♪ go! go! wow! go power...oats! go! made from oats cheerios! cheerios! go, go, go! go power oats! go! cheerios! go power! go...power! yayyyy! abc 7 news starts right now. with live breaking news. and that breaking news out of marin county where the coroner's office reports that actor and comedian robin williams has died. the call came into 911 about four hours ago reporting a man unconscious and not breathing. the coroner's office confirms that man is in fact 63-year-old

robin williams. the suspected cause of death is suicide. the investigation is under way right now. williams has been open in recent years about his struggle with sobriety. he sought help in 2006 when he relapsed, and last month he returned to rehab. his publicist says he was determined to remain sober, he spent much of his time in the bay area in san francisco and in the state in napa, as well. good afternoon. i'm cheryl jennings. we also have this very sad news to report this afternoon about the way a mother of two died during a bank robbery in stockton. police say their investigation now shows that police officers fired the shots that killed misty singh. she was at the bank on july 16th, when three robbers took her hostage, one using her as a

human shield in a shootout with police. one report shows that singh was struck ten times by officers' bullets. the officers had a semiautomatic rifle. they felt they didn't have any choice. >> every member of our department is deeply saddened that this event ended with the tragic death of an innocent victim. and every one of us wishes the tragedy had ended differently. >> the chief says it shows how the robbers were coward. two of them are in custody, the chief has vowed to reevaluate the department's procedures in light of this new information. >> the singh family released this statement through their attorney. we are saddened to receive the ballistic information, the manner in which her life was taken raises serious questions and concerns. and in san leandro, gunfire erupted outside the shopping mall. the helicopters over the scene

this morning. police say it was good samaritan who helped to save the victim. more from san leandro. nick? >> reporter: larry, good afternoon, this scene is clear, the entrance is open and a scary moment for a 12-year-old turned into a lesson about compassion. >> it was just like -- we were all talking and then all of a sudden boom, boom, boom, it just happened. >> reporter: her dad let her tell me about the dangerous and unexpected event no child should have to see. >> he got shot over there and he got shot in the leg. and then he was like help, help, i got shot. >> reporter: when her dad heard the sound of gunfire, she says her dad screamed for them to get down. >> he was like get down, get down, we jumped to the ground, it was so scary. >> there was some sort of an argument inside one of the stores in the mall which may have led to the subsequent shooting outside in the parking lot. >> reporter: at least nine bullets littered the parking

lot. where the fight happened. one was a black male wearing a light shirt and blue jeans, he was outside in the lot. >> reporter: police are using store cameras and area surveillance to help to identify the suspect. the gunshot victim is expected to survive his injuries, partly, police say because of the quick action of a good samaritan who like aquasia and her family happened to be nearby. >> i don't know if it is an employee here at the mall or just some citizen driving by who actually drove the victim to the hospital. >> reporter: arquasia saw him, as well. >> our friend, he came over here, he put him in the car and he went towards san leandro hospital. >> reporter: suggesting to her that even when bad stuff happens there are always those willing to step in and do the right thing. in san leandro, nick smith, abc 7 news. the city of oakland is getting $2 million in grant money to help fight crime and reduce violence. nancy skinner joined the police

chief and mayor jean quan for more. >> the strategies of targeting the most violent people in town, which this money will help us continue to do and build on. and offering job training and other help to people coming out of prison. we need actually a lot more help. this is a good beginning. >> reporter: the money was set aside to a special fund in the 2014 and 2015 state budget. officials say oakland was selected because of its improving but still high crime rate. some strong hints today from mayor ed lee that san francisco may be about to tighten the use of water use. >> and he attended the water conference and joins us live, wayne? >> reporter: ironic in a city surrounded by water on three sides the drought of 2014 may be about to hit home. there was a meeting in san francisco today filled with state and regional heavy

