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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Remembering Robin Williams

Aired August 12, 2014 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Power struggle in Baghdad, a new prime minister named, but the old one refuses to go. Nouri al-Maliki digging in his heels as Islamic militants terrorize the streets of Iraq. The very latest ahead.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And then remembering Robin Williams. The comedian found dead at the age of 63 in what investigators believe was a suicide. This morning so many people reeling from the word of this legend gone too soon.

Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes past the hour this morning. Americans waking up with heavy hearts this morning trying to absorb the stunning death of Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams.

BERMAN: The beloved entertainer apparently committed suicide at his northern California home on Monday. A spokesperson says he had been battling severe depression. Now this man who made us laugh for decades has so many of us shaking our heads and wondering how and why this could happen.

Our coverage of the remarkable life and tragic death of Robin Williams begins with Rosie Fletcher, the associate editor of "Total Film" magazine. She joins us live from London.

And Rosie, you know, Christine and I have been talking all morning about this just extraordinary performer, comedian, actor, who really was put up as this subject of awe by his fellow performers.

ROSIE FLETCHER, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, TOTAL FILM MAGAZINE: Yes, absolutely right. I mean, this is the thing. He had a career that spanned four decades. And he was incredibly kind of versatile actor, not just a comedian, but he was kind of -- really kind of plum serious, too.

ROMANS: When you look at the range from "Mrs. Doubtfire" to Mork, beginning as Mork, you know, all the way to -- "Good Will Hunting." I mean, some of the more dramatic roles he had, he could be quiet and strong, and a fierce, wonderful actor, and he could be fiercely funny. That range is really unique.

FLETCHER: Yes, absolutely. I mean, one of my favorite performances is in Terry Gilliam's movie "The Fisher King," where he's kind of tapping into that sort of exuberance, playing this guy, you know, this homeless person, he's full of fun. But really, it's kind of hiding this incredible inner pain, you know, this trauma that he's been through. And I think in a way, he was at his strongest when he was marrying that kind of comedy and (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: And really interesting, too. There are moments when his comedy was almost uncontrollable. He was this vessel for this energy that just seemed to want to burst out of him. And you saw that, you know, whenever he would do his standup, to be sure. He also, by the way, we should say, did some pretty lousy movies, too. You know, movies like "Patch Adams." Some of these overly saccharine and mockish things. But he said, you know, I had to pay the bills.

Also, though, over his career, this battle with addiction and depression, how do you think that affected him?

FLETCHER: Well, I mean, you know, obviously, it's an incredibly difficult thing to go through. And yes, he dealt with addiction and depression throughout his career kind of on and off. You know, obviously, I think it's a thing that often quite a lot of comedians struggle from. You know, that kind of dichotomy between this very exuberant personality and these sort of -- these demons that he's fighting inside.

ROMANS: Right. Depression, terribly, terribly common. His talent, incredibly unique. His colleagues would say that it was impossible to follow this man, in fact, it was Henry Winkler who said when he walked on to the set of "Happy Days" he realized he just had to keep a straight face. He would never be able to one up this talented actor and comedian.

FLETCHER: Yes. And even in his dramatic performances, if you look at him in "Good Will Hunting," for example, he won the Best Supporting Actor role for such a powerful kind of performance that comes out.

BERMAN: All right, Robin (sic), thank you so much for being with us. Robin Williams -- I mean, sorry, I called you Robin Williams. I appreciate you being with us from London to discuss this.

ROMANS: All right. Thank you so much.

Friends, family members, fans, they are frankly devastated this morning by his loss. The actor's battles with addiction were well chronicled. He spent time in rehab just last month actually. His wife of three years, Susan Schneider, releasing this statement to the "New York Times,"

"This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I'm utterly heartbroken. As he is remembered it is our hope that the focus will not be on Robin's death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions."

BERMAN: Such an icon. You know, we watched him as Mork when we were kids. Our kids watching him in "Night at the Museum." Listening to him in "Aladdin."

ROMANS: Teddy Roosevelt.

BERMAN: As President Obama put it, he was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor and everything in between. He arrived in our lives as an alien and ended up touching every element of the human spirit.

