Robin Williams, 1951- 2014

Robin Williams, who won an Oscar in 1998 for Good Will Hunting, died Monday at age 63 of an apparent suicide, according to the Marin County Sheriff’s Department.

LATimes:

Around 11:55 a.m. Monday, sheriff’s officials said, a 911 call came in about a man unresponsive in his home in Tiburon. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dubbed “the funniest man alive” by Entertainment Weekly in 1997, Williams brought audiences hours of laughter, putting his imaginative spin on characters in film and television. He was lauded for his serious roles as well, winning a best supporting actor Oscar for his performance as Sean Maguire, the therapist who counsels Matt Damon’s math genius in “Good Will Hunting”(1997), and receiving nominations for “The Fisher King” (1991), “Dead Poets Society” (1989) and “Good Morning, Vietnam” (1987).

Born in Chicago in 1951, Williams became one of only two students accepted into John Houseman’s prestigious acting program at Julliard, the other being Christopher Reeve, who became a lifelong friend.