Robin Williams was finally honored with the tribute he deserves from close friend Billy Crystal, whose heartbreaking speech at last night's 66th Annual Emmy Awards brought the entire audience to tears.
The late actor inspired an entire generation of stars of both film and television and was recognised for his astonishing legacy by the fellow comedian who called the comic: "The greatest friend you could ever imagine".
During last night's star-studded affair, the ceremony paused for a few minutes to remember the friend, hero and inspirational star of the small screen following his untimely death two weeks ago.
Billy began: "He made us laugh. Hard. Every time you saw him - on television, movies, nightclubs, arenas, hospitals, homeless shelters for our troops overseas. And even in a dying girl's living room for her last wish, he made us laugh. Big time."
To a teary crowd, the actor praised his dearest friend's talents saying the star's "brilliance was astounding," adding: "The relentless energy was kind of thrilling. I used to think if I could just put a saddle on him and stay on him for eight seconds I was going to do OK ... He could be funny anywhere. We were such close friends.
"As genius as he was on stage, he was the greatest friend you could ever imagine - supportive, protective, loving.
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"It is very hard to talk about him in the past because he was so present in all of our lives. For almost 40 years he was the brightest star in the comedy galaxy."
Billy remembered anecdotes from his time with the 'Hook' actor before a series of moving clips, both in film and more personal footage, ran on screen.
'Orange Is The New Black' star Jason Biggs later confirmed on Twitter that there was: "Not a dry eye in this place".
Watch Billy's tribute to Robin Williams below….