Nischelle Turner takes a look back at this remarkable career.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His high octane brand of comedy was his trademark public persona, but Robin Williams proved himself an Oscar winner with a strong philanthropic side. Born in 1951 it was in his 20s when Williams was unleashed first as an American TV star.

ROBIN WILLIAMS, ACTOR: Mindy, run for your life. The emotions are coming.

TURNER: As Mork from the Planet Ork in "Mork & Mindy," Williams became a household name. When the series ended after a four-year run in 1982 he showed he could do more than make people laugh.

WILLIAMS: My name is T.S. Garp.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's T.S. stand for?

WILLIAMS: Terribly sexy.

TURNER: The Julliard schooled actor unveiled his dramatic side for the first time in 1982's "The World According to Garp."

WILLIAMS: I was trained as an actor so it's not like they had to medicate me.

TURNER: That serious side earned him Oscar nominations for "The Fisher King."

WILLIAMS: Good morning, Vietnam.

TURNER: "Good Morning, Vietnam" and "Dead Poet Society."

WILLIAMS: It's the golden dude.

TURNER: He finally won his only Oscar statue in 1998 for "Good Will Hunting."

WILLIAMS: This one, yes. The other ones were just foreplay. It's extraordinary.

TURNER: But Williams never stopped being funny, even when the topic seemed serious. He helped launch and co-hosted eight telethons over 20 years to help the homeless.

WILLIAMS: Men who sleep with chickens and the women who love them. TURNER: Comic relief earned more than $50 million. And even when he

talked about his battles with drugs and alcohol, he talked about it with humor.

LARRY KING, FORMER HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": You were drunk?

WILLIAMS: Well, that's nice of you to say that.

TURNER: He took three trips to rehab, the most recently this summer. He talked about the process on "LARRY KING LIVE" in 2007.

WILLIAMS: What happens to people basically start the process of, you know, just saying no, and being among others, you know, and learning that you're not alone and working on giving up.

KING: Do you lose your sense of humor in it?

WILLIAMS: No, you find it. You're with people who have a great sense of humor.

KING: So you're funny there, too?

WILLIAMS: Oh, yes, you have to be.

TURNER: In 2009 Williams was rushed to the hospital with heart problems, forced to temporarily cancel his one-man show to undergo surgery. He talked about his recovery on the "Ellen" show.

WILLIAMS: You have a heart surgery and literally they open you up, they crack the box, and you get really vulnerable. You'd be like, a kitten, oh, my. And you get very, very emotional about everything. But I think that's -- a wonderful thing. It really opens you up to everything.

TURNER: And with a new lease on life, Williams quickly sprang back into action. In 2011 he made his Broadway acting debut starring in Rajiv Joseph's "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo." That same year he would marry his third wife, graphic designer Susan Schneider. In 2013 Williams would return to the small screen, starring in the CBS sitcom "The Crazy Ones" where he would reunite with his old friend Pam Dawber better known as Mindy.

PAM DAWBER, ACTRESS: Never met anybody who's screwy as you. You look an alien.

TURNER: From stand-up to sitcoms then beyond, Williams would delight audiences for decades with his whacky humor and joyful energy. He was the definition of full of life. And even now, this comic legend is destined to endure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: We have pictures to show you this morning outside Robin Williams' home, this is Marin County, in northern California. He is starting to see people bring flowers wanting to remember this amazing talent. Obviously, he's affected so many people. BERMAN: I was thinking this morning how many of the films that he

made that I truly, truly love. The "Fisher King," "Dead Poets Society", "Good Morning, Vietnam." Then I was thinking about "Insomnia," which was that movie directed by Christopher Nolan.

ROMANS: Right.

BERMAN: He played a bad guy. I mean, an awful, awful guy. And he's so convincing. And then of course this morning, I was reminded that it was on the set of that film in 2003 that he started drinking again after 20 years of being sober. So you see sort of all these complicated facets of his life tied into one.

ROMANS: Amazing talent, amazing intellect. Amazing creativity. But also the demons of addiction and depressions. Those are the hallmarks of his life.

