This afternoon authorities in Marin County, California, told the world that Robin Williams hanged himself in his bedroom. 

As you might know, the media is playing the Williams story big and some believe it might be too much.  Bernie Goldberg will analyze that in just a few minutes.

But Talking Points does not believe the coverage is overdone because this is a very important story.

Apparently Robin Williams suffered from depression, as 16-million Americans do.

And it was the depression that likely caused him to take his own life.

This morning I was impressed when Dr. Keith Ablow said this:

KEITH ABLOW, M.D.: “Here’s the truth, every life story -- what happened to Robin Williams, he came to believe that this grand imposture depression robbed him of the belief that he had pages left of his life story, that would be great.  Everyone does have that.  It’s the absolute truth, I promise you.  And if people will take a little bit of a horizon and say, look maybe tomorrow I’ll still feel terrible, but I bet that next season, I will be restored if I deploy all the resources at my disposal.  I promise 100% that can happen.”

That is solid advice to everyone who gets depressed.  Things will get better.  The cycle of life dictates it, unless you are self-destructive.

Now on to Mr. Williams himself.

He is one of the last entertainment icons, meaning that most of the country knew him and his vast talent.

Today we are a fractured society, with Americans going off into different directions thanks to social media.

Never again will entertainers like Robin Williams be so prominent in the nation's mind.

Mr. Williams had a unique talent.  I saw him at Carnegie Hall a few years ago and almost his entire act was extemporaneous, off the cuff.  Brilliance doesn't even begin to cover it.

His peers knew that.  They understood the giant talent of Robin Williams.

MEL GIBSON: “Well it’s too soon.  He’s outta here way too soon.  He’s very gifted, he was a benchmark in his field.  And no one can ever reach that again.  No one ever did.”

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER: “We are mourning the loss of such a great man and he was also a friend and I admired him and he’s a legend.”

ANTONIO BANDERAS: “To make people laugh in today’s world with the violence and everything that’s going around.  That was a very serious business and we’re going to miss him a lot.”

It is a sad fact of life, that many creative artists are tortured souls.

Ernest Hemingway committed suicide, so did Kurt Cobain.

And hundreds of other artists destroyed themselves with drugs and alcohol.

There is a unique pressure on famous people.  Everyone has high expectations of them, and it is very difficult to live up to those expectations and still live as a normal human being.

I met Robin Williams one time at Yankee Stadium.  He seemed to be a good guy.  He made everybody in the box laugh, and he was very courteous.

Colonel Hunt, who provided security for Mr. Williams, confirmed that last night.

So the nation mourns the death of Robin Williams, and hopefully all of us will become more aware of the depression situation.

My friend Mike Wallace struggled with it his entire life and even attempted suicide.

It is a terrible disease, but one that can be overcome.

And that's the memo.