Robin Williams' daughter Zelda Williams recently shared memories of her late father and talked about the impact he made in people's lives, in what marked her first sit-down interview since the actor's death six months ago.
The popular Oscar-winning high-energy comedian and movie star, known for beloved films such as Mrs. Doubtfire, Aladdin, Dead Poet's Society and Good Will Hunting, took his own life at age 63 in August 2014. He was survived by his wife, Susan Schneider, and three children from two previous marriages—Zelda, 25, and sons Zak Williams, 31, and Cody Williams, 23.
Zelda said on NBC's Today show on Thursday that her father "was an incredibly kind and incredibly caring man and he was also very private and very calm and very subdued," adding, "So the side of him that people know and love and that is attached to their childhood is the characters that he had so much fun being. And that's what important and I do think that's what a lot of people will hold onto."
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
After her father died, Zelda got a tattoo of a hummingbird on her hand.
"I like hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are fun and flighty and strange. It's hard to keep them in one place and Dad was a bit like that," she said. "Keeping a conversation in one moment was impossible with him. It was a bit like trying to put a bag around a storm and hoping that it wouldn't just blow away."
"Sometimes there are going to be days where things are really difficult," she added. "And having a reminder that is permanently there is nice.'
Zelda also said on the Today show that she doesn't question why her father took his own life.
"I don't think there's a point," she said. "It's not important to ask."
"I think a lot of people feel his absence, but for me especially, yeah, it's going to take a lot of work to allow myself to have the sort of fun, happy life that I had," she added. "Anybody who has ever lost anyone works very hard to continue that memory in a positive way."
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Off-screen, Williams was an avid cyclist and worked for years with the Challenged Athletes Foundation, a non-profit group that provides prosthetics to disabled athletes. For more than a decade, he joined its members at the group's San Diego Triathlon Challenge.
"He's done charity as long as he had the wherewithal and the ability to do it," Zelda said. "That was what his favorite thing other than comedy really was."
On Friday, she is set to present an award at the Noble Awards, which recognize humanitarian work, to honor her dad and his triathlon teammates, along with a $50,000 donation that will fund a Challenged Athletes Foundation endowment in her father's name.
Robin had met one of his teammates, Rudy Garcia-Tolson, in 1998 when he was a little boy. Garcia-Tolson, now 26, is a double above knee amputee and a Paralympic swimmer. When they met, the actor asked him if he would be part of his relay team for the upcoming San Diego Triathlon Challenge put on by Challenged Athletes Foundation, according to SwimSwam.com. They were made Team Braveheart.
Mr Robin, I'll always cherish the times we had together.
? Rudy Garcia-Tolson (@RudyGTcaf) August 13, 2014
You showed not only me, but the whole world, that it's okay to be different, and that the power of humor can change lives.
? Rudy Garcia-Tolson (@RudyGTcaf) August 13, 2014
I can never thank you enough for going out of your way to make me smile. Thank you for making me the luckiest kid alive.
? Rudy Garcia-Tolson (@RudyGTcaf) August 13, 2014
Like many of his onscreen characters, Robin himself inspired scores of people with his kindness and energy.
"He would meet guys there that were not participating that had just lost limbs and were just there, maybe a family friend brought them, because they were depressed or because they needed to witness something remarkable and he would go and talk to them and he would be like, 'Next year, I want you to do this, bud,'" Zelda said.
Tabi King, a Challenged Athletes Foundation official, said in a blog post published on the group's website in October that Robin "especially loved the energy he got from the athletes, their excitement of being there and the attention he bestowed on them."
"The thing that resonates the most is he never wanted anything in return," she wrote. "In fact, he did not want us to actively promote his appearance."
King added that celebrities such as Will Ferrell and Jim Carrey followed suit.
"Before he came, people really didn't know what we were doing…he let others know that it was important," King wrote. "At the end of each day, each year, I always said the same thing…'Thank you Robin for being here, it means so much to our athletes.' His response, "No, it is I who thank you. It means more to me than it does to them.'"
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)