Comedian Robin Williams refuses to get complacent about his Hollywood success - because he will never forget the moment he found out his TV show Mork & Mindy had been scrapped.

The funnyman landed his big break in the late 1970s playing the alien Mork in the sitcom opposite actress Pam Dawber.

Bosses at U.S. TV network ABC, which aired the series, canceled the program in 1982 - but no one told Williams, and he was devastated when he read about his show's demise in trade paper Daily Variety.

He tells People magazine, "I found out the show was canceled by reading it in Variety. In Hollywood that's like reading your own obituary: 'You're dead, good luck!'"

http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2009/11/27/robin_williams_was_never_told_mork_aamp__1

Wow, that's harsh! If anyone should have been the first to know, it's him. I hope he told those jerks how he felt about not knowing beforehand. Just awful!

i read that the same thing happend to dick van patten he read in the newspaper that abc had cancelled eight is enough

Well, in the end Robin's career didn't suffer, which is good. Plus, after the whole Mearth thing, I'd be sighing in deep relief that I wouldn't have to go back for more!! Still, someone could've called him directly. Does anyone know how Pam Dawber found out about the cancellation?

I think it's way past time for a M and M reunion show. Almost everyone is still with us, I think, besides Elizabeth Kerr and Tom Poston, and I also think the cast got along well enough to warrant another get together. Of course they'd probably have to have Jonathon Winters play Mork's grandson now, as Mearth would have aged enough so that he'd be, err, middle aged by now, lol.

Pam Dawber looks TERRIFIC for a woman her age - and looks like she has aged naturally!! She's not all tucked and sucked like other actresses her age. Good for her for aging gracefully!! :cool: :D

^ I always liked Dawber, not just for her portrayal of Mindy but for her seemingly genuine decency and humility. :)

^ I always liked Dawber, not just for her portrayal of Mindy but for her seemingly genuine decency and humility. :)
Same here. She and her husband Mark Harmon have been married for over 20 years, raised two sons and are well-liked in their community, from all I've heard. It seems she is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Does anyone else think she looks a lot like Linda Hamilton?

Same here. She and her husband Mark Harmon have been married for over 20 years, raised two sons and are well-liked in their community, from all I've heard. It seems she is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Does anyone else think she looks a lot like Linda Hamilton?

I never thought about it previously, but now that you mention it, I can see some similarity. :nod:

Same here. She and her husband Mark Harmon have been married for over 20 years, raised two sons and are well-liked in their community, from all I've heard. It seems she is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Does anyone else think she looks a lot like Linda Hamilton?
She should guest star on NCIS. Do you know if she and Mark Harmon ever worked together?

She should guest star on NCIS. Do you know if she and Mark Harmon ever worked together?
They appeared in a 1999 flick together called I'll Remember April, which also starred Haley Joel Osment and Pat Morita. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155754/

Yes, she SHOULD guest on NCIS - that would be awesome! :cool: Pam also has a four-octave singing voice, and played opposite Andy Gibb onstage in the musical Pirates of Penzance after M&M was cancelled.

Here are Pam and Linda, side by side:

They appeared in a 1999 flick together called I'll Remember April, which also starred Haley Joel Osment and Pat Morita. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155754/

Yes, she SHOULD guest on NCIS - that would be awesome! :cool: Pam also has a four-octave singing voice, and played opposite Andy Gibb onstage in the musical Pirates of Penzance after M&M was cancelled.
Thanks Monika. :) I never saw that movie but it does have a great cast.

Here are Pam and Linda, side by side:
Wow they do look alike. They could be sisters. :lol:

Even though it was a dirty thing for ABC to do I want to believe that Robin couldn't have been that surprised. I mean didn't the cast get info on how the show was performing in the ratings?

Even though it was a dirty thing for ABC to do I want to believe that Robin couldn't have been that surprised. I mean didn't the cast get info on how the show was performing in the ratings?
Weren't they like #60 in the ratings for their final season (1981-82)? Plus I don't think any viewer would want to watch another season with Mearth - who still gives me the willies. :eek:

Here are a couple of pics I found of Pam with Andy Gibb when they did Pirates of Penzance in late 1982.

Weren't they like #60 in the ratings for their final season (1981-82)? Plus I don't think any viewer would want to watch another season with Mearth - who still gives me the willies. :eek:

You know, I think Mearth might have been a good idea for an episode, or maybe a small arc of episodes, but there really wasn't enough there to sustain the character for an ongoing stint.

I mean, really, after a few eps, how long can you draw out the "isn't it funny that this older actor is playing a kid" schtick?

You know, I think Mearth might have been a good idea for an episode, or maybe a small arc of episodes, but there really wasn't enough there to sustain the character for an ongoing stint.

I mean, really, after a few eps, how long can you draw out the "isn't it funny that this older actor is playing a kid" schtick?
I saw the M&M reruns as a small child, and Mearth gave me nightmares!! To this day, he still freaks me out!! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

I saw the M&M reruns as a small child, and Mearth gave me nightmares!! To this day, he still freaks me out!! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

I can see that happening. I guess we have to remember that at that point in the series, the ratings had already fallen the previous year and the introduction of Winters was really supposed to be a ratings booster, almost a last ditch effort to re inject life into the show, I believe.

For me, by that time there were so many characters that were so very bizarre (Mearth, Exidor, Exidor's mother, his g/f (Georgia Engel) that Mork looked normal by comparison, which kind of detracted from the whole point of the show. :lol:

Georgia Engel was on M&M? Gee, you really do learn something new everyday!! :lol:

^ Yep, check it out. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTpFFu_FUk8

You know, I think Mearth might have been a good idea for an episode, or maybe a small arc of episodes, but there really wasn't enough there to sustain the character for an ongoing stint.

I mean, really, after a few eps, how long can you draw out the "isn't it funny that this older actor is playing a kid" schtick?

I saw a few episodes from the 4th season a while back and I couldn't stand the Mearth character. It was such a stupid idea to have Jonathan Winters, who was a comic genius, play a child, IMO. I can see why people lost interest in the show. If they wanted to bring in Winters, they should have had him come back as Mindy's uncle Dave. He played Mindy's uncle in the Season 3 episode "Mork and the Family Reunion". His scene with Robin Williams was hilarious.