Broadway theaters dim lights in Robin Williams tribute

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Tipsters say Williams fell off the wagon while on the set of short-lived CBS series The Crazy Ones after demanding real booze instead of props
Williams appeared on Broadway in 2002 and 2011 - marquees there were dimmed Wednesday in the late actor's honor
Meanwhile, Bay Area sheriffs Wednesday defended their decision to detail the actors method of suicide and the state of his body thereafter

By J Gardner For Mailonline and Associated Press

Published: 00:26 EST, 14 August 2014 | Updated: 07:17 EST, 14 August 2014

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Robin Williams fell off the wagon not long before his suicide when he demanded real alcohol during shooting of his failed TV series, insiders say.

According to Page Six, the 63-year-old funnyman asked for booze during a scene shot inside an LA restaurant in May 2013 as he begrudgingly returned to the small screen in The Crazy Ones.

As more of the details of the tragic actors final years, months and days are revealed, Williams' old pals on Broadway paid tribute to the legend by dimming their marquees for one minute.

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In Memoriam: The lights of Broadway's marquees were dimmed Wednesday night for one minute in honor of comedy legend Robin Williams

The insider said Williams was shooting the series co-starring Sarah Michelle Geller at Wolfgang Puck's Spago when he demanded real alcohol instead of props.

'No one had seen him drinking before this,' the source claimed. 'One drink led to another, but it seemed to calm him down.'

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Williams was very open about his lifelong struggles with substance abuse after beating a nasty coke and alcohol habit, albeit temporarily, for 20 years.

He relapsed in 2006 and the ongoing problem most recently came to a head shortly before Willilams' suicide when he checked in to a Minnesota treatment center.

Relapse: Sources close to Robin Williams' short-lived 2013 series The Crazy Ones have revealed that the actor drank while on set as he demanded his prop drinks be real alcohol

Failed show: The CBS series also starred Sarah Michelle Geller, but only lasted one season. Williams' fellow talent reportedly complained of his tendency to go off script and his need for attention

The exact nature of his suicide has become a controversial point in the tragedy as San Francisco Bay area sheriffs spoke out Wednesday in defense of their decision to reveal exactly how the actor completed the sad act and what his body looked like thereafter.

Marin County Sheriff's Lt. Keith Boyd said in an email Wednesday that the agency would have liked to withhold some of the information, but could not under the California Public Records Act.

'These kinds of cases, whether they garner national attention or not, are very difficult for everyone involved,' Boyd said. 'Frankly, it would have been our personal preference to withhold a lot of what we disclosed to the press yesterday, but the California Public Records Act does not give us that kind of latitude.'

Fans pay tribute to Robin Williams outside the Mork house

Memorial in Colorado: Tributes have piled up outside the Boulder property made famous in the 'Mork and Mindy' television show that rocketed Robin Williams to stardom

Boyd announced during a live, televised news conference Tuesday that Williams committed suicide by hanging himself. He described in detail how Williams carried out the suicide and the condition of the body. Some people criticized the level of detail, and experts in suicide prevention said the information could influence those considering suicide to try the same thing.

Mrs. Doubtfire was one of Williams' most iconic roles, but some have suggested he was resentful over signing on to do a sequel over 20 years later just because he needed the money

'Having that amount of detail is not helpful' said Lyn Morris, vice president of clinical operations at Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, which runs the main suicide prevention hotline in Southern California. 'The contagion effect is real, and it's worrisome.'

Boyd said the sheriff's office is discussing with the county's attorney possible exemptions to the public record's act that would allow it to withhold the 911 call it received from Williams' home and fire dispatch tapes. But Boyd said the agency would likely have to release them within ten days, as required by law.

Free speech groups defended the disclosures as appropriate and said the law enforcement agency was responding to a crush of a requests for information required to be disclosed.

'Coroners are not required to provide details by press conference,' said Terry Francke, head of open government group Californians Aware. But he said the Marin County Sheriff's Department chose to disseminate as much information as quickly possible at one time rather than leak piecemeal. Some three dozen television cameras and twice as many reporters from around the globe crowded the news conference outside the sheriff's offices Tuesday morning.

'While the impact of the details on some people's mourning of Mr. Williams' passing may have been jarring, keeping what was known under wraps would have added needless speculation if not suspicion to the general shock,' Francke said.