cocaine which he claimed to have quit after the fatal overdose of his friend and fellow comedian josh belushi spoke to abc's barbara walters about it. >> people also feel in writing about you, reading the interviews thark the death -- that the death of josh belushi was an enormous influence on you, rather than just -- you tell me what it was for you. >> it's only the fact that, here's a guy who is probably one of the toughest, strongest people you could ever meet. and he's taken out. you know? it's -- basically it cleaned up a whole generation of people. because this guy was as strong as anybody you could ever meet. john could run into that wall and get up and do it again. if it took him out, you realize we are all pretty mortal. >> when you hear of people using drugs, most of the time they use them to get high. >> for me it was a great way of escaping, to cut off from people. it was the only time i could escape. >> reporter: he got sober for many years, it appears. but then he relapsed as he discussed on his comedy tour "weapons of self-destruction." >> alcohol is dangerous for peel people l

his addiction issues go back to the '70s and '80s where he was very good friends with josh belushi and they would pal around and they did cocaine together. and they got into it very heavily. and it was only when john died from a cocaine overdose that it was a real wakeup call to robin williams. now, he also had a wife, his first wife who was expecting at the time. so the combination of john dying and expecting his what became a son, that really made him go cold turkey actually at the time. you know, like so many hollywood folks he had several wives, but his second wife who started out as the nanny to his oldest son, they were married 18, 19 years which in hollywood passes for a really successful long marriage, right? >> that's right. well, for most of that time he was free of his addictions. he was sober. and after 20 years of being clean and sober, he again fell into now this time it was alcoholism. and he talked about it a lot afterwards. but he said that it was just like it started very insidiously. he felt that as an alcoholic or a drug addict that he was always on the edge. and at

his addiction issues go back to the '70s and '80s where he was very good friends with josh belushi andd pal around and they did cocaine together. and they got into it very heavily. and it was only when john died from a cocaine overdose that it was a real wakeup call to robin williams. now, he also had a wife, his first wife who was expecting at the time. so the combination of john dying and expecting his what became a son, that really made him go cold turkey actually at the time. you know, like so many hollywood folks he had several wives, but his second wife who started out as the nanny to his oldest son, they were married 18, 19 years which in hollywood passes for a really successful long marriage, right? >> that's right. well, for most of that time he was free of his addictions. he was sober. and after 20 years of being clean and sober, he again fell into now this time it was alcoholism. and he talked about it a lot afterwards. but he said that it was just like it started very insidiously. he felt that as an alcoholic or a drug addict that he was always on the edge. and at one point