Almost five years after Robin Williams took his own life in August 2014, REELZ is going back in time to examine the struggles that the actor had behind closed doors. In a new documentary, When the Laughter Stops, Williams’ battle with alcoholism and drug abuse is analyzed alongside the death of comedian John Belushi.
Williams, who died in a suicide by hanging in August 2014 at the age of 63, was with his good friend Belushi just moments before he died at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles on March 5, 1982.
At the time, a concerned Williams asked Belushi, who was down on the floor at the famous hotel, if he was OK. The comedian assured him he was fine, and Williams left.
Not long after, Belushi overdosed on heroin and cocaine at age 33.
“It was probably a horrible burden. It would be very difficult, I think, to move on and also to be such close friends,” writer-comedian Heather McDonald said.
The REELZ documentary dives deep into how Belushi’s death affected the Academy Award winner, and the series of unfortunate events that came afterwards.
Robin Williams: When the Laughter Stops airs on REELZ Sunday, August 11, at 9 p.m. E.T.
