7 Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Mork & Mindy’
Of all the things that the iconic 50s-themed family sitcom Happy Days gave us, a spinoff centered around the relationship between a woman and an alien from the planet Ork might have been the most unexpected — but viewers sure did love it. While Mork & Mindy only lasted four seasons, with its final episode airing 43 years ago on May 27, 1982, it not only made a long-lasting mark in pop culture, but helped launch the career of one of entertainment’s most brilliant comedians and dramatic actors, Robin Williams. Let’s travel through space and time to learn a few little-known facts about Mork & Mindy!
1 The series was inspired by The Dick Van Dyke Show
Everett Collection
We all know that Mork & Mindy was a spinoff from Happy Days, but the story actually goes back to a 1963 episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show titled “It May Look Like a Walnut,” which featured a comedic alien character played by Danny Thomas. Years later, when Dick Van Dyke Show director Jerry Paris was working on Happy Days, producer Garry Marshall mentioned that his young son, who was obsessed with Star Wars, wanted to see a spaceman on the show. Paris recalled the popularity of the “Walnut” episode, and together they crafted Mork’s out-of-this-world visit to the Cunningham household. The episode, “My Favorite Orkan,” became an unexpected hit, setting the wheels in motion for a spinoff.
2 The role of Mork was originally intended for different actors
Columbia Pictures/Courtesy: Everett Collection
It’s almost impossible to picture anyone but Robin Williams as Mork, but he wasn’t actually the first choice for the part. In fact, Dom DeLuise and Roger Rees were both initially cast for the character’s debut on Happy Days. Each dropped out prior to filming, leaving the production in a bind. With a very unique character to cast, the search was back on – that is, until Williams walked in and changed everything.
3 Robin Williams was a-head of the competition at his audition
Once auditions for Mork commenced, Robin Williams was recruited after being discovered in an acting class he was taking alongside Garry’s sister Penny (of Laverne & Shirley fame). Legend has it that when he was asked to take a seat at the audition, Williams sat on his head in the chair (a move he’d later replicate on the show). Convinced that TV viewers could easily believe that he was actually an alien, Williams nabbed the role that would introduce his manic style of comedy to prime time television.
4 Pam Dawber didn’t know she’d been cast
Courtesy Everett Collection
When the casting process began for Mork & Mindy, Pam Dawber was under a development deal with ABC, giving the network the right to match her up with any project under their umbrella. She’d already starred in a failed pilot called Sister Terri, and the network cleverly blended clips from that show with a few of Robin Williams’ scenes from his appearance on Happy Days. The cobbled-together pilot was enough to sell ABC on the show, placing Dawber in the co-lead role of a brand-new series that she didn’t even audition for, instead learning about her new job after reading about it in the trades.
5 Boulder Was Randomly Chosen as The Show’s Location
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Like much of the show’s original concept, the setting wasn’t given much thought before production began. It turns out that Garry Marshall had a niece attending school in Colorado, and it was the first place that popped into his mind when they were writing up a show description.
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6 And you thought the first four seasons were weird?
As you may recall, the show’s fourth and final season ended with Mork and Mindy trapped in prehistoric times, thanks to a pair of magic shoes. Apparently, the fifth season would have added an educational layer to the show, which would have seen our heroes using the shoes to meet historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Ben Franklin. Alas, the show was canceled, forcing us to wait for Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure to give us a similar concept.
7 Mork & Mindy got one extra season after cancellation – as a cartoon
Although Mork & Mindy didn’t get a fifth season, the characters found new life in animation. In 1982, ABC launched The Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour, a Saturday morning cartoon that combined animated versions of three hit sitcoms: Mork & Mindy, Laverne & Shirley, and Happy Days. Robin Williams and Pam Dawber even voiced their animated counterparts for this new iteration of the show, which saw a younger Mork sent to Earth from planet Ork to enroll in a local high school and observe teenaged earthlings.
Despite the cartoon’s star power, it only lasted for one season. However, it was a sign of greater things to come in the animated world for Williams, who would go on to provide the voice for the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin, one of the most celebrated voiceover performances of all time.
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Classic Comedy Duos
March 2021
Chuckle at television & films funniest comic duos.
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