Robin Williams’ son Zak shares heartfelt tribute to dad on his birthday
Robin Williams’ eldest son, Zak, has shared a poignant message in celebration of what would’ve been his father’s 74th birthday.
It’s been 11 years since the Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor died by suicide in August 2014, just weeks after turning 63 on July 21, 2014.
“Every year, this season arrives with gravity. In just sixty days, we pass through Father’s Day, his birthday, and the anniversary of his death. It’s a tender and complicated stretch of time. One that asks a lot of the heart,” Zak, 42, wrote Monday on Instagram, alongside an old photo of the Mrs. Doubtfire star.
“For me, grief isn’t linear. It loops and echoes. It softens, then crescendos. But alongside it lives a legacy, the kind built not from fame or recognition, but from generosity and relentless kindness,” he added.
“My father lived to make people feel seen. He gave permission to feel deeply and to laugh through the pain. In his absence, that mission continues.
“So today, I hold close the idea that the best way to honor those we love is to live the values they stood for. To lead with service and compassion. To lift others when they’re down. And to find paths of light, even in the dark corners,” Zak said.
“To anyone carrying loss right now: you’re not alone. You are part of a passage of love and connection that never really ends,” he concluded. “Happy birthday, Dad. Love you forever.”
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Zak is the eldest son of Williams and his first wife, Valerie Velardi, whom he married in 1978 and divorced in 1988. Williams had two other children, daughter Zelda, 35, and son Cody, 33, from his second marriage to Marsha Garces Williams, which lasted from 1989 to 2010.
In 2011, the Dead Poets Society actor married his third wife, Susan Schneider, with whom he stayed until his death.
Zak typically honors his father each year on his birthday. Last year, alongside a black-and-white image of Williams smiling in front of a collection of puppets, he wrote on X: “Dad, on what would be your 73rd birthday, I remember you for all the hope and joy you brought to the world. There’s not a week that goes by without someone sharing with me how you helped them through a dark time or a rough patch. I’m so grateful to be your son. Love you forever.”
The year before that, he shared a picture of his father from the 1987 war comedy Good Morning, Vietnam, saying: “Happy 72nd Dad! Was remembering how much I used to love that look you’d give. 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.”
In the months leading up to Williams’s death, he had been struggling with health issues after being misdiagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Williams’s autopsy revealed he had Lewy body dementia, an incurable brain disease.
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.
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