BERMAN: We're going to bring you reaction all morning to the death of Robin Williams so stay with us here on CNN.

ROMANS: All right. Turning now to the struggle for control of Iraq. The country's government is in chaos. Iraq's president appointing a new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi. A move the White House has been hoping to see for months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Iraqi constitution, this is an important step towards forming a new government that can unite Iraq's different communities. Earlier today, Vice President Biden and I called Dr. Abadi to congratulate him and to urge him to form a new Cabinet as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Now that won't be easy. Iraq's current prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, refusing to step down. He calls the appointment of al- Abadi to replace him -- he calls it a constitutional violation and he is threatening to use force to stay in office. Meanwhile, the U.S. military has conducted its fifth air drop of food and water for thousands of Iraqi citizens trapped by the terrorist group ISIS on Mount Sinjar.

BERMAN: Police and demonstrators facing off in the streets overnight. Angry crowds protesting the shooting of an unarmed black teenager. The dramatic new video ahead and what the teen's mother is saying. That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: The shocking death of Robin Williams. A flood of reactions from fans who followed his work and from the friends who knew him best. Fellow actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, told CNN it is a tremendous loss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, ACTOR: It's a very sad -- you know, even though we are all celebrating the premiere of "Expendables," but it is at the same time be a mourning of loss of such a great man and he was also a friend. And I admired him. And he's -- you know, he was a legend. It's unbelievable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: We're going to have much more reaction to the death of Robin Williams all morning long right here on CNN.

ROMANS: All right. Now to the suburbs of St. Louis, where it was another violent night following Saturday's shooting death of an unarmed black teenager by police. Ferguson Police chief, Thomas Jackson, says shots were heard in the area and tear gas was used to disperse the crowd of about 300 people. Several arrests were made but we're not seeing the widespread looting that shook the community just 24 hours earlier.

Michael Brown is the young man who was killed. Michael Brown's parents held an emotional news conference Monday, rejecting suggestions by police that the teenager went after the officer's gun before he was fatally shot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESLEY MCSPADDEN, VICTIM'S MOTHER: He just graduated on his way to college. We can't even celebrate. We got to plan a funeral.

BENJAMIN CRUMP, BROWN FAMILY ATTORNEY: Trayvon was shot once. But as we understand from these witnesses, this child was shot multiple times and left on the ground like a dog. And so that's where I think people are reacting to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Thirty-two people were arrested Monday in connection with Sunday night's violence. They face charges of theft, assault and burglary.

All right. I want to take a look at what's coming up on "NEW DAY" this morning. Kate Bolduan is joining us now.

Hi, Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: Hey, guys. Good morning. We are covering, as you guys have been, the shocking death of Robin Williams. He was one of a kind. And that statement rings so true with him. His movies brought joy and laughter to millions, though, he, away from the public eye, battled depression and he struggled with sobriety. Something he did talk about.

We're going to talk with the people who knew Williams well and -- as well as we're going to look back at the decades of his work and the classic characters that are impossible to forget and impossible to not bring a smile to your face when you think about it. We'll have all that coming up in the show.

We're also following the deepening political unrest in Iraq, though, over the designation of a new prime minister there. Can the country battle back ISIS militants in the middle of this political showdown?

CNN's Ivan Watson, he also went on a heart-pounding aid and rescue mission to try to help free just some of the people trapped in the mountains after they were forced to flee the threat of ISIS there. It's a desperate situation. You must see this video. It's incredible, it's heart-wrenching when you see the look on some of these young children's faces as they are fleeing -- as they're getting on to this helicopter. They don't know where they are headed next.

ROMANS: The tears, the panic, the gunfire, unbelievable. Unbelievable.

BERMAN: And important for the world to see that.

BOLDUAN: Exactly right, John. Yes.

ROMANS: Thanks, Kate.

All right. Breaking overnight, Ebola, the outbreak widening. More deaths reported as health officials warn they've run out of the experimental serum that some say could be the only cure. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Fifty-one minutes past the hour. The entire nation trying to come to grips with the passing of a Hollywood legend. Actor and comedian Robin Williams found dead in his northern California home on Monday.

