"What's happening, plasma?"
Robin Williams , compared with John Witherspoon
A jive-style greeting line that addresses someone as "plasma."
Williams used the line during his Mork & Mindy breakout, in front of a national TV audience. (paraphrase)
Mork & Mindy era (TV and stand-up), 1979find on YouTube ↗
“what's happening, plasma?”
Comedy Store stand-upquote source ↗find on YouTube ↗
The same odd greeting, calling someone plasma, moved from a club act to national TV; the only difference is the stage.
- Premise 36/40
- Structure 22/30
- Punchline 27/30
- Premise36/40The same jive-style greeting addressing someone as plasma.
- Structure22/30A one-line greeting, so there's little structure to share beyond the line itself.
- Punchline27/30The payoff word, plasma, is the same; Williams's exact delivery isn't quoted on record.
Setup
A jive-style greeting on Mork and Mindy.
Setup
A jive-style greeting in his L.A. club act.
Turn
He asks someone what's happening.
Turn
He asks someone what's happening.
Punchline
He addresses them as plasma, before a national audience.
Punchline
He addresses them as plasma.
Scores and beats are our editorial reading of the public record, not a ruling.
Context
When and where
Witherspoon used the greeting in his late-1970s Los Angeles stand-up. The line turned up on Mork & Mindy (1978–79). A 1979 Los Angeles magazine item and a Chicago Tribune follow-up listed it among jokes Williams allegedly took.
What followed
Witherspoon told the Chicago Tribune that when he confronted Williams, Williams said he ad-libbed a lot and offered to pay. Witherspoon replied that payment was pointless after 40 million people had seen it. A 1979 magazine exposé and later accounts from Damon Wayans and others describe Williams paying comics for lines.
Receipts
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Robin Williams by Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel, Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0; John Witherspoon by Sister Circle TV, CC BY 3.0