Pam- she was amazing, she was the best. I'll be bouncing off the walls, she'll go 'come down over here'. She was so sweet
I wanted to see Robin. I wanted to work together again. That’s why I did it.
Pam was brought in to guest star on Robin's short-lived TV series The Crazy Ones, marking the reunion of Mork & Mindy; they hadn't worked together since in 32 years
But, yes, I was told that there’d sort of been a campaign to get the two of us back together. Also, Bill D’Elia, who’s one of the producers, has been a very close friend of ours for 20 years or so. But I hadn’t seen Robin in 20 years, and… I don’t do episodic. I mean, I’ve obviously done it, but that was something I was never really interested in. But just to see Robin and work with him, Bill was directing it, so all these pieces were good. And I liked what they wrote for me. I said, “As long as I’m not just setting up Robin like I did for four years on Mork & Mindy!” I said, “As long as there’s actually something to do, I’m in!” And I think they also left the door open for me to be able to return, so we’ll see what happens with that
I don’t know what it is about the two of us, but I have just loved him on a very deep level. Robin is truly one of the kindest, most caring people I’ve ever met. He cares about all the younger cast members, and I’m so happy they’ve surrounded him with such talented kids. Robin was never one of those comedians that was competitive and had to have all the funny lines. It was always playtime for him. He’s just very generous. He’s not going to try to grab somebody else’s line if he likes it better. He’s never been that kind of guy. But it’s different. We’re different, and it’s a different show, and… he’s a grown-up! So it was really interesting to just be there for that few days. I loved it.
Honestly, the on-camera thing is separate from just the two of us being back together. We were just so happy to see each other, because there’s just so much history together. We spent four years together, and those were pretty crazy years. From the late ’70s to the early ’80s, a lot happened, both personally and in the world at the time, with Robin… well, all of us, really, being catapulted to fame because of Robin.
I always think of it as being like, “The anchor has come home.” I reminded him of this, but he used to call me Sister Mary St. Patience. Because it was crazy in those days! He’d never done a sitcom, and neither had I. I’d done practically nothing, so I was faking my way to the top! But I was holding on to his coattails so hard, trying to figure out, “What am I doing? What am I supposed to do?” We were just dear friends, and I think it’s just because he’s a generous spirit and I am, too. We just have a chemistry that works because we really care about each other.
I’m going to tell you something that’s so sweet that happened. Since you’ve seen the show, you know there’s a scene in a restaurant where he’s just unraveling. Well, while we were shooting that, playing that together, he kept reaching out, grabbing my hand, saying, “Dawbs, are you okay? Dawberdog, are you all right?” And I said, “Yeah, Robin, I think we’re getting it. It’s good, you know? We’ve got plenty of time!” “Oh, okay. Are you sure?” Finally, after he did this maybe three times, I realized. I said, “You feel bad that you’re hurting my feelings in the scene.” He said, “It’s killing me! I can’t stand it!” And I said, “Oh my God, that’s so sweet, but Robin, it’s called ‘pretend.’ I’m not taking it seriously!” But that’s what kind of a sensitive soul he is: It was really bothering him to watch his character hurting my character!
Robin's statement when it was officially confirmed that Pam would be on his TV series:
It will be a joy to work with her again. It's a dream come true.
We have children who are as old as we were when we started on Mork & Mindy -Robin Williams. When we first started, we were young and wild and crazy. Now we’re grown- ups. Our conversations are 'how’s your health?' -Pam Dawber.
From TV Guide's joint interview, April 2014
TV Guide Magazine: Did you ever think you would work together again?
Dawber: My son said a couple of years ago, "Mom, do you think I'll ever get to meet Robin Williams?" And I told him, "I hope I get to meet Robin Williams."
Williams: It's like we never left. And she looks the same! When she showed up the first day, I said, "Dawber Dog — you're back!"
TV Guide Magazine: Has it been difficult for you to avoid slipping back into your old characters while filming this episode?
Williams: Not at all. Simon is a totally different guy than Mork was, with a totally different voice.
Dawber: And was Mindy ever this developed? Let's get serious. She was just kind of there because she had to be. She didn't even have a job for two years. I didn't play ball with ABC at the time. I wouldn't do Battle of the Network Stars or The Love Boat. So they were pretty pissed off at me and didn't help me out.
Williams: But you made that show work. You made it safe for me. You were incredible.
Dawber: We would crack each other up.
TV Guide Magazine: Why didn't you ever get a chance to shoot a farewell episode when Mork & Mindy ended?
Williams: I remember vividly that I was in a giant frog suit shooting Faerie Tale Theatre's "The Frog Prince" when I read in the trades that our show was canceled. I got so pissed. They had never seen a more angry frog.
TV Guide Magazine: What do you imagine happened to Mork and Mindy? Do you think they stayed together?
Williams: Oh, I think so. But if you go by Orkan aging rules, Mork would be a fetus by now.
TV Guide Magazine: Pam, your last TV credit was in 1999. What have you been up to?
Dawber: Raising my children. Mark was doing Chicago Hope and then NCIS, so I had my tap shoes on for everybody. But I liked driving my kids to school. That was when we would have our sex talks — when they didn't have to look at me!
Williams: Too bad the GPS couldn't do that.
TV Guide Magazine: So how did you now land on The Crazy Ones?
Williams: I suggested her but thought, "If it happens, wonderful." I wasn't sure we'd get her.
TV Guide Magazine: Pam, what did Mark think about your reuniting with Robin?
Dawber: Oh, he said, "Pammy, I'm just so happy." He knows how I have doubted myself. But Mark is the most supportive husband. He's so proud.
Williams: He was very lovely with me when I called and asked, "Are you OK with me being with your wife?"
TV Guide Magazine: Your characters on The Crazy Ones have a complicated relationship. How do they meet?
Williams: She's an author I met at a book signing. I fall for her and it's very impulsive. But it doesn't work out, which is bittersweet. But I would love for her to come back again. It'd be amazing.
Dawber: To be able to come back every now and then would be wonderful!
TV Guide Magazine: Pam, how else is the character you're playing different from Mindy?
Dawber: Oh, my gosh, she has something to do! When the producers put their toes in the water and asked if I wanted to do this, I told them, "Only if there's never a Mindy-like line where she says, 'Oh, Simon, what are you doing?'" I'm lucky that, this time, my character is almost as out there as Robin's is.
Williams: That's the attraction between them. I love how she says to Simon's daughter, Sydney, "Oh, balls!"
Dawber: I get to say "balls." We couldn't even say "crud" on Mork & Mindy.
TV Guide Magazine: No crud? Why not?
Williams: Because it's dried sperm. So if someone offers you crud, be careful!
Pam and Robin in 1995
Pam and Robn in 2000
I am completely and totally devastated. What more can be said?
