- Outpouring of grief for Robin Williams
- Favourite moments from Robin Williams career
- Fans remember Robin Williams
The night after Robin Williams died, the Broadway cast of Aladdin took to the stage to pay tribute to the great entertainer.
Robin Williams is known for his role as the Genie in the 1992 film, which the musical is based on.
Jason Monroe Inglehart, the actor who plays the Genie on stage, lead a moving tribute to Williams.
Speaking to the audience, Inglehart expressed his admiration for the actor and revealed the massive impact Williams had on his life.
"When I was a kid there was a TV Show called ‘Happy Days.’ I didn’t like it. I don’t know why — probably because there were no black people in it," Inglehart said.
"But there was one episode where this guy came on in this really cool red suit and he was the first, first guy to ever beat Fonzie. Fonzie said something to him and Mork went ‘zip!’ and Fonzie just stood still. And I went “That is the coolest thing ever!”.
"And then the man got up and had a movie.
"And then he began to do movie after movie after movie and I watched them all. And then, when I was 17 years old, I had watched every Disney cartoon in the world, and they had put him in a Disney cartoon to play this iconic role of the Genie, and he sang this song, and I looked at my mom and I said, “If I could just do something like that.".
"And here we are in 2014, in this beautiful theater, and I get to play this role.
"Yesterday we lost one of the greatest—not comedians—but one of the greatest entertainers of all time.
"So, we’re only going to do this once, because we don’t want to drag something on, because first and foremost to give our hearts and our prayers and our thoughts to his family because he’s a husband and a father first, entertainer second. But for tonight—and I think it’s in your programs, if it is you can pull it out—I want us to just sing a little bit, of Friend Like Me before we go."
Watch the full performance below:
Share
