The 66th annual Primetime Emmys took a sombre turn towards the end to remember Robin Williams, the versatile actor and comedian who died two weeks ago in an apparent suicide at the age of 63.

With a lump in his throat and a tremble in his voice, actor Billy Crystal remembered the madcap performer.

A long-time friend of Williams who rose to fame in the same 1970s comedy circuit, Crystal called him “the brightest star in a comedy galaxy”.

“It is very hard to talk about him in the past because he was so present in our lives,” he said.

“While some of the brightest of our celestial bodies are actually extinct now, their energy long since cool, but miraculously, because they float in the heavens so far away from the sound, their beautiful life will continue to shine on us forever,” Crystal said in his tribute that was followed by a series of clips of Williams’s TV performances.

“And the glow will be so bright, it will warm your heart, it will make your eyes glisten, and you’ll think to yourself, Robin Williams – what a concept.”

The Oscar-winning actor and comedian had won Emmys in 1987 and 1988 for his performances in a variety or musical programme.

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