'Little House' Star Still Has The Sweet Gift Robin Williams Gave Her Decades Ago (VIDEO)

'Little House' Star Still Has The Sweet Gift Robin Williams Gave Her Decades Ago

Before she starred alongside the likes of Melissa Gilbert, Jason Bateman and Michael Landon on "Little House on the Prairie," child actress Melissa Francis had a small role alongside another big-name talent: Robin Williams. In 1980, Francis appeared on just one episode of Williams' hit sitcom "Mork and Mindy," but the now 42-year-old television journalist says that the late actor had given her a sweet present that she has treasured for the last three decades.

"This is Mr. One Eye," Francis says, holding up a weathered, one-eyed teddy bear. "It was... a gift from Robin Williams."

melissa francis gift from robin williams bear

In the "Mork and Mindy" episode all those years ago, Francis played a young version of Mindy in a flashback sequence. "In the episode, I was carrying this one-eyed bear around, everywhere I went," she explains to "Oprah: Where Are They Now?"

When filming wrapped, Francis hoped to keep the stuffed animal. "I desperately wanted to keep the bear," she says. "I was 7 or 8 and had gotten really attached to it."

The prop manager, however, told her no. "I remember the [prop] manager was like, 'Forget it,'" Francis recalls. "Because if we had to do a re-shoot, they wanted to still have the bear."

That's when Williams spoke up on her behalf.

"Robin Williams begged and begged," Francis says. "Decades and decades later... I still have [the bear]. It's just my favorite childhood item."

More: Francis reveals why she left Hollywood to go to Harvard, leaving her acting career behind.

"Oprah: Where Are They Now?" airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on OWN. Find OWN on your TV.

Before You Go

"You're only given one little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it."

Robin Williams Quotes

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