hitters. >> this is the third year of three dry years. >> reporter: this is what a coordinated effort to fight the drought looks like. it is not real exciting visually. a group of state and local water officials meeting in a room in san francisco, but it is part of a process. >> everybody recognizes at least from the water district, the city and county level that we are in a crisis situation. >> reporter: from the chief to the task force to ordinary people on the street, california's driest year on record has created frightening pictures like these from lake mendocino just last week. grant davis of the sonoma county water agency draws water from that reservoir. last week he applauded santa rosa's move to mandatory rationing to 20%, in keeping with the guidelines of the control board. >> the reason why we moved to mandatory regulations relatively modest mandatory regulations at the state level is that we were

looking at large agencies that were very proud of the work they had done and rightly so. at looking at having a year or two of resources and thinking there was no problem. >> reporter: san francisco, for example, still has roughly two years of water left in the reservoir. and yet after today's session, mayor ed lee suggested that tougher measures may be in store for this city, as well. >> given the expectations of the climate, not necessarily helping, i think we're very chose to the mandatory water rationing. it is a serious effort there. and we're reviewing all the protocols that we have to get ready for. >> reporter: sounds more like a when than if. wayne freedman, abc 7 news. which leads us more to the forecast and probably not a lot of water coming our way from the skies. >> we can only hope but it might be a dream. >> it is mainly a dream, although we do expect a little drizzle overnight. of course that will not help our drought situation. we'll see a few wet spots.

here is live doppler 7, and a few clouds are developing offshore. meanwhile to the east of the sierras to the north part of the sacramento valley to redding, in fact to the oregon border we have thunderstorms and lightning strikes that raise concerns about wildfires and a red flag warning in effect for much of the area of california northeast. but it also includes part of the bay area, and the three north bay counties, warnings in effect at 1:01 a.m. here is what is happening, a few low clouds pushing out over the golden gate. 68 degrees in san francisco, 72 in oakland, san carlos, 67, half moon bay. east bay camera looking towards mount diablo. 92 fairfield, concord, livermore, upper 80s. and we'll look at the first

forecast with increasing clouds during the evening hours and there will be some areas of drizzle overnight. and there is a remote, remote chance of an isolated authority. not much to that, though. partly cloudy to mainly sunny tomorrow, highs ranging from mid-60s to mid-80s. i'll give you a look at the week ahead in just a moment. larry and cheryl? thank you, you heard about the red flag warning from spencer, not a good situation. >> abc 7 news reporter tiffany wilson has more on where the firefighters are on high alert, tiffany. >> reporter: yes, they are certainly on high alert and most concerned about the dry brush you see all around me. i'm on sky line park in napa. most of the park is mowed down with the grass cut low. this sort of a brush, if the lightning struck here we could see problems. and that lightning has already touched off dozens of fires in northern california, draining the resources in the bay. now in afternoon cal fire

deployed its strike team to the sierras where the lightning was setting off new fires this afternoon. tonight, that weather system could move into the bay with the greatest risk here to napa. the national weather service is calling for dry weather and winds up to 30 miles an hour overnight which could lead to extreme fire behavior. the firefighters have been working for about a week straight with their days off cancelled. >> yeah, it is tiring. but we knew with the drought conditions that the state was experiencing that the potential was always there. and when you add lightning to the mix with the dry fuels out there it increases the fire chance, that much more. that is what we're dealing with right now. >> reporter: and to put this into perspective, the u.s. forest service said during a similar weather service last month in siskiyou county, 950 lightning bolts touched down,

starting fires. certainly we don't want that tonight. the red flag warning goes into effect tonight, and should last through 11:00 a.m. tomorrow. >> tiffany, thank you. your help is needed to identify this man. he was admitted to san francisco general hospital with critical injuries after being found injured on church street around 7:30 a.m. sunday morning. he has no identification on him. the patient is in his 20s or 30s with dyed blonde hair and green eyes. he weighs 146 pounds, anybody who knows him is asked to call the sheriff's office. and the 4" diameter pipe ruptured after a construction worker hit it after digging this morning. and campo police evacuated hundreds of residents from that immediate area as a precaution. nobody was hurt, pg&e sealed that leak by about 10:30 a.m. and the show is over for the

