Robert 'Bob' Wilson Cause Of Death: Owen And Luke Wilson's Father Died At The Age Of 75

Robert "Bob" Wilson, long time TV producer and father to actors Luke and Owen Wilson, died Friday at the age of 75 years, Luke Wilson confirmed to Dallas Morning News over the weekend.

He told Dallas Morning News his father had been battling Alzheimer's disease, suggesting a possible cause of death although no official cause of death was specified to the newspaper.

Luke told the newspaper if anyone wishes to honor his father’s memory, they could do so by making a donation to PBS.

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Owen Wilson had spoken to Dallas Morning News in 2015 about his father’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

“It’s a rough thing,” he told the paper. “It’s one of those things where if somebody had said 10 years ago, when my dad and I were joking around, having a putting match, that this is the position your dad’s going to be in, where he basically needs 24-hour care, you’d think, ‘Gosh, I won’t be able to handle that. That’s just not possible.’ But it does happen. Such things just happen in life.”

Robert is survived by his wife Laura Wilson, Owen Wilson and his two sons Robert, 6, and Finn, 3, Luke, as well as their brother and actor Andrew Wilson and his three kids.

Robert, whose nickname was Bob, served as president of public Dallas TV and radio stations KERA-TV and KERA-FM in the '60s and '70s. He then co-created the news program “Newsroom” with TV colleague Jim Lehrer. Lehrer then went on to anchor the hit show “PBS NewsHour.”

KERA-TV also became the first channel to broadcast “Monty Python's Flying Circus.” Robert was in charge of the channel from 1967 to 1975 and then eventually went on to run his own communications business.

Robert’s deteriorating health became noticeable in 1999 when he was unable to attend KERA’s 50th anniversary celebration.

Owen often said he got his acting skills from his father and even once attributed his comedy style to his father while promoting “Midnight in Paris” in 2011.

“He worked with these great creative people with great senses of humor and I remember being at dinner and just hearing Dad’s friends talk,” he said. “I think that was for me and my brothers a big influence on what was funny,” Owen added.

In a 1999 interview with Dallas Morning News, Owen recalled talking to his father about a particular scene from his and Wes Anderson's 1998 cult film “Rushmore,” in which Bill Murray's character says, "Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine having sons like this."

Owen said he told his father then, “You realize, don't you, Dad, that I took that from you word for word.”

Robert was a Dartmouth graduate but neither of his three sons followed the conventional path, ending up without college degrees. Robert had acknowledged it was challenging for him at times. But, he always spoke with pride about his sons’ accomplishments.

During an interview with the paper, Bob was asked about his family and the challenges they faced.

And he had replied: "Owen was on David Letterman's show not long ago, and Letterman said, 'Three boys. That must have been hard on your parents.' Owen said it was 'three, seven, nine, zero.' Three boys, seven high schools, nine colleges, zero degrees. So that isn't exactly success. There were trying times. Raising three boys was a challenge."