During the best part of his career, Hathaway began to suffer from bouts of depression. It was found that he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and was known to take strong medication daily to try and control the illness, although he was not regular in taking his prescriptions.
Hathaway's mental instability wreaked havoc on his life and required several hospitalizations. The effects of his illness came between Flack and Hathaway's friendship, they had a falling out and did not reconcile for several years, until the successful release of "The Closer I Get To You" in 1978.
During a recording session on January 13, 1979 Donnie began behaving irrationally, seeming to be paranoid and delusional. Hathaway said that "white people" were trying to kill him and had connected his brain to a machine, for the purpose of stealing his music. The recording session could not continue and all of the musicians went home.
Hours later, Hathaway was found dead below the window of his room in New York's Essex House hotel. The glass had been neatly removed from the window and there were no signs of struggle, leading investigators to rule Hathaway's death a suicide.
Hathaway's funeral was conducted by the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Donnie was born in Chicago but grew up living with his grandmother in the Carr Square housing project in St Louis. He began singing in a church choir with his grandmother at the age of three. He graduated from Vashon High School in 1963 and studied music on a fine arts scholarship at Howard University where he met his wife, Eulaulah. He had two daughters, Lalah Hathaway and Kenya Cancelibra. Lalah has enjoyed a successful solo career, while Kenya is one of the three backing vocalists on American Idol.
Donny Hathaway has been cited as an influence by numerous artists including Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, George Benson, India.Arie and Stevie Wonder.
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