latest outside lands festival. some people could not be happier about that. what neighbors are saying about the impact of this year's event. and you're looking at the world's first of any penguin species, why researchers say her birth is a major step in conservation efforts. new at 4:30, tears of struggle, fears and relief for those able to get out of a war zone. getting a look at really a desperate rescue mission in iraq. and michael finney is taking your questions on abc 7 and on twitter at mfinney. all right, 4:12 p.m. on a monday afternoon, this is a live look at the commute, and the usual crawl going to the lower deck of >> this is an abc news special report. good evening. i'm david muir.

we interrupt "world news" in much of this country. we come on because there's breaking news at this hour. authorities in california confirming tonight that actor and comedian robin williams has died at the age of 63. police saying they received a 911 call today about a man unconscious and not breathing in his home. emergency crews arrived at the home at noon. he was pronounced dead two minutes later. the cause of death is still under investigation. his publicist releasing a statement a short time ago saying williams had been battling severe depression as of late. williams won an oscar for his supporting role in good will hunting and had recently signed on for a sequel in his beloved role mrs. doubtfire. we loved him as mork and mindy. nick watt joins me on the phone. this is a stunning loss, not only there in los angeles but for fans of robin williams across this country. >> reporter: absolutely, david. as you say, his publicist saying that he has been suffering from severe depression.

we all knew that. he had mental battles in in th past. still, a stunning loss. the man who, as you say, many of us grew up with, watching him on mork and mindy, some amazing performances, playing disturbed people in the fisher king for example. as you say, this morning, found dead, age 6 3, at his california home. no cause of death has been confirmed, but the sheriff's office say that they believe this may have been suicide caused by asphyxia. that's not confirmed so far. all we do know is one of the icons of american comedy is dead. >> we want to be very careful about the cause of death at this hour, but we do know, as nick watt reports, he was 63 years old, known for so many of his roles, mork and mindy early on. i grew up watching mork and mindy and of course so many great movies, good will hunting, hook, patch adams. the statement coming into abc news at this hour from maura

buxbomb, a press representative says, quote, robin williams pass away this morning. he has battling severe depression of late. this is a tragic and sudden loss. the family asks for privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time. on twitter so many messages of condolences as the nation learning of this great loss. robin williams has died at the age of 63. for many of you we'll return to "world news." we'll have a special west coast

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we want to return for our breaking news now in marin county where robin williams has died. the suspected reason for death was suicide due to asphyxiation. williams has been very open about his struggle with sobriety. his agent and publicist has just released a statement that he has been battling depression as well. >> williams sought treatment after he relapsed after 20 years of sobriety. he was one of the most famous comic icons that we have, appearing in more than 50 movies during his career. he owns several homes, including one in the sea cliff area and in the state of napa, a 640 acre

estate that recently was put up for sale. his wife quoted, i lost my husband and best friend, while the world lost one of its best and most loved gifted artists and human beings. i am utterly heartbroken. but the focus will be on his laughter and joy that he gave to millions. larry and i just talked about what an incredible man williams was, i remember meeting him on more than one occasion. he was very generous with his time for charity. he actually went in the pool for money to help to raise money for the poorest kids there. he was just a lovely, lovely man, no ego at all. >> he was amazing in terms of his comedic wit. he was a big bike rider, when lance armstrong came into town he spent a lot of time with armstrong during the race.

