Robin Williams was a comedy genius, and his role as Mork in Mork & Mindy remains iconic. I was hooked on the show – but Mork & Mindy was of course more than just Robin Williams.
And when you watch reruns today, there’s a lot to notice that I didn’t know back then – the show has its own secrets and details that you might have missed on the first watch.
Let’s take a closer look at the hidden stories and small details that make Mork & Mindy even more fascinating than we might have thought.
If there’s an actual list of television legends, Mork & Mindy would undoubtedly be on it, alongside MASH* and Happy Days. These shows weren’t just hits – they became cultural milestones.
For those who don’t know or are too young to remember, Mork & Mindy was a quirky American sitcom that ran from 1978 to 1982. It starred Robin Williams as Mork, an eccentric alien from the planet Ork, sent to Earth to observe human behavior.
He’s taken in by Mindy (Pam Dawber), a kind-hearted woman who becomes his guide to all things human. The classic TV sitcom blended sci-fi with comedy and became an instant hit, thanks to Williams’ hilarious, improvisational style.
It’s a mix of slapstick humor, heartwarming moments, and a glimpse into what makes us human, all through the eyes of an alien trying to fit in.
The only alien to audition
Mork & Mindy was a spin-off from a wildly popular Happy Days episode, “My Favorite Orkan,” where the then-unknown Robin Williams landed his big break. And the story behind how Robin got the role as Mork is pretty fun.
Garry Marshall, the producer, was told by his sister about Robin Williams, who she had seen perform at a comedy club. She was so impressed by his alien routine that she said, ”You have to see this guy – his alien bit is amazing!”
That’s when they decided to bring him in, according to Pam Dawber.
During the audition, when asked to sit down, Williams plopped into the chair… upside down. Producer Garry Marshall picked him because, as he put it, ”He was the only alien to audition.”
It later came to light that Dom DeLuise and Roger Rees were both offered the role, but turned it down. Richard Lewis and Jeff Altman were also considered for the part.
Pam Dawber: No audition, no problem
While Robin Williams’ audition for Mork & Mindy was unforgettable, Pam Dawber’s journey to landing the role of Mindy was a bit more unusual. She didn’t actually audition for the part!
To pitch the show to the network, producer Garry Marshall cleverly edited together clips from Dawber’s previous, failed ABC series Sister Terri (1978) with footage of Williams’ guest spot on Happy Days as Mork.
ABC loved it and picked up the show, and Dawber found out she’d been cast… from the trade paper Variety.
The real-life setting of Mork & Mindy
Mork & Mindy takes place in Boulder, Colorado, during the late 1970s and early 1980s – contrasting with Happy Days’ setting of Milwaukee in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Producer Garry Marshall came up with the basic concept for Mork & Mindy during a phone call with an ABC executive. He chose to set the show in Boulder after a friend’s child attended Colorado University. And the idea for the alien character actually stemmed from Marshall’s eight-year-old son, who had seen Star Wars (1977) and suggested a TV show about an alien.
The exterior shots of Mindy’s home were filmed at 1619 Pine Street, near downtown Boulder. Interestingly, Mindy’s father’s music store was actually filmed at a bookstore located on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall.
Robin Williams did the ”grossest things” on set
Pam Dawber, Robin Williams’ Mork & Mindy co-star, revealed that Williams often did ”the grossest things” on set, including groping and passing gas.
But she never took offense, saying, ”I had the grossest things done to me – by him… I was flashed, humped, bumped, grabbed. I think he probably did it to a lot of people … but it was so much fun.”
Dawber explained that Williams had a unique ”magic” that made his behavior seem playful rather than malicious. As director Howard Storm put it, ”It was just Robin being Robin, and he thought it would be funny. He could get away with murder.”
Totally naked on set
Another sign of Robin Williams’ magic? Due to his constant improvisation, the writers of Mork & Mindy would purposely leave gaps in the scripts. This gave Williams the freedom to add his own creative twists, making each scene even more unpredictable and hilarious.
However, many of Robin Williams’ improvisations had to be replaced with pre-written “ad libs” from a large team because his spontaneous lines were often too edgy for a mainstream television audience.
Garry Marshall has also shared that Robin Williams would often flash the cast just to stir things up.
“He would take all his clothes off, he would be standing there totally naked and she was trying to act. His aim in life was to make Pam Dawber blush,” he said.
Robin Williams’ struggle with cocaine
Unfortunately, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Robin Williams despite the success of Mork & Mindy.
”Robin’s highs were so high and his lows were often low,” his Mork and Mindy co-star Gina Hecht said during the documentary The Dark Side of Comedy.
