What the Hell Happened to Robin Williams?

[TMC]

http://lebeauleblog.com/2013/04/25/w...obin-williams/

Williams had a guest spot on the popular 50′s sit-com, Happy Days. Williams played an alien named Mork who came to Earth looking for a human specimen. He chose Richie Cunningham to take back to his home planet of Ork. It fell to the Fonz to save his friend from a bizarre alien abduction. In the end, the entire episode turned out to be a dream.

The story goes that Williams was cast as Mork after meeting with producer Gary Marshall. Marshall asked Williams to take a seat and Williams immediately sat on his head. Marshall later commented that Williams was the only alien to audition for the role.

Williams’ guest spot on Happy Days was popular enough for Marshall to launch a spin-off show, Mork and Mindy in 1978.

(This was an exceptionally common practice at the time. Happy Days was a spin-off from Love American Style. In addition to Mork and Mindy, Happy Days launched six other shows: Laverne & Shirley, Blansky’s Beauties, Out of the Blue, Joanie Loves Chachi, and two cartoons.)

The new show had Mork landing on Earth in the present day of the 70s. Instead of abducting a human specimen, Mork’s mission was to study humans and report back to his boss on Ork. Mork was taken in by the beautiful and kind-hearted Mindy played by Pam Dawber. Hi-jinks ensued.

The Mork character was extremely popular with kids. It launched a slew of Mork-themed merchandise. Williams’ grinning face was everywhere. Speaking as a kid who was part of the show’s target demographic, I loved the broad humor. I even went as Mork for Halloween one year.

The pictures isn’t of me. But I had this exact costume right down to the creepy Williams mask. Although I didn’t wear the mask. Those things were extremely uncomfortable. And what do you need the mask for? Batman, sure. But Mork? Especially when they put his face on your chest as well. What was the point of that? It’s not like Mork had a picture of his face (long with his name and catch phrase) on his chest.

Mork and Mindy ran through 1982. In the final season, a number of gimmicks were used to try to save the show. Mork and Mindy got married and had a son. Because of his alien physiology, their son aged backwards which allowed them to cast comedy legend Jonathan Winters as a child in the body of an old man.

The gimmicks did not result in increased ratings. The show ended on a cliff-hanger. In the first two parts of a three-part story, Mindy’s apparent was destroyed and the family was on the run from a hostile alien. The conclusion to the story was never filmed.

The final episode of the show to air was filmed before the cliff-hanger and did not resolve the dangling plot thread – much to the chagrin this particular Mork and Mindy fan. (I spent years trying to figure out whether or not I had missed the conclusion. Turns out, I hadn’t.)

While Mork and Mindy was still on the air, Williams was also working as a stand-up comic. He filmed an his first HBO special, Off the Wall, in 1978.

[Yong Fang]

Several factors.

Robin Williams is getting older. Too lazy to look, but he is over 60 and from the article had an incredible run of films after the end of Mork and Mindy and I enjoyed a lot of his films over the years. He has had a fantastic career.

Robin has been married something like three times, and has had an ongoing battle with drink and drugs and has been on and off the recovery road since he was a young man. Williams is such a professional that his addictions did not really affect his output (and on Mork and Mindy, being 'wired for sound' made Robin Williams that much more crazed and hilarious.)

Robin Williams was really incredible in Mork and Mindy. His ad-libs were so good that the writers basically allowed him to do it. Watching Robin Williams do improvational comedy around 1980 was like watching Michael Jordan play basketball. Supposedly, Robin Williams was on the cocaine at the time, which made his manic performances that much better.

Mork and Mindy got stale because they ran out of things to do, and I hate to say this, Pam Dawber. I would have fired Dawber and that story and had Mork live by himself, working jobs, and meeting people and maybe travelling. The show really screwed up with Jonathan Winters (as a baby?)! That was just a waste, and Mork was cancelled not long after and then Robin went on to his films.

This is my opinion, but first run Hollywood films are 99% garbage, and I get tired of seeing the same, old, tired A Listers. The last thing I saw Robin Williams in was some movie called "Old Dogs" with John Travolta. It is not just him, but again, in my opinion, movies now are junk and the A Listers are tired, lazy, and phoning in mediocre performances in lousy films for huge paychecks (Robin Williams included).

Supposedly, Robin Williams is just beloved by everyone in Hollywood except the stand up comics who have accused Robin of stealing jokes. I sort of got turned off to Robin because he plays variations of one character, himself. The shy, troubled, funny, weird, creepy guy who can grow a beard in six hours.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Yong Fang

Several factors.

Robin Williams is getting older. Too lazy to look, but he is over 60 and from the article had an incredible run of films after the end of Mork and Mindy and I enjoyed a lot of his films over the years. He has had a fantastic career.

Robin has been married something like three times, and has had an ongoing battle with drink and drugs and has been on and off the recovery road since he was a young man. Williams is such a professional that his addictions did not really affect his output (and on Mork and Mindy, being 'wired for sound' made Robin Williams that much more crazed and hilarious.)

Robin Williams was really incredible in Mork and Mindy. His ad-libs were so good that the writers basically allowed him to do it. Watching Robin Williams do improvational comedy around 1980 was like watching Michael Jordan play basketball. Supposedly, Robin Williams was on the cocaine at the time, which made his manic performances that much better.

Mork and Mindy got stale because they ran out of things to do, and I hate to say this, Pam Dawber. I would have fired Dawber and that story and had Mork live by himself, working jobs, and meeting people and maybe travelling. The show really screwed up with Jonathan Winters (as a baby?)! That was just a waste, and Mork was cancelled not long after and then Robin went on to his films.

This is my opinion, but first run Hollywood films are 99% garbage, and I get tired of seeing the same, old, tired A Listers. The last thing I saw Robin Williams in was some movie called "Old Dogs" with John Travolta. It is not just him, but again, in my opinion, movies now are junk and the A Listers are tired, lazy, and phoning in mediocre performances in lousy films for huge paychecks (Robin Williams included).

Supposedly, Robin Williams is just beloved by everyone in Hollywood except the stand up comics who have accused Robin of stealing jokes. I sort of got turned off to Robin because he plays variations of one character, himself. The shy, troubled, funny, weird, creepy guy who can grow a beard in six hours.

Robin Williams' motor-mouth, stream-of-consciousness routines seemed fresh and funny when he first started out, but (and I kind of hate to say this since he's no longer "here") became increasingly tired, repetitive and out of touch the older he got.

[Chocolate Moose]

Robin adored Jonathan and that's probably why he appeared as a baby. I thought it was stupid.

Most movies ARE garbage. I much prefer watching a well-done, long-running television show where characters develop over the years.

Not everyone ages well. I used to love Adam Sandler and Chris Rock but they are still trying to do what they always did and they aren't funny into their 50's !!!

[Yong Fang]

Jonathan Winters was Robin Williams' idol and both had similar careers. Both were also slightly weird men with similar humor, who has had similar troubles in life with booze and wives.