we got to do interviews with him. the interviews were not more like question and answer, you would say hi, robin, and then he would go into about 55 different characters over a ten-minute period. all you had to do was stand there and hold the microphone. if you said anything, he would go into a million voices. he was a million different people wrapped up into one. and i think just a truly iconic comic talent in terms of -- i mean, there was nobody who was similar to robin williams. he was the one guy on the planet who could do what he could do. >> he was an absolute genius. i remember when he did a show with jonathan winters, that was how far back that was. and if you remember jonathan winters who was so so funny,

they just ripped on each other, i couldn't get a word in and just let the camera roll. >> with their ability to take a word, you could say anything under the sun and they could go off on a tangent, and usually one would lead to another. i remember going on the bike races and talking to him. you didn't know what he was going to do year to year. and certainly, a special american icon has been lost this afternoon. >> it is a huge loss to everybody. all right. i know that spencer christian probably interacted at some point with robin williams in his magnificent career. >> i spoke with him during my days. he was a brilliant dramatic actor. his roles in good morning vietnam, dead poet's society. awakenings. mrs. doubtfire, good will hunting, brilliant actor, and of course comedy genius.

brilliant actor. and let's move lansialong and t about you're weathe about our weather, there is a remote chance of a storm, live doppler 7 hd, warm conditions inland. nice, cool, breezy here near the coast, we're looking at temperatures generally that are warmer at this time 24 hours ago, sfo, two degrees warmer. fairfield, 11 degrees warmer, concord, eight degrees warmer, no difference in is emeryville, minimal chance of lightning strikes, minimal chance, and warmer during the week. the water vapor satellite image showing an upper level low just offshore. this is the system that will push the clouds and moisture off

to the bay area tonight. and as it moves in, the time line from 7:00 a.m. during the overnight hours we'll see areas of drizzle mainly near the coast and onto the peninsula, maybe down to the santa cruz mountains. there is just the remotest chance of an isolated thunderstorm out of this system. but by tomorrow afternoon we'll look at mainly sunny skies and the threat will be less, overnight lows generally in the mid-to-upper 50s, 57, half moon bay, oakland, tomorrow we'll see partly cloudy to mainly sunny skies, about 78 at san jose, 85 at morgan hill. on the peninsula look for highs in the mid-to-upper 70s. 76 el paso, mid-60s on the coast to pacifica and half moon bay. we'll find mid-60s in and around san francisco tomorrow. up in the north bay valley, highs 73 to santa rosa, east bay highs, 70 to oakland, 73 castro

valley and the inland east bay with highs generally in the low 80s, about 81 at fairfield, 82 at livermore and 80 at walnut creek. here is the seven-day forecast. we'll see gradual and minimal warming as we approach the weekend. high temperatures inland. by the end of the week we'll be in the mid-to-upper 80s, around the bay, upper 70s to around 80 along the coast, mid-60s, a pretty stable pattern for us through the weekend and into early next week. and of course the chance of drizzle or an isolated thunderstorm will diminish significantly tomorrow. larry and cheryl? >> all right, spencer, thank you, we'll be right back with more news. and we'll continue our coverage on the passing of

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the kickoff was in hayward, the goal was to introduce kids to the value of community service and to encourage them to go out in the real world and make a difference. they engaged kids in positive actions that helped others and taught them about environmental conservation. >> even though they may be at a young age they can still give back to their communities through helping out at home, neighbors, cleaning up parks. >> well, these activities were for parents to help with ideas on how families can give back to the community. we have a link on our website for you with abc7.com. and disney is the parent company of abc 7. all right, still, the political shake-up in iraq, the prime minister's struggle to try to stay in power. and the ongoing border mission in iraq, how it ended in gunfire. out of control anger erupting into rioting after police kill a black teen in st.

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break up with cable. choose u-verse tv from $19 a month for 2 years. abc 7 news starts right now with live breaking news. and we're heading back to that breaking news, that is the shocking death of the bay area's own actor/comedian robin

williams of an apparent suicide in marin county. many are commenting on this. albert brooks, who is a comic in his own right, saddened by the death of his friend, he tweeted, rest in peace, my friend. >> and the insider tweeting saying his instagram shows what a loved person he is, he will be missed. one of the great actors of our generation. and sergio? >> well, this obviously is something we have been working on a little while to confirm. what we do know so far is that around noon authorities got a 911 call that there was a body found at a home in tiburon. and at that time the paramedics arrived at the situation. very quickly the person that was there, they confirmed it was robin williams. they confirmed he was dead.

