Robin Williams’ children have remembered the late actor on what would have been his 72nd birthday.
Over the weekend, the actor’s son, Zak, 40, and daughter Zelda, 33 paid tribute to their father on social media.
Williams died by suicide in Northern California in 2014. He was 63 years old.
“Happy 72nd Dad! Was remembering how much I used to love that look you’d give,” wrote Zak on Instagram. “That look with a mischievous, loving grin that your friends and loved ones knew so well. Joyous and curious and wondrous. Miss you and love you forever.”
The actor would have celebrated his 72nd birthday on Friday 22 July 2023.
Zak’s caption accompanied a photograph of his father wearing headphones and smiling in his 1987 war comedy Good Morning, Vietnam.
Set in Saigon in 1965, the much-loved film starred Williams as a radio DJ on Armed Forces Radio Service.
Meanwhile, on Twitter, Zelda shared a post suggesting she believed that her actor father would have supported the ongoing writers and actors’ strike.
She shared a photograph of Williams joining the New York picket line in the 2007 strike.
In it, Williams can be seen holding a sign that reads “SGA WGA ON STRIKE” alongside fellow protestors.
“Happy birthday to Poppo, who definitely would’ve been out there fighting the good fight for art and artists today and always,” Zelda wrote in her caption.
The Mrs Doubtfire star had been a vocal advocate for writers’ rights during the strike in 2007. That year, the WGA took industrial action with a key issue in the negotiations being royalties from DVD sales.
The 2007/08 season strike lasted for 100 days and nearly 25 per cent of primetime scripted programming over that period was lost completely.
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“This is not about millionaire screenwriters. They don’t need to be on strike. This is not about me, I’m fine,” Robbins told The Hollywood Reporter at the time. “This is about a large amount of people who are simply trying to get their fair share.”
“You want to resolve it for their sake and get everybody back working and find a way to share it.”
Zak is the eldest son of Robin and his first wife Valerie Velardie, who married in 1978 and divorced in 1988.
Zelda and her brother Cody, 31, are children from his second marriage to Marsha Garces Williams whom he married in 1989 and divorced in 2010.
In 2011, Williams married Susan Schneider whom he stayed with until his death in 2014.
In 2021, Schneider – a graphic designer – worked on a documentary titled Robin’s Wish: A Genius Mind, The Untold Story, which focused on the final years of Williams’ life and his experience with lewy body dementia (LBD), a form of dementia he had been diagnosed with after his death following an autopsy on his brain.
Williams’ birthday comes ahead of the ninth anniversary of his death in August.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
