When Robin Williams walked out onstage for his January 2001 appearance on Inside the Actors Studio, host James Lipton had no clue what he was in for. Williams improvised so much during the interview that the resulting broadcast became the show’s first-ever two-hour episode. And that’s only counting what made it on the air. According to Lipton, Williams performed for the people in attendance for more than five hours, leaving the producers with quite a task when it came time to edit it all down for TV.
Early on in the show, Williams notices a woman laughing hysterically in the audience and decides to riff with her. “Are you OK?” he asks the lady before launching into an impression of a reverend. “Baby Jesus loves you,” Williams continues. “I’m gonna lay my hands on ya, but first I’m gonna do this,” he tells her at one point, motioning like he’s about to grab her breasts. Based on the footage that’s been made available, it’s safe to assume that Williams kept the crowd in hysterics the entire time.
Robin Williams Once Made an Audience Member Laugh So Hard They Went to the Hospital
In fact, the laughter was said to have been consistent enough that at least one member of the audience couldn’t handle it. In Lipton’s DVD commentary, he explains that somebody actually had to be taken to the hospital from laughing so hard at Williams’s jokes that night. As Lipton tells it, the person in question was later found to have developed a hernia. And we know what you’re thinking, but, believe it or not, you’re incorrect.
Many naturally assume when they hear this story that the woman Williams interacted with at the beginning of the show was the one who was hauled off in an ambulance. However, a number of sources confirm that the real victim was a man. Williams can be seen talking to the hysterical woman again toward the end of the episode, which would appear to back this up.
You can check out a mostly complete copy of the broadcast, courtesy of Dailymotion, right here.
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