USA/FILE: U.S. Defense Department file video shows comedian Robin Williams visiting troops. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry praises Williams in a statement released, calling him "an absolute genius"

Record ID: 704236

  • Title: USA/FILE: U.S. Defense Department file video shows comedian Robin Williams visiting troops. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry praises Williams in a statement released, calling him "an absolute genius"
  • Date: 12th August 2014
  • Summary: GRAPHICS OF WRITTEN STATEMENT (AUGUST 12, 2014) (REUTERS) GRAPHIC OF ENTIRE STATEMENT BY U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY GRAPHIC FROM STATEMENT "Statement from Secretary Kerry - Death of Robin Williams." GRAPHIC FROM STATEMENT "There wasn't anybody he couldn't touch." GRAPHIC FROM STATEMENT "He was an absolute genius, with an extraordinary zest fro his profession. He l
  • Embargoed: 27th August 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Afghanistan
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Topics: Obituaries
  • Reuters ID: LVA20DEE7AC49U0GPFV4RC5TCI5T
  • Story Text: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday (August 12) praised late comedian Robin Williams, calling him an "absolute genius with an extraordinary zest for his profession."

    "There wasn't anybody he couldn't touch," Kerry said in a written statement released by the State Department.

    "He loved people and he committed himself to any issue that concerned him. Robin wasn't just a huge creative genius, but a caring, involved citizen. I'll always be grateful for his personal friendship and his support for the causes that we both cared about deeply."
    The U.S. Defense Department highlighted video of Williams visiting U.S. troops, including appearances in Kuwait, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
    Williams, the versatile actor whose madcap comic style made him one of television and film's biggest stars, was found dead on Monday from an apparent suicide at his home in Tiburon, Northern California. He was 63.
    The comedian's appeal stretched across generations and genres, from family fare as the voice of Disney's blue Genie in "Aladdin" to his portrayal of a fatherly therapist in the 1997 drama "Good Will Hunting," for which he earned his sole Oscar.
    But many remembered the master of impressions on Monday for his tender portrayal in "Mrs. Doubtfire", when he played the part of a British nanny whose identity he assumed as a divorced father to be with his children.
    According to his publicist, Williams had been recently suffering from severe depression, and had repeatedly talked about his past struggles with alcohol.
    Williams, who was born in Chicago in 1951 and grew up in suburban Detroit earned four Academy Award nominations, the first for his portrayal of U.S. Army radio host Adrian Cronauer during the Vietnam War in "Good Morning, Vietnam."
    He earned nominations for the 1990 coming-of-age prep school drama "Dead Poets Society" and 1991's "The Fisher King."
    Williams married three times, most recently in 2011 to Schneider. He has three children.
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