WATCH: Billy Crystal Talks Robin Williams Emmys Tribute, Switches Lips With Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show”
Crystal said it was difficult to pay tribute to Williams during the awards show with a limited amount of time.
By Justin Ray ••
Billy Crystal talked about his Robin Williams tribute at the Emmys and swapped lips with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday night’s episode on “The Tonight Show.”
First, Crystal said it was difficult to pay tribute to Williams during the awards show with a limited amount of time. The Oscar-winning actor and comedian died August 11 at the age of 63 in an apparent suicide.
“It was a hard thing, it was my dearest friend and it was only two weeks after,” Crystal said. “And to try to do him justice in two minutes was the task and I’ve given eulogy before but never on television and that crowd was feeling frustration and bewilderment.”
“You did an amazing job,” Fallon said.
“Even just saying he ‘was’ is still hard for me,” Crystal said.
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Director Bobcat Goldthwait, left, and actor Robin WIlliams from the film "World's Greatest Dad" pose for a portrait in Los Angeles on Friday, Aug. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)
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Robin Williams, known for his roles in "Good Will Hunting," "Dead Poets Society" and "Good Morning Vietnam," among others, died of apparent suicide Monday. He was 63. Here, he speaks onstage during the 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on September 22, 2013. Click to see more of Williams' life and times.
Flowers are placed in memory of actor/comedian Robin Williams on his Walk of Fame star in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014. Williams was a brilliant shapeshifter who could channel his frenetic energy into delightful comic characters like "Mrs. Doubtfire" or harness it into richly nuanced work like his Oscar-winning turn in "Good Will Hunting."
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Here, Robin Williams appears in a revival of "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In," along with Kim Braden. Williams starred in ABC's "Mork & Mindy" one year later.
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Robin Williams rose to fame as the quirky alien Mork on ABC's "Mork and Mindy," which was a spin-off of the show "Happy Days." He regularly improvised his dialogue on the show.
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Robin Williams appears here in a scene from "Mork and Mindy."
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Linda Lavin, Joyce DeWitt, and Robin Williams during 36th Annual Golden Globe Awards at Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California in 1979. Williams won for "Best Actor - Musical or Comedy Series."
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Robin Williams, center, takes time out from rehearsal at NBC's "Saturday Night Live" with cast members Eddie Murphy, left, and Joe Piscopo, Feb. 10, 1984. Williams appeared as guest host on the show.
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Actor Robin Williams, left, plays a harmonica as singer Paul Simon plays a guitar on the set of NBC's "Saturday Night Live" in New York , Nov. 21, 1986. Williams appeared on "SNL" six times and has been impersonated on the show multiple times.
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Williams played disc-jockey Adrian Cronauer in Barry Levinson's comedic drama "Good Morning Vietnam" in 1987. The role led to an Academy Award nomination for the comedic actor.
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Johnny Carson could not stop laughing when Robin Williams made his first appearance on "The Tonight Show," on October 14, 1981. Here Williams appears on the talk show on May 21, 1992, just before Carson retired.
Robin Williams appears here in the kitchen in a scene from the film 'Mrs. Doubtfire', 1993. The movie was a blockbuster hit that has grossed almost half a billion dollars at the worldwide box office.
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Nathan Lane and Robin Williams appeared in the 1996 movie "The Birdcage." When released, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) praised the film for "going beyond the stereotypes to see the character's depth and humanity."
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Williams and Billy Crystal joke with Whoopi Goldberg as they host "Comic Relief 8" in this June 14, 1998 file photo in New York. Comic Relief was one of Williams' philanthropic efforts. He also co-founded the Windfall Foundation, which provides funding to many charities. He also performed for troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan and supported the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.
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Williams dips his hands in wet cement at the Mann's Chinese Theatre in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles Tuesday, Dec. 22, 1998 in his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. Williams wore a red nose as he did in the movie "Patch Adams."
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Jack Nicholson, right, and Robin Williams share a laugh as they pose with their Oscars at the 70th annual Academy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Monday, March 23, 1998. Nicholson won for his role in "As Good As It Gets" and Williams for his role in "Good Will Hunting."
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Actor Robin Williams, left, donates blood at the Irwin Memorial Blood Center in San Francisco, Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001. Thousands of people waited in long lines to donate blood for victims of terrorist attacks in New York and in Washington.
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American actor Robin Williams, center, makes a joke as he is escorted by U.S. soldiers at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan Thursday, Oct. 17, 2002. Williams entertained U.S. soldiers with the 18th Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne, both out of Ft. Bragg, N.C., as well as reservists and National Guard.
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Actor David Duchovny, right, talks with fellow actor Robin Williams as Williams arrives to join the picket line along with Duchovny and others during the fourth day of a strike by television and film writers, Thursday Nov. 8, 2007 at the Time Warner Center in New York.
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Robin Williams, at left, and Tom Hanks arrive to the premiere of Old Dogs on Monday Nov. 9, 2009, in Los Angeles.
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Robin Williams and his wife Sue Schneider arrive to the Los Angeles premiere of "Old Dogs" held at the El Capitan Theatre on November 9, 2009 in Hollywood, California. "This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken," she said in a statement.
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Robin Williams speaks on stage at "Comedy Central's Night Of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Concert For Autism Education" at the Beacon Theatre on October 2, 2010 in New York City.
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Stephen Colbert and Robin Williams attend the Audemars Piguet Green Room and Gift Suite during the 65th Annual Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre on June 12, 2011 in New York City.
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From left, actors Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Crystal arrive for The Face of Tisch Gala to benefit New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Monday, Dec. 6, 2010 in New York.
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Actor/comedian Robin Williams appears on the Tonight Show With Jay Leno at NBC Studios on November 16, 2011 in Burbank, California.
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Hank Azaria, George Miller, Doug Mitchell, Singer/actress Alecia Moore aka Pink, Robin Williams, Common, Sofia Vergara, Elijah Wood and E.G. Daily attend the "Happy Feet Two" Los Angeles Premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on November 13, 2011 in Hollywood, California.
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Robin Williams performs during the 6th Annual "Stand Up For Heroes" at the Beacon Theatre on November 8, 2012 in New York City.
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Playwright Rajiv Joseph, cast member Robin Williams, and director Moises Kaufman attend the opening night of "Bengal Tiger At The Baghdad Zoo" at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on March 31, 2011 in New York City.
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AJ Polis leaves a flower alongside a placard and a photo of the late actor Robin Williams as Mork from Ork, as people pay their respects at the home where the 80's TV series "Mork & Mindy" was set in Boulder, Colorado, Monday Aug. 11, 2014. The series was a spin-off from the sitcom "Happy Days."
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A man takes a photo of a the marquee of the Laugh Factory with a message in memory of actor Robin Williams displayed, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles Monday, Aug. 11, 2014.
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Robin Williams visits a sick child in a scene from the film 'Patch Adams', 1998. (Photo by Universal/Getty Images)
Then, Fallon shared one of his fondest memories of Williams. The "Tonight" host explained that he was on a bus going to the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. with Williams, Crystal and other comedy legends like Martin Short and Jon Lovitz. A bomb sniffing dog met their bus before they entered the facility.
Williams said, “Oh, I hope there are no copies of my movies on the bus.”
Finally, the two took part in the late-night host’s recurring bit “Lip Flip.” Crystal’s lips were superimposed onto Fallon’s face and vice versa, making it look like the two had swapped mouths.
Hear Crystal’s comments about Williams above and see the lip flip segment below.
