Johnny Carson Cracked Robin Williams’ Signature ‘Silliness’ for His Take on Being a First-Time Father
When The Tonight Show host Johnny Carson attempted to talk to late actor Robin Williams about becoming a father for the first time in 1983, he had to cut through the comedian’s signature antics to get to the sweet truth of his answer.
Williams’ hilarious takes on life with an infant are too good to be missed. But Carson also got him to put the “silliness” aside to answer honestly how he felt about being a father.
Robin Williams became a first-time father in 1983
Williams met his first wife, Valerie Velardi, in 1976. “He was bartending. He had a French accent, offered me a drink, chatted me up and was absolutely delightful,” she said in the documentary Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (per The Sun).
Valerdi added, “He asked me for a ride home. He was speaking French, and I was teasing him, and we had a kiss. And I just knew I was going to see him again.”
They married in 1978 and had a son, Zachary, in April 1983.
After starting in comedy clubs, Williams made a name for himself on television throughout the ’70s, famously playing Mork, an alien from Ork, who appeared on Happy Days and then on Mork & Mindy. He started a successful film career, becoming a verified movie star in the ’80s with leads like Popeye.
Williams first appeared on The Tonight Show in 1981 and came back many times between his first visit and Carson’s 1992 retirement, before which he was one of the iconic host’s last guests.
Robin Williams joked with Johnny Carson about being a first-time father
During their 1983 chat on The Tonight Show, Carson mentioned it was his first time talking to Williams since his wife had a baby. “I find the hardest part of being a father is breastfeeding,” Williams jested, adding, “The child’s going, ‘There’s nothing there!'”
Joking aside for a moment, he said, “It’s incredible being a father.”
But when Carson asked if it was his first time, he replied, “That I know of!”
Williams hilariously described attending Lamaze classes, witnessing an ultrasound, and learning to stand back while changing his son’s diapers. “It’s outrageous!” he told Carson, who agreed after having three sons. Still, the host said, “With all your silliness, you really feel good about it.”
“Oh, I feel wonderful,” Williams answered. “It’s great being a father!”
Notably, it’s a late-night interview from the ’80s, so fair warning that there are some NSFW jokes. That said, it’s available to watch on YouTube.
Robin Williams had 3 wives and 3 kids before his death in 2014
Williams and Velardi divorced in 1988, and he married Marsha Garces in 1989. “He loved women. Absolutely loved women. And I got it,” Velardi said of the union in Come Inside My Mind. “I understood, and I wanted him to have that. But I also wanted him to come home.”
Notably, Garces was his first son’s nanny, something Howard Stern regretted asking him about. Williams had two more children in that second marriage, Zelda and Cody. The couple split in 2008, divorced in 2010, and he married a third time in 2011.
Williams was still married to his third wife, Susan Schneider Williams, when he died by suicide in 2014. Per CNN, an autopsy revealed a diagnosis of Lewy body dementia.
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