Character page for Mork & Mindy.
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Mork
Mork
Nanu nanu.
Played by: Robin Williams
An alien from the planet Ork sent to observe human behavior.
- Adaptational Heroism: People who see Mork's original appearance on Happy Days after watching this series are likely to be shocked at what a Jerkass he originally was.
- Adult Adoptee: Due to a series of misunderstanding with INS, Mork is assumed to be an immigrant from another country. As he doesn't have a birth certificate or passport, Exidor (who's a full US citizen) steps in and adopts Mork as his "son" so he won't be deported.
- Alien Among Us: The only humans who know that he is an alien are Mindy and her father.
- Amusing Alien: Would you expect an alien played by Robin Williams to be anything but funny?
- Beware the Nice Ones: Mork may be a childlike jokester, but he is still an alien with limited telekinetic abilities, and can be a dangerous opponent when angered, as seen in "The Night They Raided Mind-ski's".
- Birthday Episode: He has a very unusual birthday in "Mork Runs Down".
- Bizarre Alien Biology: Orkans age backwards, hatch from eggs, and laugh uncontrollably instead of sneezing. Plus, "parts are interchangable".
- Blunt Metaphors Trauma: Mork sometimes misunderstands human expressions. Justified somewhat by Mork's alien nature.
- Catchphrase: Nanu nanu.
- Characterizing Sitting Pose: He often sits upside down, with his head on the chair. The reason is that he is an alien, but since he is disguised as a human, this does look weird.
- Cloudcuckoolander: He's very goofy, partly because he's an alien, but he's eccentric even by alien standards.
- Fantastic Anthropologist: Mork's job is essentially to observe humans in their natural habitat.
- Human Alien: Is an alien, but unless he is using his alien abilities, you cannot tell that by looking at him. He does have a higher voice than most human men, however.
- Humorless Aliens: Mork has difficulty comprehending earth humor.
- Innocent Aliens: The only times he's done something bad, it was out of simple naivete, and he's a very decent alien. Mindy even describes him as "the nicest alien [she's] ever met" (although she probably hasn't met any other aliens).
- Mister Seahorse: He was the one to get pregnant, which is apparently unusual even for an Orkan.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Mork is chosen as Earth observer because his constant displays of humor make him out of place on Ork. This alienness only gets worse (and spreads to other areas) as Mork spends more time on Earth.
- Nice Guy: Mork is mostly pacifistic, good with kids, and humorous.
- Papa Wolf: Functional Magic powers + Protectiveness = Big Trouble if you hurt Mearth.
- Raised in a Lab: Mentions many times that Orkan scientists grew him in a test-tube.
- Sarcasm-Blind: "How would you like a knuckle sandwich?" "Sorry, I don't eat meat!"
- Shed the Family Name: Inverted; Took Mindy's last name when they married in the fourth season. It was either going to be "McConnell" or "Travolta." (Fred told Mindy to shoot for Travolta.)
Mindy
Mindy McConnell
Played by: Pam Dawber
A pretty female human who finds Mork and teaches him about human behavior. Eventually falls in love, marries Mork and raises an Orkan "child".
- Affectionate Nickname: Mork calls her "Min" and "Little Pooter", the latter mostly after they get married.
- Alliterative Name: Her first and last name both start with "M".
- Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Mindy spends a lot of time explaining things to Mork and making sure his strangeness doesn't get him in trouble or reveal his alien origins.
- Daddy's Girl: Mindy and Mr. McConnell are very close. Somewhat justified in that Mindy's mother died when she was little, so her father was the one who raised her.
- First Girl Wins: Mork dated other girls, but Mindy ended up becoming his wife.
- Girl Next Door: A fairly generic but friendly woman.
- Happily Married: To Mork for most of the last season.
- Interspecies Romance: It starts out as an Interspecies Friendship with Mork, but then it evolves into a romance between an alien and a human girl.
- Missing Mom: Her mother died prior to the start of the series. Mork briefly channels her spirit in the episode "A Morkville Horror".
- Nice Girl: She patiently puts up with Mork's eccentricities.
- Secret-Keeper: The agrees to become this after learning Mork's alien identity in the first episode.
- Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Or alien. Whenever someone asks what she sees in Mork she usually cites his kindness and joy for life.
- Straight Man: Not that she has much choice, being a normal girl who is good at remaining calm in front of Mork's antics.
Fred and Cora
Fred McConnell and Cora Hudson
Played by: Conrad Janis and Elizabeth Kerr
Mindy's father, a widower with conservative values, and grandmother, who's less conservative and rock-loving.
