ROBIN WILLIAMS – Peace.One of my happiest and most magical memories was thanks to an evening at The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip, where I ended up on stage with Robin Williams.
I was still in university, but taking acting classes up in Beverly Hills and planning to somehow learn how to write movies. One day a friend, who had an entry level job as a PA at ABC told me that that night, Robin Williams was going to play at The Comedy Store on the strip in the late show. He said, “The only way to get to really have a good seat is to go to the early show and stake a seat at the front tables that wrap around the stage and hang on for the late show. ” I did as my friend, Bob, suggested. I was going to see Robin Williams live come hell or high water. I drove my Toyota Celica GT 5 speed – I still miss that car — and parked in the lot. First in line, I had a center seat right at the stage’s edge.
I sat through a funny blonde female comedian who made jokes about mini-pads, the guy with that wild curly head of hair who was insane and incoherent, and about 5 glasses of Coca Cola by the mid-point of the second show. Eventually, around 11:30 pm the MC announced Robin Williams. The place went nuts. He came on to the small stage and started his routine. I made a comment trying to be smart and he stopped talking and looked at me. I honestly cannot remember what I said but it had something to do with books, I think I asked what he was reading in response to something he said. He stopped and looked at me, “What did you say?”, — my heart sank — shit I’d pissed off Robin Williams and he hadn’t even gotten started. I was horrified and I’m sure 1000 shades of red. “Um, nothing”, I muttered, properly humiliated. “No,” he insisted, “let’s talk.” Now I just stared like the proverbial deer in the headlights….(“Oh no…this is bad,” i thought, “really bad.) “NO, that’s okay,” I finally uttered. “No, ” he said, “In fact why don’t you come up here and talk to me.” Now I wanted to crawl under the table, but kept looking at him. I shook my head and said, “That’s all right. I’m sorry.” He smiled. “If you don’t come up on this stage I am going to reach down and pull you up out of your chair.” Okay, now it was too bad just to sit there, I didn’t want him to do that…so…I stepped up on my chair, onto the table and he reached out with his hands and pulled me on to stage.
What happened next was one of the most ridiculous, wonderful, insanely funny and truly spontaneous and fun fifteen minutes of my life as he lead me into these wicked improv “scenes”. First he took on the persona of a flamboyant horror movie director and I was his leading lady — nitwit — who was to utter the singular line, “Oh my god the killer tomatoes are attacking!” I perched myself on a stool on the stage and really started to get into it, mangling the line, we did take after take: each one getting more outrageous until we were on the floor battling the “killer tomatoes” – the stool. The stool became Lincoln’s chair and he suddenly became an interior decorator and I was his competition and we were fighting for the job to paint the blue room in the White House a new color…that went off into the outreaches of Pluto; we were on a roll about fuschia when he suddenly became Uncle Tom and I was Little Miss Eva, but the roles were kind of reversed. Needless to say when Little Miss Eva died, (I really layed it on with a trowel), we wrapped up this bit of his show and he thanked me. I remember stepping back over the table to my seat in a daze, people applauding and thinking “What the hell just happened?” After the show, I waited. Robin was in the back with people; I’m assuming manager, friends, agent?? talking. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, baggy khakis and tennis shoes, he was soaking wet; sweated through from the performance, he did at least another 40 minutes after I had left the stage. I waited silently until he looked up. I reached out my hand, “Mr. Williams” I said, I just wanted to thank you for being so kind to me on stage. I’m really sorry I interrupted your opening.” He smiled and put his very sweaty arm around me and I was just like “Wow. This is wild.” “No, it’s fine. I like bringing up people from the audience, but you know, they can never keep up with me, you were really good. Are you studying acting? ” I said I was. He smiled again, “well, you’re good, keep it up.” I smiled and said I would that I was going to be a writer. The smile never left his face. “Stay with it.” He went back to his friends, I went to my Toyota and found myself shaking I had to sit for a few minutes before I started the car and drove home to my parents house. It was a tremendous inspiration for me and a moment that I would think about sometimes when life and the business was so hard and think, “That was a really nice moment and he was kind to you. You can do it. Hang in there. ” Dear Mr. Williams, I wish you could have hung in there, but boy, you had a tremendous affect on thousands of lives with your generosity, humor and beautiful talent. I wish you well and I will never forget my night on stage with you. Rest in peace.
storytellerla 