they are investigating the possibilities of a suicide. but that is an investigation going on. the authorities in marin county have not confirmed those details just yet. what we can say is that there was a message that was released very recently by his wife, actually within just the last hour or so saying that he was -- that she has now lost her very close friend, obviously, someone who is a very big part of so many people's lives. he is an influential comedian and actor who has been nominated for an oscar, she says i lost my husband and best friend while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. i am utterly heartbroken. again, this is still being hammered out exactly how this happened. we do know, however, from his press agent that he had been battling depression for the last few weeks, not exactly sure how what led up to that.

and also that he may have been entering rehab -- re-entering rehab in the last few months. this is obviously something that we are still trying to confirm and put into a very clear timeline. and as we get a lot of those details together of course we will have a clear picture for you all. it is interesting that you mentioned that these are details and that these are people who are trying to give their heartfelt thoughts about this. there are comedians that i usually follow privately on twitter that i usually can't re-tweet. because they are funny but they are sometimes a little bit more than i can re-tweet. this is just a huge loss. we do have sky 7 over tiburon monitoring the situation there. this was a local hero. a very huge talent around the world. we will have more details on this as they do become available. back to you guys.

>> all right, thank you, sergio. i think you know, one of the things that we should take a moment to point out here is robin williams talking about his battles with substance abuse in the past as well as sobriety, as we look at robin williams' website here. it is such a struggle if you're afflicted with these diseases, depression is so devastating, and in some ways it is kind of a hidden disease. and when you see somebody like robin williams who openly talked about his own struggle with sobriety, his struggle with substances. and then you see this kind of tragic loss it really focuses the difficulty in dealing with this problem. and you know, robin williams, it is such a tragic loss, i just want to read one tweet here from jay moore who is an outstanding comic and talent in his own right. when i was a kid my parents and i would watch robin williams'

vhs tapes until they wore out. words cannot describe the loss that this is. >> and people who are on his website right now are talking about, remember, folks, depression can kill. so it is something for all of us to remember. right now we have ben on the line -- ben, you have been around for a long time and interviewed probably everybody in the rock industry and the comedians and that sort of thing. what are your thoughts today? >> well, i'm still shocked. because he was one of those guys i think of as performers who was always on. he was never off stage, wherever he was. he was so important in san francisco. raging from the club 70 in the '70s, the comedy club, that is, to just being a part of the community. and he was very giving, whether it was halloween treats out of his home in the sea crest area or being a board member of walden house and now health right 360. i hit him back in the late '70s

when he was succeeding with mork and mindy for a cover story for parade. and i had a chance to interview him for about 20 years later for which he had won his oscar for "good will hunting." and we celebrated him with an on-stage interview. and he re-created what it was like to receive his oscar on acid. that was the kind of comedy only he could pull off. >> you know, you mentioned he was always on, and maybe that was part of the problem. making amateur psychologist, he was clearly different. >> he was out of this world. even in a social situation. he was the performer. i have always known steve martin and he is off when he is off. but then when he turns it on, he is the steve martin we know and

love. robin was always on. >> did you see him change as he was a little more mature and dealing with all of these demons? >> i think all of us traced his habits on talk shows. he would change with fatherhood sometimes, maybe sometimes had his career was not going as well as it had before. and you could see that he was also able to ruminate about those aspects of one's career and life. >> well, i think it is interesting you point that out. because robin williams had made a comeback on television with a successful show on cbs a couple of years ago. and you would make the case well, this is the guy who is back on top and riding high but clearly we see with the recent relapse and going into rehab. that what we see on the surface is not really what is going on underneath the surface. >> sure, we're show business, and we don't really know what is

