David Letterman and Robin Williams went back nearly four decades, so we knew that when the Late Show host returned from hiatus this week, he would have something important to say about the death of his friend.
On Monday, Letterman spoke about the many times he spent in the company of Williams, who clearly who had a profound impact on Dave, both personally and professionally.
"One, I wouldn’t have to do anything. All I had to do is sit here and watch the machine," he told the audience, in reference to the approximately 50 times Williams appeared on the show as a guest. "And two, people would watch if they knew Robin was on the show, the viewership would go up because they wanted to see Robin.”
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There's no host on television with the innate ability to comfort his viewers after a tragedy quite like Letterman — his post-9/11 monologue is must-see television — and last night was no different. He fondly reminisced about their days as up-and-coming stand-ups, as well as Letterman's own experience guesting on Mork & Mindy.
And, like all of Williams' friends who've shared their own tributes this past week, Letterman spoke about the kind of person Williams was away from the spotlight. "I believe that was true of the kind of guy he was," he added. "People were drawn to him because of this electricity, whatever it was that he radiated that propelled him and powered him.”
Watch the entire video below.
Photo: BEImages/Gregory Pace.