Joe Rogan didn't realize he was speaking to comedy legend Robin Williams during the one and only time he met him.
The podcaster revealed that Williams had come up to him after a stand-up set at The Improv comedy bar in New York City and complimented him on his performance, but it took Rogan a couple of minutes to realize he was speaking to the Oscar-winning actor.
"I did a show at the Improv then afterwards I was taking pictures," Rogan said to his guest, comedian Greg Fitzsimmons, during the most recent episode of his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience.
"I was in the front bar and there's a line of people just taking a picture and I was saying 'hi' to people and this guy comes up and he said that [the set] was really wonderful."
Williams reportedly told him at the time: "I really, really loved this one bit... I wish I had the courage to say that," and that's when Rogan realized: "This is Robin Williams."
"He had a big, white beard and a hat on and I didn't realise," Rogan said, adding that he told Williams he appreciated him going down to watch, to which the actor told him: "I really wanted to watch your set. It was really fun."
Rogan described the interaction as cool, but added that it was "the craziest thing" because Williams didn't introduce himself and waited in line with the other people at the bar to meet Rogan.
"Nobody noticed that he was in line because he had this big beard and glasses and hat on," Rogan said, explaining that Williams was a "super nice guy."
But then the conversation turned to the accusations that Williams had stolen jokes from other comedians during his career.
"Super nice guy. I wish there wasn't that joke stealing thing connected with him," Rogan said.
Rogan previously spoke about the allegations with comedian Harland Williams on a July episode of his podcast.
He told Harland that comedian Sam Kinison, who died in a car crash in 1992, "got mad at" Williams over alleged joke stealing.
"He stole from everybody; stole from a lot of people," Rogan added. "If you ask any of those comics from back then, there's always instances of Robin going on a talk show and doing your bit, or going on this and doing your bit, and doing your bit at a club."
Williams, who is often regarded as one of America's greatest comedic talents, died by suicide in 2014.
He starred in movies such as Jumanji, Dead Poet's Society, Good Morning Vietnam and Mrs Doubtfire. In 1998, he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Good Will Hunting.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
