Before Robin Williams really hit it big in his film career, the late actor had some memorable TV roles and appearances, including his run as one of the titular characters in the ABC sitcom Mork & Mindy. The series ran for four seasons from 1978 to 1982, and centered on an extraterrestrial, played by Williams, who comes to Earth and befriends a human who becomes his roommate and eventual love interest, played by Pam Dawber. Henry Winkler opened up about how Williams crushed his audition for what would be one of the best sitcoms of all time.
Mork & Mindy started out as a single episode for Happy Days, in which Williams’ Mork comes down from the planet Ork and is introduced to Fonzie, Ralph, Potsie, Chachi, and Richie, who initially saw the flying saucer. It was Williams’ performance in the episode “My Favorite Orkan” that convinced producers to make a spin-off surrounding Mork. Winkler told Scrubs alums Zach Braff and Donald Faison on their podcast Fake Doctors, Real Friends that no one wanted to play Mork, and they were on quite the time crunch:
When Robin came to audition, now it’s Wednesday. We start Monday morning at 10 o’clock on the soundstage. That is at 9 o’clock, we read. 10 o’clock, we’re on the soundstage. Nobody wanted to play this alien from outer space. Wednesday, now, we’re shooting on Friday. Wednesday comes, finally, a young, very shy, very quiet man comes with the casting director. [Mimics Williams] ‘Hello, hello, hello.’
At the time of his audition, Williams was still gradually breaking out in the industry, with a few small roles in film and television. He was a regular performer on the sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In in 1977 but still was not too known. That is, until his audition for Happy Days. While he started out shy, Winkler recalls what happened in that audition room and how the mood changed:
And then, this human being picked up the script. When he opened his mouth, it was like a volcano went off on stage 19 at Paramount. And I knew, ‘Get out of his way, know my lines, and don’t try to go toe to toe with this genius who was now standing in front of me.’
Anyone aware of Robin Williams knows how unsurprising that is, but considering he was able to flip a switch and go from a shy human to someone completely different, it’s a testament to how talented he was. Whether or not a Mork spinoff would have happened if anyone else had landed the role is unknown, but since Williams blew everyone away, they knew they had a hit on their hands and weren’t willing to let it slide, and that turned into the ’70s and ’80s sci-fi show.
Mork & Mindy is one of the many famous sitcoms that never made it to 100 episodes, as it capped out at 91 episodes during its original run, with an additional four during syndication. To this day, though, it remains a favorite among fans and is one of the funniest sci-fi TV shows of all time even despite the spinoff not being like the original series or fellow spinoff Laverne & Shirley, and Williams certainly had a lot to do with it.
Those wishing to see just what Mork & Mindy is all about or wanting to watch it again to see how much of a genius Williams truly is can watch the series for free on Pluto TV. All four seasons are streaming on the ad-supported streamer, and knowing that it’s free makes it even better.