The comic, who was fighting depression, was heralded as one of the best comics of all time by friends, colleagues and fans.
Williams was a star of standup, stage, TV and movies, and he was unafraid to take on a wide range of characters, including performing as a gay man in 1996’s The Birdcage, opposite Nathan Lane, as the owner of a South Beach bar featuring female impersonators. For that role he received a Screen Actors Guild Award, and he and Lane were nominated for Best On-Screen Duo for the MTV Movie Awards.
He also played a cross-dressing nanny in 1993’s Mrs. Doubtfire, an effort to spend time with his children. He won a Golden Globe for that performance.
He was in dozens of films, even an uncredited role in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.