After Robin Williams became a national sensation through Mork & Mindy, producer Mike Callie revisited the otherwise obscure comedy in hopes of turning the newcomer's sudden fame into a commercial hook. During two weeks in December 1978, Callie searched through the unused footage and located Williams's discarded scenes. The film was then recut and rereleased with Williams promoted in the advertising and given top billing, despite the fact that his material consisted of only two short appearances and had originally been left out altogether. Williams and his management responded with legal action against Callie and the distributor, alleging false and misleading advertising. At a court hearing, Callie agreed to revise the newspaper and television advertisements so they would no longer suggest that Williams was the film's star. The final reworked credits attempted to acknowledge the publicity fiasco with a curtain-call presentation of the cast, ending on a still photograph captioned, 'And of course...Robin Williams.' The episode became an unusually revealing example of how a studio or distributor could retrofit an obscure production around an actor's later fame, even when his actual contribution to the picture was minimal.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1970s
The 1978 'Lost' Robin Williams Footage Rerelease That Triggered a False-Advertising Lawsuit
Robin Williams / Mike Callie / 1970s
After Robin Williams became a national sensation through Mork & Mindy, producer Mike Callie revisited the otherwise obscure comedy in hopes of turning the newcomer's sudden fame into a commercial hook. During two weeks in December 1978, Callie searched through the unused footage and located Williams's discarded scenes. The film was then recut and rereleased with Williams promoted in the advertising and given top billing, despite the fact that his material consisted of only two short appearances and had originally been left out altogether. Williams and his management responded with legal action against Callie and the distributor, alleging false and misleading advertising. At a court hearing, Callie agreed to revise the newspaper and television advertisements so they would no longer suggest that Williams was the film's star. The final reworked credits attempted to acknowledge the publicity fiasco with a curtain-call presentation of the cast, ending on a still photograph captioned, 'And of course...Robin Williams.' The episode became an unusually revealing example of how a studio or distributor could retrofit an obscure production around an actor's later fame, even when his actual contribution to the picture was minimal.
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