Oscar-winning actor and groundbreaking comedian Robin Williams hanged himself with a belt in his Northern California home after he had sought treatment for depression, a coroner said on Tuesday, based on preliminary findings.

Williams, 63, was found dead by his personal assistant at noon on Monday in a bedroom. He was suspended from a tape embedded between a closet door and door frame, seated right next to the plant, assistant deputy coroner of Marin County, Keith Boyd, told a news conference.

“Personal Assistant to Mr. Williams worried about 11:45 am when he failed to respond to knocks on the door of his bedroom,” Boyd said.

“Your right shoulder area was knocking on the door with his body perpendicular to the door and slightly suspended. Mr. Williams at the time it was cool to the touch with rigor mortis present in your body,” said Boyd.

The preliminary official cause of death was asphyxiation by hanging, he said, and the conclusion of the investigation is still weeks.

Authorities also found a pocket knife near Williams and superficial cuts on his left wrist with dry red material that matched what was on the knife blade. We still do not know if it was blood.

Williams had been open about his struggles with alcohol and cocaine, and in recent months had entered a rehabilitation center to help maintain sobriety. However, many questions remain about what may have led him to kill himself.

Williams publicist, Mara Buxbaum, said Monday he had been suffering from severe depression, and Boyd acknowledged he had been seeking treatment without elaborating.

His tragic end was in stark contrast to the many characters onscreen portraying who encouraged those around them to harness their own inner vitality, a source of creativity which he himself indulged in such films as “Good Morning , Vietnam “and” dead Poets Society of. ”

Williams was last seen alive by his wife, Susan Schneider, on Sunday night when he retired for the night. She left the next morning at 10 am, thinking that her husband was still sleeping.

Boyd said if Williams had left a suicide note, or if any drugs or alcohol were involved. The full toxicology report could take two to six weeks, he said.

Besides his wife, Williams is survived by three grown children – daughter Zelda, and sons Zachary and Cody.

“Yesterday I lost my father and a best friend and the world got a little grayer.’m Going to carry your heart with me every day. I ask those who liked to remember it for being so gentle, kind and generous as would. Seek bring joy to the world he sought, “Zachary Williams, known as Zak said in a statement Tuesday.

Funeral arrangements are pending. His body was released by the judge in the neighboring county of Napa

‘THANKS BOSS’

Tributes poured actors, comedians, politicians and generations of fans, including President Barack Obama, who called him an actor of “one-of-a-kind”.

A force of manic energy, Williams long ago established himself as one of the most beloved comedians of the world, taking the audience on wild flights of imagination that often emphasized a simple message: Seize the day.

His improvisational stand-up routine broke all the rules, if he was giving an account of a nuclear accident comedy in the style of Shakespeare or grab a camera from a member of the audience and pointing the lens down his pants.

Ben Affleck, whose first major role came alongside Williams and Matt Damon in “Good Will Hunting” in 1997, for which Williams won his only Oscar, said he was heartbroken.

“Thanks boss – for their friendship and so gave the world,” Affleck wrote on his Facebook page. “Robin had a lot of love in him. He personally did much to so many people. Matt and He made my dreams come true. What should a guy do that? Everything.”

Spontaneous acts of homage came milestones in his career.

In Boston, dozens of people involved in chalk tributes to Williams near a bank in the center of the lush public garden, which appeared in “Good Will Hunting”.

Mourners hanging signs, including “You can lose” and “RIP Robin” on the wooden fence of the house in Boulder, Colorado, where parts of input credits for 1970 breakout sitcom “Mork and Mindy” were filmed.

In the Hollywood Walk of Fame, fans gathered around the star Williams leaving flowers and candles in honor of the actor.

Interest in his work in film shot on Tuesday with “Dead Poets Society” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Good Morning, Vietnam” by what is in the Top 20 in the iTunes chart movies.