Getty Susan Schneider and actor Robin Williams attend the Premiere of Warner Bros. Pictures' 'Happy Feet Two' at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on November 13, 2011 in Hollywood, California.
Susan Schneider Williams, Robin Williams‘ widow, shared the last words he said to her before his death in 2014. Schneider Williams is an advocate today, spreading awareness about Lewy Body dementia, the brain disease that went undiagnosed for her late husband, Robin Williams, until his suicide and autopsy in 2014.
ABC’s Superstar: Robin Williams is taking a look at his life, career and personal struggles in its new episode tonight. The one-hour specials airs at 10 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, October 20, 2021, and it will be available for streaming on Hulu the next day.
Schneider Williams told “Good Morning America” that the night her husband died, he came into the bedroom several times. She thought he was getting better, she said in the interview.
“I was getting in bed and he came in the room a couple of times … and he said, ‘Goodnight, my love,'” Schneider Williams told “Good Morning America.” “And then he came back again. He came out with his iPad and he looked like he had something to do. And that was like, ‘I think he’s getting better.’ And then he said ‘Goodnight, goodnight.’ That was the last.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Schneider Williams Created a Documentary ‘Robin’s Wish’ to Educate the Public About Lewy Body Dementia & Clear Up Rumors About His Suicide
“Nearly every region of his brain was under attack,” said Susan Schneider Williams, the widow of Robin Williams, in a new documentary about the late comedian’s final days before he died by suicide in 2014. “He experienced himself disintegrating.” t.co/VOED5tcnku
Schneider Williams created “Robin’s Wish,” a documentary released in 2020, to advocate for her husband after his death and to educate the public about Lewy Body dementia, or LBD, she told the Guardian. He had been misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, but he was also dealing with paranoia and other affects that could not be explained by the diagnosis, she told the news outlet. It wasn’t until his autopsy that his diagnosis became clear.
“The doctors said to me after the autopsy: ‘Are you surprised that your husband had Lewy bodies throughout his entire brain and brain stem?’ I didn’t even know what Lewy bodies were, but I said: ‘No, I’m not surprised.’ The fact that something had infiltrated every part of my husband’s brain? That made perfect sense,” Schneider Williams told the Guardian.
Experts told the Guardian it is not possible to make a direct correlation between LBD and Williams’ suicide, saying that people can lead a productive life with the proper treatment. However, Robin Williams never got that treatment, Schneider Williams told the Guardian. He died by suicide one week before they were scheduled to go to a neurocognitive testing facility, she told the Guardian.
“I think he didn’t want to go. I think he thought: ‘I’m going to get locked up and never come out,” she told the Guardian.
Susan Schneider & Robin Williams Met at an Apple Store & They Both Made a Joke About His Shirt
Robin Williams’ wife, Susan Schneider Williams, wants fans to understand the comedian’s Lewy Body Dementia diagnosis, an incredibly debilitating physical and mental condition that made it impossible for him to go on and which he never knew he had
Robin Williams and Susan Schneider met at an Apple store in 2007 when they both made a joke about a camouflage shirt he was wearing, according to the Guardian. Schneider Williams told the Guardian she recognized him and saw him smiling at her, then convinced herself to say ‘hi.’
“I walked in and saw this man and I thought: ‘I think that’s Robin Williams.’ Then on my way out I happened to look at him again and he was smiling at me and something inside me said: ‘Oh, just go over and say hi,’” she told the Guardian. “He was wearing camouflage print so I said: ‘How’s that camo working out for you?’ And he said: ‘Not too good – you found me.'”
Schneider Williams told the Guardian that she often sees reminders of her late husband when she needs him.
“But Robin still tends to show up when I need him. About an hour before this interview I saw robins in the yard,” she told the Guardian. “But when he’s not there, I think of my friend, my love, and I miss him.”
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