Before ‘Hook,’ before ‘Mrs. Doubtfire,’ before ‘Good Will Hunting’ and ‘Dead Poet’s Society,’ Robin Williams played the role of an alien on the TV show ‘Happy Days.’ Yes, fellow geeks, for those who may not know, the beloved actor was shot to stardom from a genre storyline. As a tribute to the actor, the HUB network will be airing a classic episode from that series where he appeared as Mork from Ork titled “My Favorite Orkian.’
In that episode, Richie Cunningham thinks he dreamt about an alien named Mork who comes to earth looking for a “humdrum” Earthling to bring to his home planet of Ork and picks Ritchie. In order to save the ginger Cunningham, Mork must fight Fonzie and hilarity ensues.
‘My Favorite Orkian’ will air today, Friday, August 15 at 9 p.m. and again at 9:30 pm and will feature the alternate ending which was the launching point to his spin off series ‘Mork and Mindy’ which ran for 4 seasons. Throughout that hour, the network will also feature on-air tributes to Williams.
In an interview with THR, Henry Winkler, who played Fonzie, recalls working with Williams on the set of ‘Happy Days’:
“Here I am playing this man of very few words and I’m watching brilliance explode like fireworks every 10 or 15 second. They couldn’t find anybody to play this character that Garry’s son suggested. This young man comes in and we started rehearsing and I quickly realized I had one job: to keep a straight face. Whatever you said, he inhaled out of the air and then threw it back at you. There was not one time it came out the same. There was not one time it was not truly, endlessly and fervently funny. You saw it and your mouth dropped. You couldn’t believe it. I’ve worked with a lot of people and there is and was no one quite like him.”
In an interview with the Today show, Winkler expands on those sentiments:
So tonight, fellow Earthlings, enjoy the episode as we remember the alien and the man that taught us to sit on our heads and made us laugh about humanity’s ironies. Nanu, Nanu.
