ABCWe're still having a tough time processing the sudden and tragic loss of Robin Williams. He was one of the good ones.
The comedian touched everyone's lives in a such a positive way over the course of his life, even if you never personally met him. From his TV roles to his movie roles to his standup specials, everyone has a standout or favorite memory of the actor.
But in light of his passing, if you want to relive the birth of Williams' long and fruitful career, then you're in luck. Remember way back, even before Mork and Mindy premiered (and totally stole our hearts), when Williams guest-starred on an episode of Happy Days? The Hub Network has announced that it will reair Williams' big TV debut this Friday.
Williams' episode, "My Favorite Orkan," will air twice on Friday, Aug. 15, at 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., on the Hub Network, according to Indiewire. After the double feature of the episode that inspired the spinoff series Mork and Mindy, the network will also air a tribute to the actor, plus the alternate episode ending that led to the spinoff series.
In true Williams' form, the comedian turned what was supposed "to be the biggest piece of s--t in the history of the show" into a "brilliant" episode, TV and filmmaker Brian Levant, who joined Happy Days as a writer-producer in its fifth season, told E! News. "It was Robin Williams' literal birth as an entertainer," Levant says of the episode. "He was an unqualified genius in that rehearsal and the cast of Happy Days was tremendously generous ceding the stage to him and everybody walked out of that show saying 'spin-off, spin-off, spin-off.' And we walked upstairs and wrote a bunch of great stuff."
Everyone loved what Williams did in "My Favorite Orkan" so much that Mork and Mindy was created just for him later that year in 1978. The ABC spinoff series lasted for four seasons.
So join us this Friday when we toast to Williams' career and life by rewatching his breakout episode of Happy Days, won't you?