Most people know the work of Robin Williams in only two ways: either from scripted performances in movies or from rehearsed solo standup performances. But few people remember how brightly he shined in a real improvisational setting, especially during the rare occasions where he got to bounce his insanity off of another equally talented comedic mind. Robin and Billy Crystal were frequent playmates at live events, and he had a well-documented relationship with comedy legend Jonathan Winters before, during and after Mork & Mindy. But in addition to these, there was the occasional appearance with a talent you might not expect. Robin recorded his very first comedy special for HBO in 1978 at the Roxy Theatre on Sunset in West Hollywood. During his last of three encores, Robin pulled a great comedic actor named John Ritter out of the crowd and riffed with him for nearly ten minutes. At another HBO event in 1982 celebrating the 10th anniversary of Catch A Rising Star, Robin jumped on stage with comedian Richard Belzer, the show’s emcee, and had what could only be described as the most amazing comedy dance-off of all time. But his greatest improvisational performance had to be the first time we got to see him share the spotlight with a true sketch comedy powerhouse: the incomparable Carol Burnett. This is a ten-minute clip from A Carol Burnett Special in 1987. From the beginning, it seems as though Carol is putting her own life at risk. But as the show goes on, it becomes clear that we are looking at two comedy geniuses teaching a master class in improvisation. In fact, the first person to truly break character winds up being Robin, in the final seconds of the video. Quote from Billy Crystal: “If I was fast tonight, he’ll be faster.”
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 20:56:33 +0000
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