Robin Williams took his own life on August 11, 2014, and there is no question that it threw the world into shock. No one, not even his family, realized just how far into depression the legendary actor had sunk. Even though his own family didn’t know the depths of despair that Williams had gotten to, his surviving family members vowed to always cherish the memories of their beloved father. This includes Williams’ eldest son Zak, who has now named his firstborn son after this legendary comedian and actor.
Zak’s first born son actually came into the world in May 2019, and he named the son McLaurin Clement Williams in honor of Robin, whose middle name was McLaurin. He did this as a way to honor his remarkable father after his unexpected death by suicide.
The first month of little McLaurin’s life, Zak and his fiance Olivia decided to keep their baby’s name a secret. They announced that they had named their child after his grandfather just before Father’s Day, 2019. They felt this was an excellent time to make the announcement, and the baby’s name became public knowledge when the baby’s mother and his Aunt Zelda both decided to post pictures of the beautiful baby boy online.
Once McLaurin entered the world, he weighed eight pounds and he measured 20.5 inches. Zak and Olivia will not refer to their son as McLaurin; Oliva and Zak are going to refer to their son by the name of Mickey while he is little.
The first month of little McLaurin’s life, Zak and his fiance Olivia decided to keep their baby’s name a secret. They announced that they had named their child after his grandfather just before Father’s Day, 2019. They felt this was an excellent time to make the announcement, and the baby’s name became public knowledge when the baby’s mother and his Aunt Zelda both decided to post pictures of the beautiful baby boy online.
Once McLaurin entered the world, he weighed eight pounds and he measured 20.5 inches. Zak and Olivia will not refer to their son as McLaurin; Oliva and Zak are going to refer to their son by the name of Mickey while he is little.
Olivia announced the birth of her son on Instagram. “Having a child is something I’ve always wanted to do, but it was difficult and challenging because I was the founder of an early-stage startup. It definitely seemed impossible, but it was just something I didn’t think I could manage. Moreover, there was a lot of bias in this industry simply because I was a female startup founder. I wasn’t being taken seriously, but I believe that as a mother I can teach my son a lot about the social challenges I’ve had to go through.”
Zak is 36 years old and he works as a mental health advocate, angel investor, and entrepreneur. Valerie Velardi was Robin Williams’ first wife and is Zak’s mother. Zak spoke to PEOPLE magazine in December 2014 about the impact that his father not only made on the world, but in his own life as well. “I miss him every day and all of the time,” he told PEOPLE magazine during that interview.
Although its now been several years since the untimely passing of Robin Williams, his surviving family members have been trying to do what they can to contribute to the world around them in a positive manner. Williams’ daughter Zelda recently made some contribution to Los Angeles and San Francisco charities that her father was very passionate about. Robin Williams wanted to help the homeless as much as possible.
“This (August 11th) would have been my dad’s 69th birthday, so in order to give him some honor and give that glorious number some honor as well, I’m going to donate $69.69 to as many homeless shelters as I possibly can,” Zelda Williams wrote on Twitter. “You can join me if you want, but either way, you should know that I wish all of you at least one hearty and immature belly laugh on my Dad today. He obviously loved making people laugh.”
Zelda was also proud to share the mountain of evidence regarding her charitable donations and how she had received an immense amount of positive reinforcement from her fans.
