Robin Williams‘ widow Susan Schneider opens up about her life with the late actor.
In the upcoming PEOPLE and ABC special People Icons: Gone Too Soon, Schneider remembers Williams as a “quiet, intellectual man,” which was much different than the publicly explosive personality his fans saw.
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“The Robin that I knew was not the crazy, manic one who would be performing on stage for comedy or sometimes in his roles as an actor,” she says in an emotional interview for the special. “And I think that’s commonly a misconception, is that Robin was always running at that speed. And that is not the man that I knew. That’s not the man I fell in love with.”
She revealed the actor would spend his free time conserving his energy for his comedic performances.
“Robin was a quiet, intellectual man, sometimes playful. But primarily what moved him was the fact that he was an observational genius,” she says. “And if you can imagine the energy that he would bring to the stage — no one can do that full-time. And I think the brilliance behind that impact of energy he would bring was because in his time off, he was someone who was contemplative and an observational genius.”
Robin committed suicide in August 2014 at the age of 63. After his passing, his family learned that he suffered from Lewy Body Dementia, which caused disorientation and hallucinations.
Although Robin touched many hearts during his time of earth, Schneider knows his work here is not done.
“Robin’s real legacy will unfold in the decades to come and really shed light on brain disease as a whole, but particularly dementia, which 47 million people worldwide are suffering right now,” she says.
Susan hopes other people who suffer from Lewy Body Dementia will find comfort in the fact they are not alone.
The special will air on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
H/T Twitter / @people
Related:
Susan Schneider Williams Opens up About Robin Williams’ Disease and Death
Susan Williams Delivers Moving Speech About Robin Williams on Their Anniversary
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