behind the curtains at all times. >> there is an instagram posted on twitter, this is a picture of him with his little daughter when she was a little baby girl. and it said rehab birthday to ms. zelda ray williams, a quarter of a century years old, happy birthday, always my baby. that loving father side of him was something we didn't really get to see in the media. >> well, i'm glad we're learning more about the different sides of robin because there were some awfully good sides, many good sides. >> ben, can you think of anything else. cheryl was talking earlier comparing him with jonathan winters who goes back a few more years. but anybody of a similar comedic brilliance in this generation, i can't really think of anybody off the top of my head. >> yeah, you think about people like eddy murphy or david chappell, or in his own way, gary shandlin, and that is what

robin williams was all about, he owed a lot to sid caesar, anybody who is out there smashing through barriers to be themselves and to create laughter in a new way. that is what he was into. >> one of the other things that was so striking is how he could be that crazy comedian. and then he could be this incredible dramatic actor, as well. the seriousness. >> oh, yeah, that was part of his brilliance and incredible talent that he could do both of those things and more. >> and you could take him seriously in those roles, as well. >> what are some of the movies that come to your mind? >> well, good will hunting and dead poet's society. i was with him when he was doing popeye, his first major film role. i always think back to mork and mindy, because it was new at that time. it was novel. and we handdn't seen anything le

that before. and here he comes mastering this unbelievable role he took on for years as mork, so that is what i remember. >> and the amazing range, the characters you mentioned as you think back to them. who has that kind of range? very few artists. >> that is for sure. >> you talk about steve martin, his tweet today. i could not be more stunned by the loss of williams. mensch, great acting partner, genuine soul. >> yes's definitely, a man with a good heart, definitely. >> did you ever get a chance, ben, to see him interact with jonathan winters? >> i never met that genius, no. >> well, you're not old enough. our older viewers might have. well, it was really incredible. they're all still reeling from this sudden news of robin williams, dying at the age of

63. at least in our minds, at this point. >> many of us of my generation, in the '70s and '60s and '80s remember him popping up at any moment at any comedy club. not just to try out any material but to support the clubs and the co-owners. you know, just the thrill of the audience, give them a good time. as i say he was always on. he found so many stages in his life. >> all right, ben, thank you very much. >> thank you, ben von torres from the san francisco chronicle. i'm scrolling down here so you can see all the tweets concerning robin williams. everybody from theñr average person to other artists in hollywood. and tv. and it just goes on and on, on and on. everybody in a state of shock over the tragic loss of robin

williams of an apparent suicide. we're kind of hesitating on the exact cause of death because we don't know the precise details. but it appears that is the situation. i want to go back to something i mentioned earlier with the san francisco grand prix bicycle race. that you see him with sandy patel and robin williams. >> you know that, watch now. biking. >> something for everyone is what he was trying to say, right? >> yeah, but all you had to do -- and sandy was there with a big smile on her face because when you interviewed him as i mentioned it was just a one question interview. because the next ten minutes he would just go on and on. and was a huge supporter of cycling. actually toured with lance armstrong for a long period of time. and was just an avid fan of the sport. and -- talk about a region --

renaissance man, just a shocking loss. >> and if you just joined us, we learned about the loss of robin williams this afternoon. the call came into 911 reporting a man who was not breathing in tiburon, confirming sadly that robin williams was dead at the age of 63. the suspected cause of death, they are saying suicide due to asphyxiation. and we really want to learn the cause of death. we were talking about how williams had been so open in his struggle about sobriety and depression. that is a really difficult disease. >> and unfortunately, so many stand-up comedians suffer from this type of thing. and you only find out about it years later. but i don't know why that is the case. it seems to be fairly common. and there is a dark side that goes along with it.

