David Letterman Remembers Robin Williams

(applause)

(Letterman) Thank you,
I guess a lot of us,

most of us, have been
thinking about Robin Williams.

I believe we found out a week ago
that he had died.

Many things come to mind
in a situation like this,

and, of course, more questions are
raised than can possibly be answered,

but I started reflecting about it.

I knew Robin Williams for 38 years.

38 years, which, in and of itself,
is crazy how time...

(applause)

And I met him at The Comedy Store.

He and I were kids, along
with Jay Leno, and Tom Dreesen

and Tim Thomerson, and Johnny Dark,
and Elayne Boosler,

and on and on, and Jimmy Walker.
And we were all out there

at The Comedy Store and we wanted
to make people laugh.

We wanted to get on the Tonight show,
we wanted something because

we all felt that we were funny.

In those days, we were working
for free drinks--

some were working
for more free drinks than others.

(laughter)

So you would go on stage,
and then you would do your little skits,

and then you would come off stage,
and if there was a new guy

coming on, you'd want to stick around
and make fun of the new guy.

(man off screen) Sure.

Because we were all worried
that somebody else is coming in

who's really funny, and then we'll have
to go back, in my case, to Indiana.

- (man off screen) Yes.
- (laughter)

And I can remember the night
my friend George Miller

and I, who was a very funny comic,
and was on this show many times,

we were at The Comedy Store
and they introduced Robin Williams.

And, for some reason,
in the beginning he was

introduced as being from Scotland.
They said he was Scottish.

So now we're stumped.
We don't know.

There's a Scottish guy, really,
coming to the United States?

So we were feeling pretty smug
about our position right away

because it's gonna be haggis
and that kind of crap.

(laughter)

So we're relaxed.
We're ready to go.

And, all of a sudden,
he comes up on stage

and you know what it is.
It's like nothing we had

ever seen before.
Nothing we had ever imagined before.

We'd go home and are writing
our little jokes about stuff,

and this guy comes in
and we're like morning dew.

- He comes in like a hurricane.
- (man off screen) Yeah.

And now the longer he was on stage,
the worse we feel about ourselves.

(laughter)

And because it's not stopping!

And then he finishes and I thought,
"Well, that's it. They're gonna have

to put an end to show business
because what could happen after this?"

And then we get to see this
night after night after night,

and we didn't approach him
because we were afraid of him.

Honest to God.
You though, "Holy crap!

There goes my chance at show business
because of this guy from Scotland."

(laughter)

And then, like shot out of a cannon,
he goes and he's on the Happy Day's show.

And then from the Happy Day's show,
he gets to be on Mork and Mindy.

Now there's some structure to his life.

He's not at The Comedy Store every night
because he's got an actual job.

(laughter)

So the rest of us can pretend
that it never happened.

(laughter)

But, yet then, he goes from Mork and Mindy,
and then he starts making movie

after movie after movie.

He's nominated four times
for an Academy Award.

And it wasn't really until Paul and I
started the NBC version of this show,

which, by the way,
is still running in Mexico--

- (man off screen) It is.
- (laughter)

Very popular.

(applause)

But it wasn't until then that I
got to really know Robin Williams

because he would come on
to promote movies,

or concerts or whatever
he was talking about,

and he was always so gracious,
and we would talk about the old times.

Never did he act like, "
Oh, I knew you guys were scared

because I was so good."

And it was just a pleasure to know the guy.

And he was a gentleman and delightful,
and even in the old days,

he was kind enough to ask me
to appear on his Mork and Mindy show.

Now this is a double edged sword.

(laughter)

Because he did it only
because he was trying

to help other fledgling,
starting out comics.

- Makes sense.
- Right.

The other side of the sword is I have
no business being on that show.

I can't...I have no business
being on that show.

(laughter and applause)

But he gave me a job!

In those days,
jobs were hard to come by,

and there I was, and I
was on Mork and Mindy,

and I can remember between
the dress rehearsal

and the actual taping of the show,
the director of the program,

- Howard...Howard...Howard Shore--
- Howard Storm.

Storm. Howard Storm comes up to me
and he says, "Well, you've been trying

all week, so this is your last chance."

- (laughter)
- Oh.

So even to the detriment of the show,
Robin was kind enough to invite

me to come on because he thought,
"Why can't I spread this around

and have some of my friends
share in my success?"

Which is exactly what he did.

He then was on our show,
this show and the old show,

- a total of merely 50 times.
- A total of 50 times?

- 50 times. 50 times.
- (applause)

And two things would happen
because Robin was on the program.

- One: I didn't have to do anything.
- Yes.

(laughter)

All I had to do was sit here
and watch the machine.

Yeah.

And two: People would watch.
If they know Robin was on the show,

the viewership would go up
because they wanted to see Robin.

And, believe me, that wasn't
just true of television.

I believe that was true
of the kind of guy he was.

People were drawn to him
because of this electricity.

Whatever it was he radiated
that propelled him and powered him.

And then he came back
after my heart surgery,

Robin was nice enough
to come on that night

and it was very, very funny
and very, very appropriate.

And here is a picture
that I will now cherish,

even more than I had previously.

- There are four people right there.
- Wow.

Two of which wildly funny,
insanely funny. Two are not.

(laughter and applause)

(Letterman) The handsome woman
there is Mitzi Shore.

She owned The Comedy Store.

We all, the three of us, worked there.

I think Robin and I, it'd be
safe to say,we started there.

Richard Prior was already Richard Prior,
but he would work there

and the guy in the middle,
I trimmed hedges.

(laughter)

- So we would like to--
- (applause)

We put together a segment
of Robin William's appearances,

and moreover, more than anything,
it will make you laugh

and, really, that's what we
should take from this.

He could make you laugh
under any circumstances.

- Here he is on our show.
- (applause)

It's from the Gandhi on Ice collection!

(laughter)

Oh, god, how you doin', Mr. Williams?

God, Mrs. Doubtfire is very funny.

You know, you're much more attractive
as an older woman.

(laughter)

- (Letterman) Hold him! Hold him!
- Okay, I got him. I GOT HIM!

- Alright!
- (Williams) TAKE IT EASY, DAMMIT!

- Our next--
- It's my first day on the job!

Aren't you glad you didn't
see this in the surgery?

- "Hey, Dave! It's me!"
- (laughter)

- Take it's gonna be real funny.
- (laughter)

Well, you had a television show,
Mork and Mindy.

- Nice.
- And the producers,

for some unknown reason,
invited me for a little thing on the show.

- That's right! You played a--
- I've never seen anything.

I'm not bringing myself
to watch it until tonight.

- You have it here?!
- (laughter and cheering)

Somebody has stolen my Rolls-Royce!

Well, don't worry, Ellsworth.
Losing your Rolls-Royce is a concept.

- Getting it back is a reality.
- (laughter)

It's amazing when you win the Academy Award,
you have about a week

where everyone's like,
"Hey, Good Will Hunting! Way to go.

Good Will Hunting,
Academy Award. Way to go."

And two weeks later, it's like,
"Hey, Mork! How are ya'?"

(laughter)

(reflective music)

(applause)

God bless you, my friend!

(reflective music)

(applause)

Oh my, that's...

well...

What I will add here is
beyond being a very talented man,

and a good friend,
and a gentleman,

I am sorry, like everybody else,
I had no idea that the man

was in pain, that the man was suffering.

But what a guy.
Robin Williams.

- We'll be right back.
- (applause)