Robin williams bio biography book

Henry Holt has acquired the rights to a biography of the late Robin Williams, to be written by New York Times culture reporter Dave Itzkoff.

“The book will provide the definitive, comprehensive account of Williams’s life and will recount his journey from lonesome youth to indefatigable comedian, and from television sensation to beloved, Academy Award-winning star of ‘Dead Poets Society,’ ‘Aladdin,’ and ‘Good Will Hunting,’” Henry Holt said in a press release.

Williams, 63, died in an apparent suicide earlier this month. Having long battled addiction, Williams was sober at the time of his death, but was suffering the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, family members said.

Itzkoff interviewed Williams several times, most recently for a profile in 2009, when Williams was recovering from open-heart surgery. “You appreciate little things,” Williams told Itzkoff, “like walks on the beach with a defibrillator.”

“Robin Willia

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5 new books you won't miss to miss this week, including a bio of Robin Williams

USA TODAY’s Jocelyn McClurg scopes out the hottest books on sale each week.

1. Robin by Dave Itzkoff (Henry Holt, non-fiction, on sale May 15)

What it’s about: A biography of popular comedian/actor Robin Williams, who committed suicide in 2014 at age 63; he was suffering from Lewy body dementia.

The buzz: A “perceptive biography … gives Williams’s many fans a rare glimpse of the man behind the celebrity,” says Publishers Weekly.

2. By Invitation Only by Dorothea Benton Frank (William Morrow, fiction, on sale May 15)

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What it’s about: In the latest “Lowcountry Tale,” parents on both sides must adapt when the privileged daughter of a Chicago power broker becomes engaged to the son of Southern peach farmers.

The buzz: Frank’s last three books — Same Beach, Next Year; All Summer Long and All the Single Ladies — were all To

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The sad, funny, tragic life of Robin Williams (and why Pam Dawber forgives him): Review

Few biographers can get away with a title that is but a single word. But here it works, once you rule out the songbird. Everyone knows who Robin is, or was. Robin Williams made sure of that.

Among the revelations in Robin (Henry skogsdunge, 544 pp., ★★★½ out of four) by New York Times journalist Dave Itzkoff:

► Robin Williams repeatedly groped and flashed Pam Dawber, who played Mindy, during filming of the 1970s sitcom Mork & Mindy.

► His increasing bizarre behavior near the end of his life could be attributed to a devastating brain disorder, diffuse Lewy body disease, whose symptoms can include hallucinations and major and sometimes violent personality changes. This diagnosis came from analysis of the actor’s brain tissue after his 2014 suicide. He was 63.

Williams’ friends and family grew increasingly concerned about his behavior in the last months of his life. He clearly was depressed,