This Is How Robin Williams Made Christopher Reeve Laugh for the First Time Following Reeve’s Accident

Did Steve Oedekerk even have to write a script for Patch Adams, or did he just set Robin Williams loose in a hospital and let the cameras roll?

Long before they were Superman and Mork from Ork respectively, Christopher Reeve and Williams were classmates at the esteemed Juilliard School where they formed a friendship that would continue to grow throughout their historic careers in Hollywood. Williams, a wild-card improviser and natural comedian, complemented Reeve’s focused and meticulous approach to performing, and though there may never have existed two superstar actors more opposite in their body of work, the pair were inseparable throughout the highs and lows of their private and professional lives, including during the most difficult period of Reeve’s.

In 1995, Reeve, an avid equestrian, suffered a cervical spinal injury after his horse threw him from the saddle, paralyzing him from the neck down. According to Reeve’s son Will, who recently spoke to PEOPLE in promotion of the upcoming documentary about his late father, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, Reeve’s first non-family visitor following the tragic accident was none other than his best friend Williams, who pulled the first laugh of Reeve’s recovery out of his old friend by pretending to be a Russian proctologist, as Williams was fresh off his performance as Dr. Kosevich in the film Nine Months at the time.

Sometimes, all you need in a difficult situation is a loved one who can make you laugh, let’s just hope Reeve already had his circumcision.

“Robin was dad’s best friend, and you show up for your friends,” the younger Reeve said of his father, noting how the two film legends called each other “brother” throughout their long friendship. “Our dad and Robin had a singular bond,” Will continued. “They had a friendship that someone should make a movie about, but what shone through in that was just their love and respect for each other, and that never wavered.”

Of Williams’ oft-noted ability to alleviate difficult times with his superhuman sense of humor, Will recalled, “No one was better at showing up with love and with the right dose of humor than Robin Williams and his wife Marsha, who we call our fairy godmother,” revealing that, long after both of the A-list legends passed away, “We are still so incredibly close with her.”

“Robin and Marsha did so much for us, things that we’ll never be able to repay them for,” Will said of how the Williams family rallied around the Reeves, starting with the hysterical hospital visit and continuing throughout his father’s recovery. “We owe them an eternal debt of gratitude for the way that they supported us and loved us, and still do.”