let's try to go back and see if we can listen into the sound with sandy patel interviewing robin williams years ago at the bike race. >> its like nascar without explosion. people just having a good time. and there are people out there. and for the ladies, lot of sexy guys, watch, and for the guys, lot of sexy guys, you know that, watch now, biking. >> well, you could see right there. he was morphing into numerous different characters. one of the other bay area characters we talk about, the property that robins owned. also i remember for the first time going into bridges restaurant in danville after they shot mrs. doubtfire in that restaurant. and going into that restaurant which was the scene where he was changing outfits constantly because he was playing mrs. doubtfire and playing himself. going back and forth, a hilarious scene where a lot of people are pulling it up on

youtube where they have it. when you go in the restaurant you can't help but think of robin williams and mrs. doubtfire in the bathroom, because they're in the same bathroom and used the real restaurant. so it is one of the many ways our lives were touched by robin williams in the movies. >> just really an amazing career, 56 movies, we are monitoring twitter so if you would like to send condolences regarding robin williams, please send them to us, we would like to accumulate them. we'll be right back with more coverage on the passing of the great ac

. we want to take you back to the shocking news we learned late this afternoon about the death of actor and comedian robin williams at the age of 63 found in his home apparently dead of a suicide. >> yeah, we have so much information coming in here on twitter i want to share with you one of these comments here. a quote from robin williams, i used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. it is not. the worst thing in life was ending up with people who make you feel all alone. and boy, that seems to be rather prophetic on a day like today when he apparently ends up taking his life at the age of 63. plagued by issues of alcohol and way back when with substance abuse as well. >> and the funny side of robin williams, the side we all know

and love. we mourned the loss of sesame street, the loss of robin williams who always made us smile. and twitter,çó putting in hash tag, robin williams just so many heartfelt statement. i can't believe the news, this is from ellen degeneres. he gave so much to so many people. i am heartbroken. and folks saying he was one of my hero, very, very sad today, just shocked. he was a source of happiness as a kid. hook was the favorite. he was the best. >> you can see robin williams, one of the things i note here as we pull up. you have a lot of different views and pictures, looks different than a lot of these in-character, so many different roles. you see him from so many

interviews. maclemore tweeted, rest in peace to one of my favorite actors. we'll think back to the characters, good morning vietnam, dead poet's society, a wakenings, the fisher king, good will hunting. many of those were very serious, but then you had popeye, hook, jumanji, a hilarious movie, the bird cage, night at the museum, which was another funny one. as well as happy feet. which was a hilarious movie, as well, back in 2006. an animated feature. and as we bring in 7 on your side's michael finney, a tweet from his daughter, kelly, mentioned she used to see him when you guys lived in san

francisco. >> yeah, our kids went to the same school, they saw each other. he was just a normal dad. i couldn't hearing everybody say he was on, he was not at school. i can remember they have a big screen fair there every year, and doing everything like all the other dads were. he was great. he was wonderful. we saw him everywhere. if you live in the same neighborhood. just unbelievable. >> and when you hear this news today how do you reconcile -- >> it is really hard, because what we saw, he was just in a family setting. you know, i'm trying to think of the -- the local coffee shop. >> right. >> up at the school. i mean, it was just very normal. and he always to me seemed very normal. i didn't see him -- now, i would be at a play or whatever and he would come in wearing a zoot suit. so i mean he could be on, i found him to be very genuine. >> that is interesting, because

it was so different than what we heard, he was quote unquote, a normal father for the rest of us. a media event or public spectacle. >> a hugely funny guy, he was just funny standing there. >> but -- >> you know, he was able to cross generations, too. he had this long amazing career. but he could reach out and touch kids of this generation as well as people of our generation, too. >> absolutely, don't you think that is the genius of comedy when you're that good at it. you can take my daughter who is 16 and she can love him as much as i love him as my dad can love him? >> that is a great point. that is a great point. he was just so unique in his ability to transform himself into so many different characters. and here you see him with billy crystal. that is probably 20 years ago would be my guess just from the looks of both of them. >> here is the thing that really

hits me about him. i consider him old san francisco. one of the giants, you know, i'm thinking in terms of herb cane, ben torres is that. you know, the people that really made this city this city. and i really consider him one of those guys. and to imagine him not jogging past the area is a real drag to me. you just think of him as being out and about and being part of the community and not making a big deal of it. boy, that was special without us even knowing it was special, right? >> right, we want to show you something here, michael. this is from a man the bay area knows, because of the tragedy of mark klass, and polly foundation. when polly was missing, he wasñ

