The 66th Emmy Awards paid a heartfelt and somber tribute Monday to the late Robin Williams, his friend and fellow actor-comic Billy Crystal calling him "the brightest star in the comedy galaxy."

Dressed in a dark suit and stood against a poignant black background, Crystal recalled their life and times together.

The Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles also showed clips of Williams in films, on stage and in talk shows, and finished off with a portrait of him, followed by a stony silence in the blacked-out auditorium.