Fellow stars taking to Twitter to express their grief. This from actor/comedian Steve Martin, "I could not be more stunned by the loss of Robin Williams, mensch, great talent, acting partner, genuine soul."

And from Ellen DeGeneres, "I can't believe the news about Robin Williams. He gave so much to so many people. I'm heartbroken." And Minnie Driver tweeting, "My heart is broken. Robin was a beautiful, kind soul, can't bear that he's gone. So incredibly sorry for his family."

All right. In Gaza this morning, the cease-fire is holding as indirect talks begin between Palestinian and Israeli negotiators on a permanent truce. Those talks getting under way in Cairo. Egyptian intelligence officers are acting as intermediaries. Now among the Palestinian demands, the revival of a Gaza commercial seaport project that began back in 2000, Israeli tanks and bombs destroyed it a few months later.

Here is the latest on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The World Health Organization just concluding in the last hour. It is ethical and moral to use experimental drugs to stop the spread of the virus. And this just in. A Spanish priest who contracted the virus in Liberia, he has died. And the unapproved drug used to treat him and two Americans has now been shipped to two West African nations to treat infected doctors.

But the supply of this drug ZMapp is now exhausted. The company that makes it is working with the U.S. government to increase production.

Meanwhile, the death toll rises, more than 1,000 people in four West African countries have now died and the total number of confirmed or suspected cases is nearing 2,000. Three missionaries who work with Ebola victims in Liberia, they are now back in the U.S. this morning. They do not have the virus. But these three missionaries will be kept in quarantine in Charlotte for three weeks as a precaution.

All right, to money now. The average American driver shells out about 2200 bucks a year to operate their car. There's one state where it costs a whole lot more than anywhere else, and one place where it's pretty darn cheap.

An EARLY START on your money, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: All right. Fifty-seven minutes past the hour. Time for an EARLY START on your money this morning. European shares mostly lower. Two developments we're watching here. Ukrainian lawmakers will vote on sanctions that could, could cut off Russian oil and gas transport to Europe. And Russia says it's going to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine. That's a move some fears a pretext for invasion. All that holding back European stocks this hour.

But here U.S. futures are higher. Stocks up now two days in a row, backing off all those fears of a correction for now. A textbook correction is a dip of 10 percent from the recent high, something that hasn't happened since 2011.

All right. Taxis and car services like Uber and Lift are battling for riders and market share. And the war just got ugly. Lift tells CNN Money that Uber employees have ordered and canceled more than 5,000 rides since October. That limits available cars. It wastes the driver's time, it wastes their money. Lift says it's not just a few rogue employees, but almost 200 different people. Lift also tells CNN Money that when rival employees don't cancel, the ride turns instead into a very short trip, devoted to recruiting the driver to work for Uber.

All right. Where is the most expensive place to own a car? Bankrate ranked states based on the price of gas, insurance and repairs. The national average about $2200 a year. But in Wyoming, the most expensive state for car owners, drivers shell out about 2700 bucks a year. Why? Because well, drivers there log more miles. They have to buy more gas. The cheapest place to own a car is the Midwest. Drivers in Iowa, Ohio and Illinois spend less than $2,000 a year in part because insurance rates there are cheaper.

All right. Two minutes to the top of the hour. "NEW DAY" starts right now. KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, the death of a comedy icon,

Robin Williams dead at 63.

ROBIN WILLIAMS, ACTOR: Good morning, Vietnam.

BOLDUAN: The funniest man of his generation is gone.

WILLIAMS: Look at this. My first day as a woman and I'm getting hot flashes.

BOLDUAN: New details on his death and his complicated history with addiction and depression as friends, family, and the world celebrate his unforgettable roles and remember the laughter he left behind.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Political chaos erupting in Iraq. The White House backing the new pick for prime minister, but the current man in office will not go quietly. This as CNN witness firsthand a terrifying rescue as people are pulled from the grasp of ISIS. The amazing video you just have to see.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the only protection we have right now to protect the aircraft and its precious cargo.