there to help spread money and be there. that is the kind of man he was. >> in the world of comedians he really took care of some guys. he made sure guys got work. he was very helpful to people because comedy is on tough times right now. remember when everybody was working in holy city zoo. there is much less work. he made sure people still got work. pretty amazing. >> let me ask you one thing because we talked about depression and sometimes you don't know it. you can't see it. because people mask it. in all the times that you ran into him would you have ever guessed that there were so many demons tormenting him? >> yeah, but we were not close, i was just another dad that was at the school we were bumping into. you never really saw that. think about all the people he helped by being open about it. so a lot of times with addiction comes depression. you all of knew it was there potentially, but i never saw it.

>> i want to bring in spencer christian who interviewed him several times on "good morning america." spencer, you must have incredible interviews you did with him back in the day. >> yeah, i guess you could call it interviewing. robin would come into the interview room and his mind worked at warped speed. i think we all know that. the director would have to widen out the camera lens. you couldn't just keep a close-up. he would always get up and roll around, and do a rift on the object. he would make the theater references, the references, he talked in the studio all the time about when he was a young father about having to turn his energy down because i guess it was his young daughter who said dad, dad, stop entertaining. just be a dad.

and maybe it was the experience of fatherhood and being a parent that helped calm him down so that he could appear at the school functions michael referred to and just be a normal dad. maybe parenthood was a calming influence and a normalizing experience in his life. >> expenspencer, you mentioned mind moving at warp speed. he was other worldly in terms of -- >> there was no one like him. you know, we can try to name other entertainers or comics who might have similar traits. but there was absolutely no one quite like him in a league of his own. and you know, for -- for people like me who like a good laugh and like to make a clever word association, the temptation when you're with someone like that is to start you know trading quips with him. but you quickly learn you don't trade quips with robin williams.

you let him do what he does and you have sit there and appreciate it. you don't try to compete with him. >> and spencer, i want to read to you when you talk about quick minds, david allen greer sent out a tweet saying rest in peace, robin williams, he had such an influence on so many people. >> he did, his humanity for those who are blessed enough to encounter this man in person his humanity came through. everyone you talk to said that. ben torres, you can not only see the brilliant side of this guy as a performer but you can see the deeply compassionate and caring human side. he was truly amazing. and i -- i rather think he is truly amazing, because his work and his presence are still with us. >> and will be for many years to come, spencer, thank you, stay with us.

because we're going to continue with our coverage of the shocking news of the death of robin williams as abc 7 news at 5:00 begins. abc 7 news starts right now with live breaking news. and that breaking news is the death of oscar winning actor robin williams who was found dead in his home in tiburon. >> we heard from his wife, married three years ago. in a statement, she said i lost my husband and best friend while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. i am utterly heartbroken. the focus will be on his joy and laughter he gave to millions. good evening, i'm larry deal.

robin williams who apparently took his own life at the age of 63. >> i think we got the news before we came on air after 3:30 this afternoon. it was absolutely a shocker for all of us. we're all still reeling, and people on facebook and twitter as they learn the news. it has been a horrible day. >> i had the last message that robin williams posted on line and we'll get to that i guess right now. because abc 7 news reporter sergio quintana has more. >> what we have been doing is going through the information and glean what we can so we can confirm the details we heard about so far. what i kind of want to go through is some of the information we do know according to the marin county sheriff's department. we understand that there was a 911 call that came in this morning. just before noon around 11:55. the call was there was an

unconscious male at the home in tiburon. sheriff's deputies arrived at the home and at 5:30 they confirmed he was dead. they also confirmed at that point it was robin williams. we understand he was last seen alive at about 10:00 last night at his home. the coroner still has an ongoing investigation into this. but at this point they do suspect that he died by suicide, caused by as he released a message to see daughter, still my baby at 50 years old. robin williams died this morning, he has been fighting depression as of late. this is a tragic an