone, and that's the most important. And that's, you know` His memory is one that I` I have yet to meet people that didn't find it overwhelmingly positive, so I'll just try and focus on that.
Subjects
  • Television programs--United Kingdom