Many great entertainers, celebrities, and actors have passed away recently. We have seen Shelly Duvall, Richard Simmons, and Beverly Hills, 90210 star Shannen Doherty say their goodbyes.
However, on Thursday we saw the passing of a comedic legend, Bob Newhart. King of the deadpan look coupled with the driest of humor, he had a style all his own.
Now, at 94 he is dead.
His career started oddly enough from a hit comedy album he released in 1960 called “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart.” Comedy albums were the newest thing to hit the market at record stores.
Newhart's album made it to number one and stayed there for 14 weeks on Billboard’s album chart. He also won multiple Grammy awards beating out Frank Sinatra, Nat "King" Cole, and Harry Belafonte that year.
Bob Newhart soon began making movies such as the 1970 classic, Catch-22, as the extremely timid and quirky character Maj. Major.
In 1971 he starred with Dick Van Dyke in the hillarious comedy Cold Turkey. It is about a small town taking on a challenge from a big tobacco company. The company says it will give $25,000,000 to any town able to quit smoking for an entire month - Cold Turkey!
Poster of the 1971 movie starring Dick Van Dyke and Bob Newhart.Photo byimdb.com
Then there is his unforgettable character as Papa Elf in the 2003 movie "Elf" with Will Ferrell. “Elf,” Newhart believed, “outranks, by far, any role I may have ever played.", he said in an email interview last year with CNN in celebration of the movie's 20 year anniversary.
Bob Newhart as Papa Elf in the movie "Elf" with Will FerrelPhoto byMaximum Film/Alamy Stock Photo
His television legacy carries with it two hit sitcoms.
"The Bob Newhart Show" 1972 - 1978
"Newhart" 1982 - 1990.
In The Bob Newhart Show, he played Dr. Bob Hartley with a host of eccentric patients and married to his beautiful wife Emily played by Suzanne Pleshette.
In "Newhart" he shouldered the role of a Vermont innkeeper, Dick Loudon, trying to keep his sanity while surrounded by an extemely talented cast of comical locals. His beautiful wife in this series was played by Mary Frann.
Mary Frann from "Newhart" as Joanna LoundonPhoto bylistal.com
The final episode of Newhart was considered one of the greatest sitcom finales ever in television history. In the finale of Newhart, the little Vermont town is being bought by a Japanese millionaire.
A new golf course had been built not far from the inn and golfers were always pounding it with their poor drives. One day – while arguing with some of the townsfolk – Newhart is hit in the head by a golf ball - then after a short fade to black, Newhart comes to…
as Dr. Bob Hartley, his character from “The Bob Newhart Show,” in bed with Suzanne Pleshette.
He says:
“Honey, wake up! You won’t believe the dream I just had,”
The final scene in the final episode of Newhart (Not the Bob Newhart Show with Suzanne Pleshette.Photo byCBS
Bob Newhart was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1993, and has had his material added to the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. In 2002, Newhart won the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
He was a master at making us laugh and smile at ourselves and life, and to love those around us. We are going to miss you Mr. George Robert Newhart of Oak Park, Illinois.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