Robin admitted that he started using cocaine on set because he didn’t know what to say between takes to all the crew members and celebrities watching the production.
This initially small habit snowballed into a cocaine addiction that would affect him for much of his life.
Truth about the hand gesture
Mork’s iconic ”Nanu Nanu” greeting was actually inspired by the famous ”Live long and prosper” hand gesture from Star Trek, a show that Robin Williams was a big fan of. Interestingly, Mork’s Orkan space suit had a bit of a recycled history, as it was originally used in Star Trek’s 1969 episode ”The Savage Curtain.”
The series popularized a couple of other memorable catchphrases, including “Shazbat” (/ˈʃæzbɒt/), a quirky Orkan exclamation Mork often uses. Another unique twist was Mork saying ”KO” instead of the usual ”OK.”
From ratings triumph to time slot troubles
Mork & Mindy quickly became a ratings sensation, it was extremely popular and landed in the top three shows overall in its first season.
However, for the second season, ABC decided to shift the show to Sundays, aiming to compete with CBS’ Sunday comedy lineup, including Archie Bunker’s Place (1979). Unfortunately, the move caused a sharp drop in ratings.
Even when the show returned to its original Thursday night slot midseason, it never quite regained the momentum it had in its debut.
Behind the scenes drama
Did you know that Fred (Conrad Janis) and Cora (Elizabeth Kerr) were written out of Mork & Mindy at the start of season two because the characters didn’t quite fit with the show’s younger audience?
Their absence was explained by a fictional orchestra tour. However, viewers weren’t happy about it, and by season three, both characters returned – though Cora appeared only occasionally.
Time travel trouble
Mork’s debut in My Favorite Orkan (1978) took place in the 1950s, while the series itself was set in the present day. Throughout the show, it was revealed that Orkans actually get younger as they age. However, the reason why Mork remained the same age as he was in his Happy Days appearance was never explained.
Raquel Welch in Mork & Mindy
I had no idea Raquel Welch appeared in Mork & Mindy either – and it wasn’t so easy to recognize her at first.
She actually shows up in two episodes during season 2, playing Captain Nirvana. In these episodes, three voluptuous aliens from Necroton capture Mork to find out what he’s learned about Earth.
“Mork vs. the Necrotons” was originally a one-hour special designed to boost November ratings — and, perhaps, heat things up a bit. Unfortunately, it ended up being a low point for Mork & Mindy, with the show’s shift toward a more sophisticated tone, making it less appealing to viewers.
In the episode, Mork receives an emergency call from Orson during a political rally for Nelson Flavor (Jim Staahl), warning him that the Necrotons, Ork’s arch-enemies, have arrived on Earth to learn what Mork knows about the planet they plan to conquer.
Following the Orkan way of avoiding trouble, Mork hides inside Mindy’s couch. Raquel Welch plays Captain Nirvana, the leader of the Necrotons, who uses unusual methods of torture like feather tickling and hot tub hickeys, aided by guards Kama (Debra Jo Fondren, Playboy’s 1978 Playmate of the Year) and Sutra (Vicki Frederick).
What stands out when watching old clips and looking closer at Raquel Welch’s performance is how often people forget that Raquel actually loved doing comedy — and she was really good at it.
Raquel was a pain in the ass
Casting director Joel Thurm recalled that Raquel Welch was a bit of a handful while filming Mork & Mindy. Originally, Jane Fonda was set to play the role of the villainous Captain Nirvana, but after she dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, Welch stepped in.
At the time, Welch was transitioning from movie stardom to TV roles, which Thurm said was likely an “unsettling time” for her. She “acted out a bit during shooting,” taking extra time in hair and makeup, staying in her trailer longer than necessary, and even refusing to wear a particular costume. Still, Thurm admitted she “look[ed] spectacular” in her silver skintight cast suit.
After wrapping her second and final episode, the cast and crew threw her a small farewell party. Welch slid up to Thurm and the producers and, in a moment he described as “very funny and very true,” admitted, “Look, I know I was a bit of a pain in the a–, but wasn’t I worth it?”
Looking back at old photos from her time on Mork & Mindy, it’s hard to imagine she was a “handful” behind the scenes. She looks confident, glamorous, and completely in her element — just as always!
Mork & Mindy wasn’t just a hit sitcom—it was a cultural phenomenon that introduced the world to Robin Williams’ unmatched comedic genius.
From Mork’s quirky Orkan phrases to the show’s unexpected twists behind the scenes, it remains a beloved piece of TV history. Whether you watched it back in the day or are just discovering it now, one thing is certain: there will never be another show quite like it. Nanu Nanu!
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