After Williams' photo emerged on the screen, Crystal appeared on stage and said, "He made us laugh, hard, every time you saw him, on television, movies, nightclubs, arenas, hospitals... and even in a dying girl's living room. He made us laugh big time... The brilliance was astounding. The relentless energy was thrilling."

Crystal also recounted the many times they've worked together and how his friend has inspired him to become a better comedian, the Business Insider reported.

"Robin, Whoopi, and I were once in Shea Stadium in the broadcast booth with the great Time McCarver and Robin knew nothing about baseball. I asked him, 'What's your favorite team?' and he responded, 'the San Franciscos.' He was a little lost in the baseball conversation, so I got an idea and said, 'You know, Tim, we have a great Russian baseball player with us.' I looked over and his eyes got all bright, his ears perked up, like he was a little dog inside all day and his master came home and 'Hey, want to go for a walk?' So I said, 'Hey, what's baseball like in Russia?' and without missing a beat, Robin said, 'Well we only have one team: the Reds."

Crystal got a little bit emotional at one point during his speech when he said, "It's 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," Media ITE noted.