0:00:00.011,0:00:01.418
(applause)
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(Letterman) Thank you, [br]I guess a lot of us,
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most of us, have been [br]thinking about Robin Williams.
0:00:08.184,0:00:12.326
I believe we found out a week ago[br]that he had died.
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Many things come to mind [br]in a situation like this,
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and, of course, more questions are [br]raised than can possibly be answered,
0:00:20.651,0:00:22.568
but I started reflecting about it.
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I knew Robin Williams for 38 years.
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38 years, which, in and of itself, [br]is crazy how time...
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(applause)
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And I met him at The Comedy Store.
0:00:38.182,0:00:45.291
He and I were kids, along with myself[br]and Jay Leno, and Tom Dreesen
0:00:45.291,0:00:48.661
and Tim Thomerson, and Johnny Dark,[br]and Elayne Boosler,
0:00:48.661,0:00:53.458
and on and on, and Jimmy Walker.[br]And we were all out there
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at The Comedy Store and we wanted[br]to make people laugh.
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We wanted to get on the Tonight show,[br]we wanted something because
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we all felt that we were funny.
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In those days, we were working[br]for free drinks--
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some were working [br]for more free drinks than others.
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(laughter)
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So you would go on stage,[br]and then you would do your little skits,
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and then you would come off stage,[br]and if there was a new guy
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coming on, you'd want to stick around[br]and make fun of the new guy.
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(man) Sure.
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Because we were all worried[br]that somebody else is coming in
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who's really funny, and then we'll have[br]to go back, in my case, to Indiana.
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- Yes.[br]- (laughter)
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And I can remember the night[br]my friend George Miller
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and I, who was a very funny comic,[br]and was on this show many times,
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we were at The Comedy Store[br]and they introduced Robin Williams.
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And, for some reason,[br]in the beginning he was
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introduced as being from Scotland.[br]They said he was Scottish.
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So now we're stumped.[br]We don't know.
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There's a Scottish guy, really,[br]coming to the United States?
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So we were feeling pretty smug[br]about our position right away
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because it's gonna be haggis[br]and that kind of crap.
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(laughter)
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So we're relaxed.[br]We're ready to go.
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And, all of a sudden,[br]he comes up on stage
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and you know what it is.[br]It's like nothing we had
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ever seen before.[br]Nothing we had ever imagined before.
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We'd go home at night and are writing[br]our little jokes about stuff,
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and this guy comes in [br]and we're like morning dew.
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- He comes in like a hurricane.[br]- Yeah.
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And now the longer he was on stage,[br]the worse we feel about ourselves.
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(laughter)
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And because it's not stopping!
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And then he finishes and I thought,[br]"Well, that's it. They're gonna have
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to put an end to show business[br]because what could happen after this?"
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And then we get to see this[br]night after night after night,
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and we didn't approach him[br]because we were afraid of him.
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Honest to God. [br]You though, "Holy crap!
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There goes my chance at show business[br]because of this guy from Scotland."
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(laughter)
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And then, like shot out of a cannon,[br]he goes and he's on the Happy Day's show.
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And then from the Happy Day's show, [br]he gets to be on Mork and Mindy.
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Now there's some structure to his life.
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He's not at The Comedy Store every night[br]because he's got an actual job.
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(laughter)
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So the rest of us can pretend [br]that it never happened.
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(laughter)
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But, yet then, he goes from Mork and Mindy,[br]and then he starts making movie
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after movie after movie.
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He's nominated four times[br]for an Academy Award.
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And it wasn't really until Paul and I [br]started the NBC version of this show,
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which, by the way, [br]is still running in Mexico--
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- It is.[br]- (laughter)
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Very popular.
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(applause)
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But it wasn't until then that I[br]got to really know Robin Williams
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because he would come on[br]to promote movies,
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or concerts or whatever [br]he was talking about,
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and he was always so gracious,[br]and we would talk about the old times.
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Never did he act like, [br]"Oh, I knew you guys were scared
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because I was so good."
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And it was just a pleasure to know the guy.
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And he was a gentleman and delightful,[br]and even in the old days,
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he was kind enough to ask me[br]to appear on his Mork and Mindy show.
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Now this is a double edged sword.
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(laughter)
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Because he did it only [br]because he was trying
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to help other fledgling, [br]starting out comics.
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- Makes sense.[br]- Right.
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The other side of the sword is I have [br]no business being on that show.
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I can't...I have no business [br]being on this show.
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(laughter and applause)
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But he gave me a job!
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In those days, [br]jobs were hard to come by,
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and there I was, and I [br]was on Mork and Mindy,
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and I can remember between[br]the dress rehearsal
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and the actual taping of the show,[br]the director of the program,
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- Howard...Howard...Howard Shore--[br]- Howard Storm.
