Zak Williams, the eldest son of the recently departed actor and comedian Robin Williams, has just welcomed his first child into the the world. He and his wife, Olivia June, were blessed with their baby boy on 22 May, with the child weighing 8 lbs and measuring 20 1/2 inches.
Since his father took his own life in 2014, the 36-year-old has been an advocate for mental health, as well as teaching financial literacy to prison inmates as a volunteer.
Now, just shy of five years on from the death of his father, he and his wife decided to name their son after him.
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A rep confirmed to People that they named him, McLaurin Clement Williams, giving him Robin's middle name. They'll call him Mickey for short.
Zak has previously spoken about his father and how much he missed him at the Foundation of Hope’s annual fundraiser in 2015. "There was a part of him the world didn’t see," he said at the time, adding:
"We knew he was struggling through things, and we wanted to be there for him as much as we could. But…one core consideration is that you need to help people who want to be helped. There were times when he needed us and times when he didn’t. Sometimes people don’t want to talk about it, and that’s really challenging."
In a biography about his dad, titled Robin, Zak also expressed regrets in not spending enough time with his father during his last moments.
Zak makes speech about his father at Christopher Reeve Foundation"I'm kicking myself for not visiting him during that time," he said. "Because I think that was a very lonely period for him. In retrospect, I feel like I should have been there, spending time with him. Because someone who needs support was not getting the support he needed."
The first photos of the baby were taken by Zak's younger sister Zelda.
The 29-year-old has been open in the past about her struggles following her father's death, and shared a heartfelt message on his birthday last year.
"It’s that time of year again," she wrote in July. "Everyone who has dealt with loss knows the pain of certain anniversaries, moments full of memory that come round like clockwork and usurp all others, no matter how hard you may try to prepare for or avoid them."
She then went on to suggest we all follow her father's example.
"Mostly, try to spread some laughter and kindness around. And creatively swear a lot," she wrote. "Everytime you do, somewhere out there in our vast weird universe, he’s giggling with you... or giving a particularly fat bumblebee its wings.
The fifth anniversary of Robin Williams' death will fall on August 11 this year.
