Conan O’Brien reveals Robin Williams’ incredibly moving gesture

Comedian Conan O’Brien has shared Robin Williams’s thoughtful gesture after he suffered a major career embarrassment.

Conan O’Brien has shared the thoughtful gesture Robin Williams gave him when he needed it most.

Speaking on his podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, the Emmy-winning comedian lifted the lid on the “very thoughtful” way the US actor supported him when his career hit a shattering setback.

O’Brien, 61, was famously let go from NBC hosting gig The Tonight Show – his “dream” job – in early 2010 following just six months at the helm. He’d experienced plummeting ratings after taking over from veteran Jay Leno the year prior.

He was “lying on the floor in the living room of my house” on struggle street when he got an unexpected call from the Good Will Hunting star, who later died in 2014 aged 63.

Conan O'Brien has shared his fondest memory of the late Robin Williams. Picture: Jean-Baptiste Lacroix/AFP

Williams died in 2014. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

“One of the most memorable examples to me is when I went through my whole Tonight Show debacle. Finally, the show is done, and I don’t know if I have a career anymore. What am I gonna do next?,” O’Brien explained.

“My phone rings, and I pick it up, and it’s Robin Williams. I don’t even know how he got my phone number.”

He answered the phone to a lighthearted, “How you going chief?” from Williams, who assured O’Brien he was “going to be fine”.O’Brien goes on to say Williams sent him to a bike shop in Santa Monica, knowing he was a fan of cycling, where he had organised a somewhat unique surprise.

“And I said, ‘What?’ And he (Williams) said, ‘No, no, no, just head on down there. Ride around, you’ll feel better,’” O’Brien recalled.

“And I went down and it was a Colnago, which is a very nice bike. And he said, ‘I told him to paint it in all these crazy Irish colours.’ I get down there and it’s the most ugliest — I mean, it was just greens and shamrocks and everything. And he was like, ‘You’re going to like that bike, chief. Don’t worry about it.’”

Williams is remembered for being incredibly generous. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

O’Brien’s podcast guest, UK actor Eric Idle, chimed in, calling the gesture “very, very Robin”.

“That’s fantastically typical Robin,” he added. “And that generosity and kindness combined with the wit on the man is not a common combination.”

This past August marked a decade since Williams died by suicide at his home in California.

Vanity Fair published a tribute piece featuring interviews with more than 20 of Williams’ co-stars and friends, who all agreed his signature traits were his kindness and generosity.

“Robin would go above and beyond to make people happy,” Ben Stiller shared, while Sarah Michelle Gellar added, “Kindness was my first impression. He never felt like his job was done until he made everyone feel comfortable and happy.”