Actor and comedian Robin Williams died Monday of an apparent suicide, the Marin County Sheriff’s Department confirmed. He was 63.
The Academy Award winner was found unconscious in his Tiburon, Calif., home around noon and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office press release.
“Robin Williams passed away this morning. He has been battling severe depression of late,” his publicist said in a statement. “This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.”
Williams won an Oscar for his supporting role in “Good Will Hunting,” in which he played Sean Maguire, who gave up his ticket to Game 6 of the 1975 World Series — the famous Carlton Fisk homer game — at Fenway Park to “see about a girl.”
In real life, Williams was a huge fan of the San Francisco Giants. He had season tickets and often was spotted at AT&T Park rooting on the home team.
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Williams also starred in the 1986 film “The Best of Times,” in which he portrayed a banker obsessed with replaying a high school football game that he single-handedly blew. Williams goes to great lengths to convince the town — and former quarterback Reno Hightower, played by Kurt Russell — to recreate the game that still haunts him.
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In addition, Williams, as John Keating in “Dead Poets Society,” used soccer to drive a point home, asking his students to kick soccer balls around as they recited poetry.
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However, it was the sitcom, “Mork and Mindy,” that catapulted Wiliams’ career. In one memorable episode, the zany alien joined the Denver Broncos cheerleading squad for a game, even running out on the field with all the girls in the revealing uniform.
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An investigation into the cause of Williams’ death is underway.
