"You're One of Me": Morgan Fairchild recalls the Robin Williams moment she won't forget
Morgan Fairchild recounts the Robin Williams moment that prompted his spontaneous "You're one of me" — and the reason might catch you off guard.
During her first rehearsal on Mork & Mindy, Morgan Fairchild says Robin Williams threw out the script and dared her to keep up. She did — and he responded the only way Williams could: by making a moment out of thin air.
“…and we’re going back and forth doing things back, back, back, back, back. And finally he grabs me by the waist and like pushes me in the air and says, ‘Mama, you’re one of me.’ So we had so much fun, and we would do just improvisational stuff all the time.”
Fairchild told Entertainment Weekly she’d already clocked Williams’ spark from his breakout as Mork on Happy Days. Against advice to pass on a recurring part, she told her agent she’d do Mork & Mindy for free just to work with him.
On the ABC sitcom, Fairchild played Susan Taylor — Mindy’s pal who tries to seduce Mork — and she returned for two more episodes in the first season. Once she was on set, the pair kept spinning bits beyond what was on the page, building out scenes on the fly.
The run that almost was
- Role — Susan Taylor, Mindy’s friend with eyes for Mork
- Appearances — Three episodes in Season 1
- Dynamic — Heavy improvisation with Williams
- Behind the scenes — A longer arc was on the table
Fairchild said that later, at a New York upfronts event, Garry Marshall told her the show planned to offer her a contract because she was the only actress who really knew how to play with Williams’ rhythm. Timing got in the way.
By then, she’d already committed to Flamingo Road, which premiered in 1980 and became her own big break, earning her a Golden Globe nomination.
“Just kindest, gentle spirit, wonderful guy,” Fairchild said of Williams, adding that every wonderful thing people heard about him was true.