Robin Williams publicly battled depression and addiction, a battle that ended in death. INSIDE EDITION looks at his final days.
INSIDE EDITION is learning more about the tragic suicide of comic genius Robin Williams who was found dead inside his beautiful waterfront home overlooking San Francisco bay.
The 63-year old comedian hanged himself inside the house but left no suicide note.
Robin Williams' wife Susan reportedly left their Tiburon home Monday morning to run some errands. His personal assistant came by and when no one answered the door, she knocked on the window believing the actor was supposed to be home. She then went inside the house and made the shocking discovery, finding his body hanging.
Assistant County Coroner Keith Boyd described the suicide scene at a press conference: "The personal assistant was able to gain access to Mr. Williams' bedroom and entered the bedroom to find Mr. Williams clothed in a seated position, unresponsive, with a belt secured around his neck, with the other end of the belt wedged between the closed closet door and the bed frame."
He revealed that Robin Williams had also tried to cut his wrists.
"The inside of Mr. Williams' left wrist had several acute superficial transverse cuts. A pocket knife with a closed blade was located in close proximity to Mr. Williams."
Robin Williams and his wife had spent the night in separate rooms, and when she left that morning she believed he was still asleep.
He was last seen alive at 10 p.m., Sunday. 911 was called at 11:55 a.m., Monday. In the emergency radio dispatch, the operator said: "Medic 10 on route. Apparent suicide attempt by hanging."
He was pronounced dead by paramedics just seven minutes later at 12:02 pm.
CNN's Don Lemon was visibly stunned as the shocking news was broadcast to America, saying, "So, I hate to have to report this. The breaking news just into CNN is that actor Robin Williams is dead at the age of 63 from an apparent suicide."
Conan O'Brien struggled to find the words to tell his studio audience about the tragedy during the taping of his show.
"I'm sorry to anyone in our studio audience that I'm breaking this news. This is absolutely shocking and horrifying," said O'Brien.
Robin Williams' death is triggering an outpouring of emotion that is truly worldwide. Twitter reports over 8 million tweets about Williams' death.
In one of the last photos taken of Robin Williams, he looks gaunt and somber, almost unrecognizable. It was shot at a Dairy Queen in Minnesota during his stay at the Hazelden rehab center last month.
The Dairy Queen employee with him, 15-year-old Abby Albers said, "I didn't think it was actually him at first."
Williams returned to rehab because he had begun drinking again after years of sobriety.
After leaving Hazleden, and looking healthier and happier, Williams posted a photo on July 21st, his 63rd birthday, with a monkey from the upcoming Night at the Museum sequel.
"Happy birthday to me," Williams wrote.
His last tweet took place two weeks ago when he celebrated his beloved daughter Zelda's 25th birthday, saying: "Happy birthday to Ms. Zelda Rae Williams! Quarter of a century old today but always my baby."
Along with it came a poignant photo of he and Zelda together when she was a toddler.
Today, Zelda said: "I love you. I miss you. I'll try to keep looking up."
His third wife, graphic artist Susan Schneider, said in a statement, "I lost my husband and best friend while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and a beautiful human being. I am utterly heartbroken."
INSIDE EDITION's Megan Alexander spoke with Robin Williams and his co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar in 2013 at the launch of their network sitcom The Crazy Ones.
Robin Williams said, "There were only three networks when I was on TV before. Now there are hundreds!"
He said about Gellar, "She's wonderful! She keeps me sane!"
"Keep him sane? I'm not doing a very good job," joked Gellar."
In a rare setback for Williams, it was cancelled after one season. Today a grieving Sarah Michelle Gellar said, "He was not just an inspiration but he was the father I had always dreamed of having. I will miss him every day."
President Obama summed up the national sense of loss in a statement saying, "He arrived in our lives as an alien, but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit."
People magazine rushed out a special cover calling Williams a comic genius.
At the Los Angeles premiere of The Expendables 3, the stars remembered the man.
Arnold Schwarzenegger said, "We're are mourning the loss of such a great man. He was such a fantastic actor!"
Mel Gibson continued, "We'll miss him. You know? He left way too early."
"I knew Robin from the '70s. It's just shocking how fragile life is. It's just really incredibly shocking and tragic," said Sylvester Stallone.
