Emmys: Billy Crystal Honors Robin Williams

Billy Crystal paid tribute to Robin Williams, his longtime friend and fellow comedian, at the Emmy Awards on NBC tonight. Crystal honored Williams as part of the traditional "in memoriam" segment for industry members who died during the past year, which included a performance from Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles. At last year's Emmys, Williams honored his friend and mentor Jonathan Winters during the tribute segment.

"He made us laugh hard, every time you saw him," Crystal said, according to Business Insider. "I spent many hours on stage with Robin and the brilliance was astounding. His relentless energy was thrilling. I used to think if I could just put a saddle on him and stay on for eight seconds I would do OK. ... He could be funny anywhere. We were such great friends that he would come to all of our family gatherings. ... As genius as he was on stage, he was the best friend you could ever imagine. It's very hard to talk about him in the past because he was so present in our lives." (More Billy Crystal stories.)