One of the most charming parts of the documentary is the retelling of how Williams became the coheadliner of Mork & Mindy in the late '70s. According to Scott Marshall, son of Happy Days and Mork & Mindy creator Garry Marshall, it all began with the release of Star Wars.
"In 1977, Star Wars [A New Hope] came out, and I stopped watching Happy Days," explains Marshall. "My dad said, 'Why don't you want to watch Happy Days anymore?' I said, 'There's no spacemen on it.' He went to the writers' room and said, 'Scotty wants a spaceman.'"
It was Marshall's aunt who led them to Williams for the role of Mork, the spaceman from Ork. "My aunt, who was in charge of casting, told my dad about a comedian doing stand-up on the street corner with a hat that people put money in," Marshall continues. "My dad said, 'You want me to hire a kid who stands on the street corner with a hat, on a primetime network television show? A hit show?' She said, 'It's a pretty full hat.'" Williams's Mork apparently tested so well with audiences during his appearance on Happy Days that he was given a spinoff, Mork & Mindy. The show would go on to last four seasons.
