Obama pays tribute to 'one of a kind' Robin Williams

US actor Robin Williams poses for photographers during a photocall in Rome in this file picture taken on Nov 15, 2005. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
US actor Robin Williams poses for photographers during a photocall in Rome in this file picture taken on Nov 15, 2005. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama and the US first family joined a national outpouring of grief to pay tribute to deceased actor and comedian Robin Williams.

"Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan, and everything in between. But he was one of a kind," Obama said.

"He arrived in our lives as an alien - but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit," he added, referring to Williams' breakthrough television role as the extraterrestrial visitor Mork.

"He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most - from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalised on our own streets.

"The Obama family offers our condolences to Robin's family, his friends, and everyone who found their voice and their verse thanks to Robin Williams," the statement concluded.

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