When you think of great comedic duos , names like Myers/Carvey, Fey/Poehler, and Farley/Spade all come to mind. But what about Elmo and the great Robin Williams ?
It sounds like a network show from another universe, but as it turns out, it happened. In a recently resurfaced clip from Sesame Street , Robin and Elmo show off their true comedic talents — and it’s making me tear up .
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Robin Williams was the defining comedic star of the ’90s.
Robin’s energy and zest for life couldn’t be duplicated. Thanks to films like Mrs. Doubtfire , Aladdin, as well as The Birdcage , Robin was able to cement his status as a Hollywood icon.
Tragically, on August 11th, 2014, Robin took his own life after battling depression for many years.
Few things are sadder or more heartbreaking than the tears of a clown.
It struck the entire world, as people all over had loved and respected Robin Williams immensely.
What made Robin’s death all the more difficult for fans to process, was the fact that no one knew he was suffering.
This year will mark the 8th anniversary of Robin’s passing and it still doesn’t seem real.
I doubt it ever will.
But although Robin may no longer be here, in a physical sense, his spirit and legacy live on as was revealed in a newly discovered blooper from Sesame Street .
The 31-second clip shows Robin teaching Elmo all the ways in which someone can use their imagination when playing with a stick.
When Robin completes his imagination presentation, he gifts the stick to his new furry red friend for him to play with.
Elmo, seemingly overcome by the emotion of the moment, proceeds to call Robin by the wrong name.
“Thanks, Mr. Robins!” Elmo proclaims for all to hear.
“‘Mr. Robins?'” Williams repeats as if he wasn’t sure what the furry monster had just said .
“I’m taking the stick back, Elmo!”
The crushing realization of Elmo’s faux pas is almost too much to bear. I know how you feel Elmo, that basically happens to me five times a day.
Clearly embarrassed and well aware of his mix-up, Elmo begins to slowly slink down into the box he’s perched upon.
He is utterly bewildered that he could’ve made such an egregious error.
“I only had three lines!” Elmo exclaims as the crew and audience begin laughing uproariously.
It would seem that even though Elmo is a certified Sesame Street celebrity in his own right, he’s not above getting starstruck every now and again.
The resurfaced clip has since gone viral on Reddit, garnishing more than 23K upvotes.
It isn’t hard to understand why, either. All throughout his career, Robin was highly regarded as an absolute master in the art of ad-libbing.
This was shown during his iconic appearance on ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’
Reddit user druule10 said that they posted the clip as an homage to Robin’s incredible long-lasting legacy.
Which if you ask me, is just the sweetest thing they could have done.
While doing an interview with Newsweek , the Redditor said of Robin, “He went through so much but was always making everyone around him laugh .”
A sentiment that was echoed by thousands of fellow Reddit users in the video’s comments section.
“An unbelievable wit that man had,” Reddit user powerchicken proclaimed. “I have yet to discover a comedian that could make me laugh like he could.”
“Robin Williams and Elmo should have had their own show together,” astutelyabsurd observed.
That’s a show I would’ve watched a hundred times over. It’s heartwarming to know that although Robin is gone, he can still make us laugh and bring us to tears all these years later.
Elmo loves you, Robin — and so do we.
There has never been, and there will never be someone like Robin Williams. But we will remember him always and forever for all the amazing work that they did.
