--- description: "You popped the champagne cork when you said hello to him," she says title: Joan Rivers Remembers Robin Williams image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e2e365618151720/69869f49adae44a7e45447e3/123562943.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [remembrance](/tag/remembrance/) ## remembrance Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Joan Rivers: Why Robin Williams Was a Great Red Carpet Interview by [Larry Getlen](/author/larry-getlen/) ## Larry Getlen Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 12, 2014 8:35 PM CUT  Robin Williams and Joan Rivers pose backstage at the new play "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" at The Richard Rogers Theater on March 29, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic) Robin Williams and Joan Rivers pose backstage at the new play "Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" at The Richard Rogers Theater on March 29, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)Bruce Glikas—FilmMagic/Getty Images by [Larry Getlen](/author/larry-getlen/) ## Larry Getlen Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 12, 2014 8:35 PM CUT _Joan Rivers, who died on September 4 at the age of 81 after complications from throat surgery, reflected on Robin Williams the month before her death._ Joan Rivers is an authority on red carpet interviews — and the veteran comedian says Williams was one of the best celebrities to chat with, both for his candor and his zany humor. Below, Rivers reflects on his more serious roles: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3104935/robin-williams-dead-joan-rivers-remembrance/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3104935/robin-williams-dead-joan-rivers-remembrance/"},"headline":"Joan Rivers: Why Robin Williams Was a Great Red Carpet Interview","datePublished":"2014-08-12T20:35:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:37:56.653Z","description":"\"You popped the champagne cork when you said hello to him,\" she says","url":"https://time.com/3104935/robin-williams-dead-joan-rivers-remembrance/","keywords":["remembrance","celebrities","celebrity","robin williams"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e2e365618151720/69869f49adae44a7e45447e3/123562943.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Larry Getlen","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/larry-getlen/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e2e365618151720/69869f49adae44a7e45447e3/123562943.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Robin Williams Death","caption":"Robin Williams Death","creditText":"Bruce Glikas—FilmMagic/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/remembrance/","name":"remembrance"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3104935/robin-williams-dead-joan-rivers-remembrance/","name":"Joan Rivers: Why Robin Williams Was a Great Red Carpet Interview"}}]}] ```