Robin Williams’s widow Susan condemns media over claims he’d been drinking in lead up to his death

New documentary recounts final days of actor’s life

Robin Williams’s widow, Susan Schneider Williams, has said she was “infuriated” that some parts of the media speculated the actor had been drinking around the time of his suicide.

The beloved comedian and actor died aged 63 in 2014.

A new documentary, Robin’s Wish, will recount the final days of his life and explore the neurodegenerative disorder – Lewy Body Dementia – that Williams was struggling with before he died.

According to a professor of neurology quoted in the documentary, LBD increases anxiety, self-doubt and causes delusions.

In a new interview with The Guardian, Schneider Williams said she wanted to make the documentary because “there were so many misunderstandings out there about what had happened to him, and about Lewy bodies”.

She added: “It infuriated me when the media said he’d been drinking, because I know there are recovering addicts out there who looked up to him, people dealing with depression who looked up to him, and they deserve to know the truth.”

Schneider Williams also explained that her late husband never received a diagnosis when he was alive, and that he killed himself a week before he had an appointment at a neurocognitive testing facility.

“I think he didn’t want to go,” she said. “I think he thought: ‘I’m going to get locked up and never come out.’”

Williams starred in classic films such as Mrs Doubtfire, Good Morning Vietnam and Disney’s Aladdin. He won an Oscar for his supporting role as a psychologist in Good Will Hunting.

Robin's Wish will be available to watch from 4 January in the UK and can be viewed on different digital and on demand platforms including iTunes, Amazon and Sky Store.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.