Bob Newhart, a former Chicago accountant turned comedian, is dead at 94 after a series of brief illnesses. He broke onto the comedy scene in 1960 with his best-selling album, "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart." This included his favorite routine, an imaginary phone conversation called "Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Ave."
He did standup in an often stuttering, deadpan manner. He seemed to epitomize the accountant that he was. His persona was like the old joke that an extroverted accountant is someone who looks at your shoes instead of his own when he talks to you.
Newhart achieved outstanding success in two hit television series. In "The Bob Newhart Show," he played a Chicago psychologist along with Suzanne Pleshette, Bill Daily, and a cast of classic characters. It ran for six seasons and 142 episodes. In the tradition of comedian Jack Benny, he often played the straight man to the cast of comics around him. Here he is with the notoriously rude patient Mr. Carlin, played by Jack Riley.Defying the television odds, he came back with another hit show, "Newhart," with Mary Frann, Tom Poston, Julia Duffy, and Peter Scolari. In this show, he played an innkeeper in Vermont. It ran for 182 episodes from 1982 to 1990. Its cast of characters included the famous line,“Hi, I’m Larry, this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl.” It had one of the most watched and iconic endings of any sitcom in television history, as it tied Newharts's two hit shows neatly together.Years later, it was Ginny who concocted the famous ending for the "Newhart" series while at a Hollywood party with Suzanne Pleshette. "Humor has an awful lot to do with the duration of marriage," Newhart said in an interview with Phil Donahue. "Some of the longest show business marriages are comedians, Jack Benny, George Burns."
Newhart had that rare gift for friendship and was close friends with Don Rickles. Their families would vacation together, and they had genuine affection for each other.
In a tip of the hat to the great comedian, Tom Shillue, another buttoned-down comedian, did a take-off of of the opening of "The Bob Newhart Show" for his podcast, "Becoming Tom Shillue." So let's close with the opening of "The Bob Newhart Show" and "Newhart," scored by Henry Mancini. Both from the days when music was an integral part of TV sitcoms.
Bob Newhart was a man of faith (he even had a sister who was a nun), a classic comedian, a happy father of four, a loving husband, and a great friend. And he fulfilled his God-given vocation in life: he made us laugh.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member