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Conan O’Brien reveals how Robin Williams helped him through a dark time after ‘Tonight Show’ firing
Conan O'Brien discussed how Robin Williams helped him get off the living room floor after losing his dream job.
After NBC reinstated Jay Leno as the host of the “Tonight Show” and fired Conan O’Brien after only seven months on the job, the Brookline native had help getting back on his feet from an unlikely source: Robin Williams.
During a recent episode of his podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” featuring Monty Python comedian Eric Idle, O’Brien revealed how Williams reached out to him at his lowest point with an unexpected gift.
“I was lucky enough to have some great interactions with Robin Williams before he passed,” O’Brien said. “One of the most memorable examples to me of his kindness is when I went through my whole ‘Tonight Show’ debacle. Finally, the show is done, and I don’t know if I have a career anymore. What am I gonna do next? […] I’m lying on the floor in the living room of my house, and my phone rings, and I pick it up, and it’s Robin Williams.”
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O’Brien went on to describe how Williams — who he didn’t even know had his phone number — reassured him that everything was going to be fine, and told him to go down to a shop in Santa Monica, where Williams had rented him a bicycle.
“I went down and it was a Colnago, which is a very nice bike,” O’Brien said. “And he said, ‘I told him to paint it in all these crazy Irish colors.’ I get down there and it’s the ugliest — I mean, it was just greens and shamrocks and everything. And he was like, ‘You’re going to like that bike, chief. Don’t worry about it.'”
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O’Brien said that he and Williams were both cyclists, and that the “Good Will Hunting” actor assured him that taking a ride would help him clear his head.
“I thanked [Williams] many, many times,” O’Brien said. “I just couldn’t believe that he was thinking about me.”
Idle, who was friends with Williams before the actor’s death in 2014, said that this kind of selfless gesture was quintessential Williams.
“He would put a lot of effort into making you feel better,” Idle said. “That’s fantastically typical Robin. That generosity and kindness combined with the wit of the man is not a common combination.”
Watch Conan O’Brien discuss Robin Williams
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