It was the year 1974 when a TV show titled Happy Days aired in the United States. With cameos from Robin Williams to other notable actors, Happy Days found fame and viewers over the 11 years that it aired.
With Ron Howard (Yes, the director of The Da Vinci Code) starring in the lead role alongside Henry Wrinkler, the television show had one peculiar episode starring Robin Williams which was inspired by Star Wars!
When Robin Williams Became Mork
Williams found worldwide fame as a stand-up comedian and a great actor. Starring in projects like The Dead Poets Society to Popeye, the world loved watching Williams and naturally, he appeared in Happy Days.
In 1978, an episode was released titled “My Favorite Orkan”. The premise of that episode was Robin Williams appearing as an alien Mork who wanted to take Ron Howard back to his planet Ork as an average human being.
Chaos ensues when no one believes Howard’s claims but overall, it wasn’t something that would be a part of Happy Days. In an interview with Moviefone (via Star Wars Insider Magazine), Robin Williams explained his Mork appearance and how the idea came to be.
Mork came from Gary Marshall’s kid who saw Star Wars and said ‘Dad, why can’t they have an alien on Happy Days?’ I think he did it as kind of a shout-out to his son.
He further continued,
And, I guess, because it was so strange.
Well, it was 1978 and George Lucas’ iconic film Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope had just released in theaters a year prior to the episode. Therefore, it made sense to have an alien in Happy Days (somewhat).
Being known for his comedy, Williams wasn’t as famous back in the 1970s as he was during the 2000s. However, that didn’t stop the Hook actor from making it big on television with his jokes.
Robin Williams’ One Joke Left Frank Sinatra Speechless!
Similar to Saturday Night Live, another show aired in 1977 titled Laugh-In. The show was hosted by several celebrities and comedians and other stars chatted and laughed with the audience.
In one of the episodes, Robin Williams made an appearance when legendary singer Frank Sinatra was the host. When Williams came on the stage, he dropped an iconic joke that left Sinatra speechless from laughter.
A video shared on YouTube by Clown Jewels depicted the moment when Williams met Sinatra and the interaction that followed.
Oh, Mr. Sinatra! Can I just shake your hand? Oh! Marlene, sell my clothes, I’m going to heaven. Oh wow [laughs]. I’m so happy to be here I could drop a log.
The video showcases Williams throwing away his cowboy hat and laughing as he goes off stage while Frank Sinatra is up there dying from laughter. This was before Williams became famous.
The Happy Days episode featuring Williams received a rating of 8.5/10 on IMDB and was one of the well-liked episodes of the TV show. Happy Days ran for 11 seasons and aired its final episode in 1984. The first season of the show is available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
