Robin Williams suicide stuns everyone from presidents and Hollywood stars to friends and family as world unites to pay tribute to legendary actor

PRESIDENTS and future kings, superstars and friends from all over the world came together yesterday to grieve for Robin Williams.

But the most poignant tribute came from a young woman mourning her dad .

Robin’s daughter Zelda, 25, posted an extract on Instagram from the best-loved novel in France, The Little Prince.

It read: “You – you alone will have the stars as no one else has them.

“In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing.”

She added: “I love you. I miss you. I’ll try to keep looking up.”

Robin left two other children, Zachary, 31, and Cody, 22, and wife Susan Schneider, who was the last person to see him alive.

Police said Susan saw Robin before going to bed on Sunday at their home in Marin County, California. She left the house next morning, thinking he was asleep in another room.

Just before noon local time, Robin’s personal assistant became worried that he was not answering knocks on his door.

The assistant went in and found the star dead. He had hanged himself . His family do not believe he left a note.

Susan said: “This morning, I lost my husband and best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken.

“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 was 63. His press agent said he had been battling severe depression.

He had struggled with drink and drugs in the past, and had recently returned to rehab to “fine-tune” his sobriety.

He won only one Oscar, for Best Supporting Actor opposite Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting.

But Barack Obama remembered his roles in Good Morning Vietnam, Awakenings, Aladdin, Mrs Doubtfire, The Butler, Dead Poets Society, Hook, and many other well-loved movies.

The President said: “Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind.

“He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most.”

Robin would laugh at, and with, anyone, even the heir to the throne.

Once, when performing in We Are Most Amused, a West End comedy to mark Prince Charles’s 60th birthday, he turned to the Prince and his wife and shouted: “Chuck! Cam! Great to see you!

“Yo! Yo! Wassup Wales? House of Windsor, keepin’ it real!”

Charles said yesterday: “He was a remarkable man, whose wonderful frenetic humour brought a special kind of laughter into people’s lives.

“I greatly enjoyed meeting him on several occasions and his irreplaceable contribution to life will be greatly missed by countless people, including myself.”

Hollywood royalty also mourned . Steven Spielberg, who directed Robin in Hook, said: “He was a lightning storm of comic genius and our laughter was the thunder that sustained him. He was a pal and I can’t believe he’s gone.”

Danny DeVito said: “So sad to think about this. Hard to speak. Hard to say. Hard to
take. All I can think about is what a joy he was to be with. My heart is broken.”

Kevin Spacey spoke of how Robin “made the world laugh and think”. He added: “I will remember and honour that. A great man, artist and friend.”

Monty Python star Terry Gilliam, Robin’s director in The Fisher King, talked about the demons that came with his friend’s genius.

He said: “When the Gods gift you with the kind of talent Robin had, there’s a price to pay. There always is.

“It doesn’t come from nothing. It comes from deep problems inside. And yet he could always channel those things and turn them into something gold.”

Writing on Twitter, Ben Stiller struggled to express his feelings. He said: “A tweet cannot begin to describe the hugeness of Robin Williams’s heart and soul and talent. This is so sad.

“OK, I’ll try. I met him when I was 13 and a huge fan and he was so kind and I watched him be kind to every fan I ever saw him with.

“His impact on the world was so positive. He did so much good for people. He made me and so many people laugh so hard for a very long time.”

Johnny Depp said: “The world lost a legend of an actor and an extraordinary man today.”