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Storm. Howard Storm comes up to me[br]and he says, "Well, you've been trying
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all week, so this is your last chance."
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- (laughter)[br]- Oh.
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So even to the detriment of the show,[br]Robin was kind enough to invite
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me to come on because he thought,[br]"Why can't I spread this around
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and have some of my friends[br]share in my success?"
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Which is exactly what he did.
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He then was on our show,[br]this show and the old show,
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- a total of merely 50 times.[br]- A total of 50 times?
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- 50 times. 50 times.[br]- (applause)
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And two things would happen[br]because Robin was on the program.
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- One: I didn't have to do anything.[br]- Yes.
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(laughter)
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All I had to do was sit here[br]and watch the machine.
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Yeah.
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And two: People would watch.[br]If they know Robin was on the show,
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the viewership would go up[br]because they wanted to see Robin.
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And, believe me, that wasn't [br]just true of television.
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I believe that was true [br]of the kind of guy he was.
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People were drawn to him[br]because of this electricity.
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Whatever it was he radiated[br]that propelled him and powered him.
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And then he came back [br]after my heart surgery,
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Robin was nice enough [br]to come on that night
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and it was very, very funny[br]and very, very appropriate.
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And here is a picture [br]that I will now cherish,
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even more than I had previously.
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- There are four people right there.[br]- Wow.
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Two of which wildly funny, [br]insanely funny. Two are not.
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(laughter and applause)
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(Letterman) The handsome woman[br]there is Mitzi Shore.
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She owned The Comedy Store.
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We all, the three of us, worked there.
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I think Robin and I, it'd be [br]safe to say,we started there.
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Richard Prior was already Richard Prior,[br]but he would work there
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and the guy in the middle,[br]I trimmed hedges.
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(laughter)
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- So we would like to--[br]- (applause)
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We put together a segment [br]of Robin William's appearances,
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and moreover, more than anything,[br]it will make you laugh
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and, really, that's what we[br]should take from this.
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He could make you laugh [br]under any circumstances.
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- Here he is on our show.[br]- (applause)
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It's from the Gandhi on Ice collection!
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(laughter)
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Oh, god, how you doin', Mr. Williams?
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God, Mrs. Doubtfire is very funny.
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You know, you're much more attractive[br]as an older woman.
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(laughter)
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- (Letterman) Hold him! Hold him![br]- Okay, I got him. I GOT HIM!
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- Alright![br]- (Williams) TAKE IT EASY, DAMMIT!
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- Our next--[br]- It's my first day on the job!
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Aren't you glad you didn't [br]see this in the surgery?
0:08:39.935,0:08:42.781
- "Hey, Dave! It's me!"[br]- (laughter)
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- Take it's gonna be real funny.[br]- (laughter)
0:08:45.980,0:08:47.800
Well, you had a television show,[br]Mork and Mindy.
0:08:47.800,0:08:50.427
- Nice.[br]- And the producers,
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for some unknown reason,[br]invited me for a little thing on the show.
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- That's right! You played a--[br]- I've never seen anything.
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I'm not bringing myself [br]to watch it until tonight.
0:08:59.924,0:09:02.707
- You have it here?![br]- (laughter and cheering)
0:09:02.983,0:09:04.830
Somebody has stolen my Rolls-Royce!
0:09:04.830,0:09:07.492
Well, don't worry, Ellsworth.[br]Losing your Rolls-Royce is a concept.
0:09:07.492,0:09:11.118
- Getting it back is a reality.[br]- (laughter)
0:09:11.118,0:09:13.684
It's amazing when you win the Academy Award,[br]you have about a week
0:09:13.684,0:09:15.601
where everyone's like, [br]"Hey, Good Will Hunting! Way to go.
0:09:15.601,0:09:17.295
Good Will Hunting, [br]Academy Award. Way to go."
0:09:17.295,0:09:19.674
And two weeks later, it's like,[br]"Hey, Mork! How are ya'?"
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(laughter)
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(reflective music)
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(applause)
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God bless you, my friend!
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(reflective music)
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(applause)
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Oh my, that's...
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well...
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What I will add here is[br]beyond being a very talented man,
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and a good friend,[br]and a gentleman,
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I am sorry, like everybody else,[br]I had no idea that the man
0:10:12.916,0:10:15.554
was in pain, that the man was suffering.
0:10:15.554,0:10:18.060
But what a guy.[br]Robin Williams.
0:10:18.060,0:10:20.932
- We'll be right back, ladies and gentlemen.[br]- (applause)