Robin Williams' legacy is full of heartwarming stories, some of which involve the lengths he would go to check in on the people in his life. Sally Field opened up about Williams supported her after her dad passed away. Meanwhile, Nathan Lane reflected on the Oprah inteview he and Williams did, during which Williams protected Lane from having to come out before he was ready. Now, Conan O’Brien is adding to the list of sweet anecdotes about the late comedian (and getting me in my feelings) by revealing how Williams reached out after he lost The Tonight Show back in 2010.
The veteran talk show host interviewed Eric Idle on his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, and the two comedians reflected on their friendships with Robin Williams. O’Brien shared a wholesome story about how the Oscar winner cheered him up after being pushed out of The Tonight Show after a short hosting stint. Apparently, he called O’Brien up, to check in on how he was doing, and then told him he had a bike waiting for him at a premiere bike shop. O'Brien recalled just what Williams said to him:
He told me that he had them paint it in all these crazy Irish colors. I went down there and it’s the ugliest. I mean it was just, you know greens and shamrocks and everything. And I couldn’t believe [it]. He was like ‘Oh you’re going to like that bike chief. Don’t worry about it.’
This act of kindness was the most Robin Williams way of going about a situation. He did something incredibly generous and thoughtful to show he was thinking about the Conan host. Yet he, of course, had to add his own splash of silliness to the gesture by making the bike look ridiculous as a nod to O’Brien’s Irish roots. Still, I can't think of a better way for a comic to cheer up a fellow comedian.
For context, Conan O’Brien was tapped to host The Tonight Show after Jay Leno was meant to retire in 2009. However, instead of retiring, Leno was given a primetime talk show ahead of TTS, and that poorly affected the latter show's ratings. As a result, O’Brien and his colleagues had a challenging time finding an audience, and he was soon removed from the show.
The Tonight Show debacle was heavily covered in the media, and arguably added to the combative nature of the late night landscape at the time. It was also a devastating and complicated time for O’Brien, who avoided talking about it for a while. Knowing he had support from other comics, especially one like Robin Williams probably meant the world. He said of the gesture:
I just couldn’t believe that he was thinking about me. You know how we are in life? You think about someone [and say], ‘Oh that’s too bad what happened to him. Oh whatever…anyway, I’m gonna go get a sandwich.’
Eric Idle then added to that, saying the gesture was "typical Robin," as the Good Will Hunting star would often go out of his way to show his friends he was thinking of them. This story as a whole is truly telling about Williams’ character and makes me miss him even more. Even though it's been 15 years since this moment, and over 10 years since Williams passed away at 63, his memory lives on through the gifts he brought to the world and the kindness that he treated others with. His comedy carries on his legacy in it’s own way, but stories about his genuine character feel just as special.
Fans of Robin Williams can remember him through his work by checking out our feature on the best movies from Williams. You can also hear more nostalgic stories by checking out his popular podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, which is streaming on both Spotify and Apple Music.
