Bob Newhart's Chicago legacy

Bob Newhart died Thursday at 94, but his legacy will live on in Chicago forever.

The big picture: Newhart, a stand-up comedian and actor with a dry sense of humor, was one of Chicago's greatest exports.

Zoom in: Newhart was born in Oak Park, grew up in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side, went to high school at Saint Ignatius and college at Loyola.

• He made a name for himself performing at clubs like Mr. Kelly's in the late 1950s.

Yes, but: It wasn't until he starred in the 1970s sitcom "The Bob Newhart Show" that his connections to Chicago were cemented forever.

• The opening credits show a bustling downtown Chicago, where psychologist Bob Hartley's (Newhart's) office was located, just off Michigan Avenue. In the sitcom, his home was in a Sheridan Road high-rise apartment in Edgewater .

The vibe: The show had such an impact on Chicago that a bronze statue of Newhart sitting on a couch was erected at Navy Pier.

Zoom out: Newhart lived in Los Angeles for most of his adult life, but he never lost his connection to Chicago. His love of the Cubs was on full display, especially during the World Series run in 2016.

What they said: "Being a Cubs fan prepared you for life," Newhart told me during a 2016 interview on WGN Radio.

• "You knew you were ahead, but you knew you were going to blow it."

The bottom line: Newhart will go down in history as one of the biggest comedic names to hail from the Chicago. And that's saying something.