- Advertised Extra: Averted in season 1 where they are regulars. However in season 3 and 4 Mindy's father is credited as a regular but doesn't appear in 16 episodes.
- Cool Old Lady: Grandma Cora rides a motorcycle and prefers modern music to the classical which Mindy's father likes. Imagine an old lady who loved both rock music and Mork with his lovable silliness, even after she learned he is an alien.
- Put on a Bus: They were absent for the second season, but Mr. McConnell returned.
- Straight Man: Mindy's father even more so than her.
- The Bus Came Back: In "Old Muggable Mork", when Cora returns for a guest appearance and gets mugged, Mork disguises himself as an elderly lady to fight back against the muggers.
Exidor
Exidor
Played by: Robert Donner
- Cloudcuckoolander: To the point where Mork almost seems normal in comparison.
- Funny Schizophrenia: He talks to people who aren't there and holds an ever-changing set of unusual beliefs.
- Ham-to-Ham Combat: He would often engage in this with Robin Williams and more than hold his own.
Mr. Bickley
Mr. Bickley
Played by: Tom Poston
- Advertised Extra: He is credited as a regular in season 2 and 3. However in season 2 he only appears in 9 out of 26 episodes and in season 3 he appears in 11 out of 22 episodes.
- Awful Wedded Life: He wasn't too close to his wife from a one-off comment that he made, although this could be his own fault.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Mr. Bickley acts harsh, but every time someone shows him kindness, he becomes adorable.
- Named After Somebody Famous: His full name is Franklin Delano Bickley.
- Pet the Dog: Quite literally. While grumpy to most people, he dotes on his dog, Bickie.
Remo and Jean
Remo and Jean DaVinci
Played by: Jay Thomas and Gina Hecht
- Advertised Extra: They are credited as regular characters in season 2 and 3 but they don't appear in several episodes of both these seasons.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: They're last seen in the third season finale and are never mentioned again.
- Famous-Named Foreigner: The two have the name "DaVinci." Mork even calls Remo "Leonardo's boy" when he first meets him.
Orson
Orson
Played by: Ralph James
- Adipose Rex: Implied. He's in a position of authority over Mork, and Mork often jokes about him being fat.
- Amusing Alien: While not wacky like Mork, his misunderstandings of human nature sometimes makes him amusing.
- The Comically Serious: Unlike Mork, he is completely serious, which leads to some amusing moments when he gets frustrated with Mork or does not understand humor.
- The Evils of Free Will: He, along with the other Orkan elders, have banned free will and humor from Ork.
- In "The Wedding", when Mork announces his intentions to marry Mindy, Orson forbids him from doing so, because marriage has been outlawed on Ork. After Mork still goes through with the wedding, Orson turns Mork into a more obedient sheepdog, which results in Mindy confronting Orson, and Orson reluctantly consents, turning Mork back into his normal form.
- Expy: It's pretty obvious with his name, voice and mannerisms as well as his implied girth that he's meant to be a parody of Orson Welles.
- Straw Vulcan: He believes emotions are dangerous.
- The Voice: He's never seen, only heard.
Mearth
Mearth
Played by: Jonathan Winters
- Alliterative Name: Apparently, he shares his mother's surname.
- Baby's First Words: His first word was "powdered" (in reference to the milk in his "baby" bottle).
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Possibly even more so than Mork. In his debut appearance, he calls Mindy (and later himself) "shoe" and thinks she's his father and Mork's his mother (although that might be because Mork laid his egg).
- Half-Human Hybrid: His parents are an Orkan and a human.
- Kiddy Coveralls: Mearth wears overalls as a visual reminder to the audience that while he looks adult, he's still a child.
- Literal-Minded: When Mindy bounces on the bed and asks what she's bouncing on, Mearth says, "Tush!".
- Little Professor Dialogue: His second sentence was "Don't patronize me!".
- Meaningful Name: Mork says his name comes from his parents' shared first initial M, and "Earth." So Mork from Ork's son is Mearth from Earth.
- Vague Age: He's only about one technically, but how that translates to Orkan aging is a mystery: he learned to walk and talk when he was only a few hours old but still wore diapers and there was no mention of him being potty trained at any point in the series. He's also attended school.
- Uncanny Family Resemblance / Identical Grandson: Mearth is a dead-ringer for his great-uncle Dave McConnell (also played by Jonathan Winters) although no one in-universe ever comments on this. (Although it might explain why Fred and Cora never question the fact that this elderly adult man is somehow their (great) grandchild, as the resemblance is undeniable.)
- Younger Than They Look: Orkans age backwards, so the "adult" looking Mearth is much younger than he appears.
