Father Denny is the local Catholic Parish Priest at St. Peter's Church who so inspires Mork with how helpful and respected he is, that he decides he wants to be a priest, in Season 2's Clerical Error. He is played by Garry Goodrow.
About Father Denny[]
Father Denny is a kind, humorous, straight shooting man, who is massively respected in the locality.
Mork encounters Father Denny, in the NY Deli, while at a low ebb. Father Denny coming in as he is officiating at a wedding, the reception for which is to be held in the deli. After he goes to speak to Remo who is doing the catering, Mork asks Mindy why she called him Father. She explains that's what everyone calls him, he's a priest, with the Church, his job is to help people. Which immediately attracts Mork's attention as, having lost another job, and feeling he is letting Mindy down, he feels he could use help.
As Father Denny goes to leave, Mork asks if it's true he helps people? Mindy stepping in quickly tells him that Mork's depressed because he can't hold a job. Mork asking him if he can help him? Father Denny humorously offers him some philosophical, baseball based, advice, which sort of makes life sense, but leaves Mork & Mindy exchanging looks. As it happens though he is only trying out some of his sermon for the wedding tomorrow, and asks Mork if he really wants to work, when Mork confirms it absolutely, Father Denny turns to Remo and asks him why doesn't he help Mork out with a job? Remo starts to laugh at the idea, before taking in Father Denny's face and explaining the last time he asked Mork to help him, Mork used the exhaust fan to slice bologna and they ended up with sandwiches 3 blocks away. Father Denny prevails on him to give him a job at the reception at least, countering Remo's 'God helps those who help themselves' argument with 'He can also be a little rough on those who don't help others'.
When Father Denny drops in closer to the wedding to see how things are going, he is slightly disconcerted to see the carving of the bride and groom Mork has done in chopped liver. Before more can be said Laurie, the soon to be Mrs. Winslow arrives to speak to him. Mork commenting in amazed tones to Remo that he can see her clear as day, explaining to a confused Remo that Mindy told him you can' see the bride before she gets married. Laurie has developed cold feet, not sure if she wants to give up her independence and Father Denny draws her aside to speak with her. Only to find himself sitting in a fascinated Mork's lap who slides into his seat before him.
Mork's admiration for Father Denny continues to grow. And he announces to Mindy that he's decided he wants to be a a priest. Something Mindy doesn't take seriously, declaring it 'ludicrous', and tries to explain what's involved and how he's definitely not qualified. She tells him straight out, he cannot be a priest, but Mork wants to know why, they do what he wants to do, help people, solve problems, play bingo. Yes, she agrees but sometimes those problems are life and death and a Priest can only deal with them through his Faith. Standing up she tells him tomorrow she'll take him to the Church and Father Denny can explain it to him himself, leaving him to his wild imaginings in the living room.
But Mork pre-empts her and after he decides to pay a visit to the church, in a cassock and gives advice to the parishioners, including one suicidal man, both Mindy and latterly Father Denny hit the roof. Bawling Mork out for his unthinking attitude, and the advice to the suicidal man of how best *to* commit suicide (thinking that's what he wanted). Father Denny tells Mork its no sin to be a nitwit, but if you go around handing out counselling and advice without the tools of education and experience he could do more harm than good. Upset, and looking to Mindy at that, all she can do is nod to show Mork that Father Denny is right.
Telling him he's done something unforgivable, and there's no excuse, Father Denny instructs him to go into the confessional and take the cassock off. Luckily for Mork, the one thing the suicidal man was *not* prepared for was a priest to give him advice on how to kill himself, and he turns up, having rethought everything and taken a new look at life and himself, wanting to thank 'Father Mork'. On being told Mork prepares himself for Father Denny's thanks when the priest tells him he has only one thing left to say to him, before Father Denny tells him if he tries it again he'll kick his cassock from here to Kingdom come.
Marching off he leaves Mork and Mindy alone, Mindy saying she still doesn't understand why he suddenly decided to be a priest. He confesses that he saw how much she respected Father Denny, and he thought if he became a priest she might respect him too. Startled and touched, she sits with him in one of the pews, assuring him that she respects him more than any person she knows.