At the age of 94, beloved stand-up comedian Bob Newhart passed away on Thursday morning. He was best known for his dry, deadpan humour and his beloved performances in two critically acclaimed CBS comedies.
Longtime spokesperson for Newhart released a statement confirming the TV icon’s passing and stating that Newhart died at his Los Angeles home following “a series of short illnesses.”
Newhart had a big influence on humour with his subtle delivery and modest demeanour, much like the former accountant he was. His breakthrough album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, released in 1960, was an enormous smash and featured his signature one-sided dialogue.
The album became a huge hit record commercially and garnered Grammy awards. He was once referred to as “a 20th century Mark Twain in Brooks Brothers clothes” by a critic.
Early on in his persona, Newhart integrated his minor stammer and deadpan delivery, which helped him develop a successful career. Even while he had his fair share of hilarious lines on TV, he frequently adopted the Jack Benny persona as the “straight man,” letting the occasionally strange cast members around him steal the show. But Newhart insisted, “Jack Benny did not influence me,” citing George Gobel and Bob and Ray as his original sources of acting and creative inspiration.
He would often play one half of a phone conversation in his performances. The movie “King Kong” features a rookie security guard at the Empire State Building who asks an ape that is “between 18 and 19 stories high, depending on whether there’s a 13th floor or not” for guidance on how to deal with it.
He tells his supervisor that he has looked “under ‘ape’ and ‘ape’s toes'” in the guards manual. Defusing a Bomb (in which a nervous police chief teaches a new patrolman how to defuse a live shell found on a beach), The Driving Instructor, The Mrs. Grace L. Ferguson Airline (and Storm Door Company),” Introducing Tobacco to Civilization,” Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue, “The Retirement Party,” “Ledge Psychology,” “The Krushchev Landing Rehearsal,” and “A Friend with.
After experiencing early success in show business, Newhart moved to television, appearing in two hugely successful sitcoms: The Bob Newhart Show in the 1970s and Newhart in the 1980s. In the previous season, Newhart played a psychologist who gently addressed subjects such as mental health and the burgeoning LGBT rights movement. Generations X, Y, and Z got to know Newhart in his later years via his appearances in Elf and The Big Bang Theory.
He made the switch to television stardom in the 1970s, appearing on NBC’s The Bob Newhart Show as Dr. Bob Hartley from 1972 until 1978. He played Dick Loudon, a novelist who travels with his wife from New York City to Vermont to run a historic inn, in the CBS sitcom Newhart from 1982 until 1990.
Later on, Newhart was nominated for two Emmys: one in 2003 for his performance on ER as a librarian who goes blind, and another in 2008 for the television film The Curse of the Judas Chalice. In addition to guest hosting three times on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson between 1966 and 1992, Newhart portrayed himself on a 1996 episode of The Simpsons and hosted episodes of Saturday Night Live in 1980 and 1995. In addition, he played himself in a 2002 episode of Everybody Loves Raymond, made five appearances on the Leno version between 1998 and 2009, and took part in a sophisticated prank at the 2006 Emmy Awards, which Conan O’Brien hosted, before co-presenting the comedy series award.
His memoir, I Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This, was released in 2006. It combines funny anecdotes with memories. In 1993, Newhart was elected into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame. In 2002, the Kennedy Centre awarded him the second Mark Twain Prize for Humour. The Library of Congress selected The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart as one of 25 recordings to be added to the National Recording Registry in 2007.
The Newhart series finale is arguably the one for which Newhart is most well-known. One of the most unforgettable moments in television history, according to some accounts. The entire town is purchased by a visiting Japanese entrepreneur, who turns the hamlet into a sprawling golf course and leisure complex. In addition to 10 grandkids, he is survived by his children, Robert Jr., Timothy, Courtney, and Jennifer. Ginnie, his wife, passed away the previous year.