Nanu nanu, Mork: Saying goodbye to Robin Williams

There's a certain generation of people—now in their 30s and 40s—who discovered Robin Williams in their youth and loved him immediately because he played a character probably more appealing to kids than any other outside of the Muppets: Mork.

Mork was a sweet, funny alien from the planet Ork who landed on Earth in an egg-shaped spaceship, struck up a friendship with a human girl named Mindy, and ended each episode imparting what he learned about human life to his unseen supervisor, Orson, before signing off by tugging his ears and saying, "Nanu nanu."

Mork wore a striped sweater and rainbow suspenders when he wasn't wearing his red-and-silver space jumpsuit. He had big 70s hair, and he was unlike any other character on TV. That's because Robin Williams made him so.



Williams went on to bigger things. He became an Oscar-winning movie star on the way to accumulating a staggering filmography of memorable roles: Popeye, Mrs. Doubtfire, Parry in "The Fisher King", John Keating in "Dead Poets Society," Adrian Cronauer in "Good Morning, Vietnam," the Genie in "Aladdin", Alan Parrish in "Jumanji," Armand Goldman in "The Birdcage," Patch Adams, Seymour Parrish in "One Hour Photo," Sean Maguire in "Good Will Hunting," and American president Theodore Roosevelt in "Night at the Museum."

Not all of these were great movies, but every Williams performance was a memorable one.

Here's the thing about Robin Williams: his appeal transcended generations and country borders, and practically everyone has a favorite role of his. You might like him best as the Genie, but your friend's favorite Williams role might be Mrs. Doubtfire, and another friend might like his Patch Adams the best. For every person who paid tribute to Williams by saying "O Captain, my Captain" on Facebook, there's another saying "Nanu nanu" or modifying "Good morning, Vietnam!" to "Good night, Robin!"

In the midst of all the tributes is the inevitable and endless speculation about how he died and why. But as his wife said, "As he is remembered, it is our hope that the focus will not be on Robin's death but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions."

Williams has three movies coming out this year and an animated movie for which he provided a voice coming out next year. After that, there will be no more new showcases of this unique man's comic genius. But we will have all of his past work to treasure and re-watch, to remind us why we're so shocked by his passing now, and to understand why the loss of this man staggers us so.

Nanu nanu, Mr. Williams. For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths, and the gratitude of generations of fans. — VC, GMA News