R.I.P. Bob Newhart, considered one of the greatest comedians in history
The Catchy Comedy Network will celebrate legendary actor Bob Newhart with a special Catchy Weekend Binge presentation of The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart and Bob TV Series. The tribute begins Saturday, July 20 at 12 noon ET/PT on Catchy Comedy. The special Binge will continue all weekend through Monday, July 21 at 6:00 am ET/PT.
Bob Newhart, the former accountant who became a household name with his deadpan delivery and stammering style of comedy, has passed away.
Newhart worked as an accountant after graduating college in the early 1950s. After a career change to the advertising industry later that decade, Newhart decided to test the waters of stand-up comedy. In the late 1950s, Newhart worked at nightclubs and was signed to Warner Bros. Records. In 1960, the label released his comedy album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart. It was the first comedy album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts and won Newhart two Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist.
After two more successful albums, Newhart was offered an opportunity for a variety show on NBC. The show was called The Bob Newhart Show and while it earned an Emmy nomination for comedy writing and a Peabody, it only lasted a single season. Newhart found that the responsibility of overseeing a variety show quickly made him exhausted.
After the end of the (first) Bob Newhart Show, Newhart went back to performing in nightclubs and guest-starring on TV. He was a frequent guest on The Dean Martin Show, as well as The Ed Sullivan Show.
In 1972, Newhart returned to a regular role on TV with The Bob Newhart Show in 1972. Unlike the first one that shared the title, this was a sitcom instead of a variety show. Newhart played the lead Dr. Robert "Bob" Hartley, a clinical psychologist living in Chicago with his wife played by Suzanne Pleshette.
The show was an immediate hit despite heavy competition from powerhouses like M*A*S*H and The Waltons. In 1997, TV Guide listed two of the episodes - "Over the River and Through the Woods" and "Death Be My Destiny" as two of the 100 best TV episodes of all time. However, by 1978, Newhart chose to end the show, feeling as if it had come to a natural end and not wanting it to grow stale.
By 1982, Newhart was ready for a new TV challenge. What followed was Newhart, where he once again starred, but this time as Dick Loudon, a New York author turned proprietor of the Stratford Inn in Vermont.
When the show wrapped after eight seasons in 1990, it was with what some consider the best series ending in TV history. Famously, the final scene of the series showed Newhart waking up as Dr. Hartley, in bed with Suzanna Pleshette, revealing that the entirety of Newhart had been a dream within The Bob Newhart Show.
Despite being known for his TV work, Newhart was also a familiar face (and voice!) on the big screen. In 1977, he lent his voice to the animated Disney film The Rescuers, where bumbling mouse Bernard (voiced by Newhart) teams up with the much more savvy Bianca (voiced by Eva Gabor) to rescue a child in danger. The pair reprised their roles in the 1990 sequel The Rescuers Down Under.
Newhart also appeared in the 2003 Will Ferrell movie Elf, where he played "Papa Elf", the adoptive father of Buddy the Elf.
In 2013, he finally earned his first Emmy, which many considered overdue. The award came from his recurring role on The Big Bang Theory as "Professor Proton", a former children's television science program host who Sheldon and Leonard grew up idolizing.
Newhart was the fifth person to be awarded the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, joining esteemed colleagues like Richard Pryor and Carl Reiner.
The comedian and icon was 94 years old.
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