Mochrie said the late actor was "incredibly generous and, of course, funny"
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NEED TO KNOW
- Colin Mochrie recalled Robin Williams’ generosity and humor during his guest appearance on Whose Line Is It Anyway? in 2000
- Williams’ high energy inspired the cast, with Mochrie calling the experience a career highlight
- Mochrie also reflected on working with comedy legends like Sid Caesar on the show
Colin Mochrie still remembers when Robin Williams came to play on Whose Line Is It Anyway? over 25 years ago.
During a recent appearance on the Dos and D podcast, the comedian, 68, said the late actor was “everything you wanted your inspiration to be.”
“I mean, he was an Oscar winner and he came to do our show," Mochrie said, still amazed that the show booked such a huge talent.
"He was shooting One Hour Photo up in Vancouver, so he just flew down, and then he was just one of the guys, one of those people who knows the crew's names within an hour and incredibly generous and, of course, funny," Mochrie added.
After the show, the cast would do another hour of bits, and he noted that Williams stayed "for the whole thing.”
“He went through three shirts. He's a sweater," Mochrie recalled. "And the last one, as he was taking it off, there was a woman going, 'Robin, Robin, give me your shirt.' And he threw it at her, and we just heard a splat.”
Credit: Warner Bros. Television/Courtesy Everett Collection
“In that show, everyone's energy was ramped up 150%. It was like… you did not want to be left behind," Mochrie said.
However, Williams met the challenge.
"It was great. It was just truly a highlight,” the Canadian actor said.
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Mochrie starred on Whose Line Is It Anyway? alongside comedians like Wayne Brady, Ryan Stiles and Greg Proops.
An adaptation of the British show of the same name, Whose Line, first aired on ABC and ABC Family from 1998 to 2007 with host Drew Carey. The revival began airing on The CW in 2013, hosted by Aisha Tyler. The show ended in 2024.
There was another comedian, however, that Mochrie said made a big impact on him and the show: Sid Caesar.
He explained that Caesar was a comedian who came up in the 1950s through his show, Caesar's Hour, working with writers Mel Brooks, Woody Allen and Neil Simon.
“He came on, he was like 80. It was his birthday, and he used to do this thing on his show… he was really great at double-talk, making it sound like he was speaking a foreign language — and it sounded like that language — but it was total gibberish," Mochrie explained.
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During the episode, he noted that Caesar "was quite frail" and "needed a cane."
"Then he sat down opposite Drew, and the game was Wayne was going to shout out accents, and then they would do the scene in this fake accent," he continued.
However, when it was showtime, Mochrie says Caesar's entire demeanor changed.
"The minute it started, he lost like 40 years. I was translating for him, and at one point, I translated something that was funny, and he turned to me, winked and gave me the thumbs up, and I thought, ‘I'm done now. This is the best it can be.' "
While he admitted he wasn't old enough to have watched Caesar's shows, “he still inspired me.”
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