BREAKING: Robin Williams Once Again Proves He's Wholesome As Heck in '90s 'Sesame Street' Blooper Reel
On today's edition of highly-wholesome content to brighten your week, a vintage clip showing beloved comedian, actor, and certified good guy, Robin Williams paying an imagination-filled visit to his dear friend Elmo on Sesame Street has once again resurfaced, gracing our social feeds with pure, heartwarming goodness. Over the past several days, thanks in part to an article from pop culture aggregate, Boing Boing, a blooper reel from his 1991 appearance on the children's television program, featured in the 2018 documentary Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind has garnered attention online, serving as yet another reminder of how incredible Williams was -- as both an entertainer and a human being.
"Mr. Williams!" the puppet says, as the actor, clad in a very '90s dad shirt and a backwards baseball cap walks into the frame, holding a wooden rod. "What are you gonna do with that stick?"
"There are lots of things you can do with a stick, Elmo," he replies. "Hey, maybe you can be playing hockey with it," Williams added, moving the unassuming object like he's passing a hockey puck, delving into one of his iconic character voices. "I've been a goalie now for about three years and it hasn't affected me." he said, before whipping around towards Elmo, the camera quickly cutting following his hilarious, albeit mildly crude joke.
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"Maybe it could be like a baton," he said in the following clip, delving into yet another character impression. "There you are, conducting a full orchestra, Thank you, Madonna, for that lovely lingerie melody, I better go back we'll never be able to do that", he said with a chuckle, presumably making the entire studio audience crack up.
Amid the creative, albeit NSFSS (not safe for Sesame Street) suggestions, Williams took a moment to make a self-deprecating crack about the Academy, having lost at the award show for his performances in Good Morning, Vietnam and Dead Poets Society. "Or we could play Pinnochio the home game. I have two Academy Awards, Elmo," he said, bringing the stick to his nose.
Although only a blooper reel, even critics noted that the clip was a testament to his character and masterful artistry. "Robin Williams wore a lot of hats (and one time, for a few hours, a clown nose). He could be manically funny (on Carson or in Good Morning Vietnam), a total creeper (Insomnia, One Hour Photo), and a sage mentor (Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting)," Vox's Sean Rameswaram wrote of the clips for NPR's WNYC in the days following Williams' death in 2014. "One Robin you may not have known was the gentle educator. It was a side of him his kids probably saw a lot of, but the rest of us only glimpsed during his many visits to Sesame Street," he continued. "Beginning in 1990, Robin would drop by, hang out with Elmo, and teach us a thing or two. It's fun to watch him try to figure out whether his shoe is alive or tell the Two-Headed Monster about the nature of conflict. But it's also really heart-warming to see him cater to kids while just being himself (albeit a slightly more family friendly version). No Doubtfire prosthetics, no Jumangi visual effects, no Hook flying, just Robin and a few of our favorite friends. It's another reminder that we didn't lose one of our best actors or comedians this week; we lost a national treasure."
Nearly seven years later, Williams' passing still stings, a testament to the incredible work he did while on this planet. May he rest in peace.
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