READ: Robin Williams' daughter Zelda's heartbreaking post on his birthday - 'It’s that time of year again'
Robin Williams' daughter Zelda Williams has chosen to open up about the heartbreak and pain that she goes through around this time every year. The 28-year-old took to Instagram to share a picture of her with her late father and spoke about how painful it is to honor the comedian's birthday which falls on July 21 and the anniversary of his death which falls on August 11.
Zelda wrote, "It’s that time of year again. Everyone who has dealt with loss knows the pain of certain anniversaries, moments full of memory that come round like clockwork and usurp all others, no matter how hard you may try to prepare for or avoid them." The actress further went on to add that that she will be taking a break from social media to focus on her health and well-being.
"These weeks are the hardest for me, and thus, you’ll see me a lot less, if at all. For all the internet’s good intentions in expressing to me their fondness for dad, it’s very overwhelming to have strangers need me to know how much they cared for him right now. It’s harder still to be expected to reach back," she continued to write on her social media post.
Zelda also went on to thank all the fans for remembering and cherishing the work of her father and the memory of him. "So while I’ve got the strength, consider this my one open armed response, before I go take my yearly me time to celebrate his and my birthdays in peace. Thank you for supporting him and his life’s work. Thank you for missing him. I do too," she added. Williams also suggested a couple of ways in which fans could honor her father and shared that fans could volunteer at local homeless shelters and also create homeless aid backpacks. "Give one in his name. He’d have loved that," is what she wrote.
"Mostly, try to spread some laughter and kindness around. And creatively swear a lot. Every time you do, somewhere out there in our vast weird universe, he’s giggling with you...or giving a particularly fat bumblebee its wings," she continued. She then went on to leave a message for her father and wrote, "Happy early birthday, Poppo. Miss you every day, but especially these ones."
Robin Williams passed away in the year 2014. He was 63. And according to a biography 'Robin' by Dave Itzkoff, the actor was struggling to remember his lines on the set of his last movie, 'Night of the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.' Make-up artist Cheri Minns recalled in the book, "He was sobbing in my arms at the end of every day. It was horrible, horrible. I said to his people, I’m a makeup artist and I don’t have the capacity to deal with what’s happening to him."
Minns suggested to Robin that he try and make a return to stand-up comedy as a way to cope, but he flatly refused. "He just cried and said, ‘I can’t, Cheri. I don’t know how anymore. I don’t know how to be funny," she continued. Robin Williams passed away after suffering from Lewy Body Dementia. It is a type of brain disease which affects his thinking, memory, and movement control.
A documentary on him - 'Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind' - looked at the darkest phase of the beloved comedian's life, and showed never seen before footage of him. Robin was asked whether he suffered from a childhood fear of abandonment to which he replied, "Yeah, it’s a primal fear for any child, and it dictates a lot of how you deal with life." The documentary was directed by Marina Zenovich.
Despite growing up in a wealthy background, Robin spent most of his childhood being shy and does not remember his parents as being warm. In the year 2009, Robin Williams told People, "The ideal child was seen, not heard. Every person is driven by some deep secret. There was fear sometimes to run away from it all, sometimes to run into it all."
Even after hitting success in his career, Williams never fully enjoyed the perks which came alone. Robin Williams' son Zachary also spoke about his father's struggles in the documentary and said, "My father didn’t always feel he was succeeding, but he was the most successful person I know."
Shortly after Robin died, his wife Susan Schneider also opened up about her husband's struggle with the brain disease and revealed that it began taking a huge toll on the actor in the year before his death. She said that his symptoms included heightened levels of anxiety, delusions, and impaired movement. The condition got to a point where doctor's were unable to diagnose the problem until the actor's autopsy.
"I know now the doctors, the whole team was doing exactly the right things. It’s just that this disease was faster than us and bigger than us. We would have gotten there eventually," she explained.
At the time of Robin's death, Susan Schneider revealed in a statement, "This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin’s death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions."
Robin is survived by a son Zak from his marriage to Valerie Velardi, and daughter Zelda and son Cody from his marriage to Marsha Garces.