Williams was never told about Mork & Mindy cancellation

Comedian Robin Williams refuses to get complacent about his Hollywood success - because he will never forget the moment he found out his TV show Mork & Mindy had been scrapped.

The funnyman landed his big break in the late 1970s playing the alien Mork in the sitcom opposite actress Pam Dawber.

Bosses at U.S. TV network ABC, which aired the series, cancelled the programme in 1982 - but no one told Williams, and he was devastated when he read about his show's demise in trade paper Daily Variety.

He tells People magazine, "I found out the show was cancelled by reading it in Variety. In Hollywood that's like reading your own obituary: 'You're dead, good luck!'"

Williams has since earned his superstar status with roles in films like the Oscar-winning Good Will Hunting, Patch Adams and Mrs. Doubtfire.

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