“I had the great pleasure of working with Bob and being his friend. He was as kind and nice as he was funny. He will be missed.”
- Actor and comedian Carol Burnett on X
“Bob Newhart was as funny as they come. The best stand up, the best situation comedy star, the kindest soul.”
– Director Judd Apatow on Instagram.
“From his groundbreaking stand-up to his two classic sitcoms he gave us a lifetime of laughter. Truly one-of-a-kind. Thank you Bob Newhart!”
– Actor Mark Hamill on X
"The only difference between Bob Newhart on stage and Bob Newhart offstage is that there is no stage."
- Actor David Hyde Pierce in an episode of the PBS series American Masters dedicated to Bob Newhart
Actor and comedian Bob Newhart has passed away at the age of 94. His combination of gentle humour and deadpan delivery is rare today. He wasn't rude or crude. He was simply funny, a straight man surrounded by madness. The soft spoken comedy icon died in Los Angeles on July 18th, 2024. According to a statement from his publicist Jerry Digby, Bob died after a series of short illnesses. Digby described Bob's passing as "an end of an era in comedy."
Bob was born George Robert Newhart in Oak Park, Illinois on September 5, 1929. Bob's mother, Julia Pauline (née Burns ) was a homemaker. His father, George David Newhart, was part-owner of a plumbing supply business. Bob went by his second name, "Robert," to avoid confusion with his dad.
After attending Roman Catholic schools in the Chicago area, Bob enrolled at Loyola University in Chicago, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in business management in 1952. He was then drafted into the U.S. Army, where he served as a U.S-based clerk during the Korean War.. He was discharged in 1954.
Upon completing his military service, Bob worked as an accountant and as an advertising copywriter for Fred A. Niles, a prominent independent film and television producer in Chicago. Of his time as an accountant, he joked that "in my case, I don't think it's amazing that a bad accountant should become a comedian. He said that there was a connection between numbers and music and comedy, although he wasn't sure what it was. He then mentioned some contemporary comedians who had an interest in music.
While working at Fred A. Niles, Bob and a co-worker regaled each other with long telephone calls about absurd circumstances, which they sent to radio stations as audition tapes. Even after his colleague accepted a a job in New York, Bob continued recording and developing a routine. Based on those recordings, Warner Brothers Records signed him to a contract in 1959.
He first came to prominence with s hit recording titled The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart (1960). The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was an album of comedic monologues. It became a bestseller and climbed to number one on the Billboard pop album chart. Bob's follow-up album, The Button-Down Mind Strikes Again!, was also very well-received. In fact his two albums were so popular that they held the first and second spots on Billboard simultaneously.
Bob Newhart continued to expand his comedic material and he began to perform in nightclubs. His success as a stand-up comedian opened the doors to starring in his own television show. In 1961, he hosted a short-lived NBC variety program called The Bob Newhart Show. However, it wasn't until over a decade later that he really made his mark on television. He starred in two highly successful CBS sitcoms - The Bob Newhart Show from 1972 to 1978 and Newhart from 1982 to 1990.
I especially enjoyed
The Bob Newhart Show in which Bob played Chicago psychologist Bob Hartley, who counselled a slew of eccentric patients. The show had a marvelous cast. Suzanne Pleshette portrayed Bob's wife, Emily, a school teacher and later assistant principal. Bill Daley played Howard Borden. Borden, a commercial airline navigator who later became a co-pilot. lived across the hall from the Hartleys. He often popped into their apartment to borrow things, partake of a free meal, or have Bob and Emily babysit his son. Marcia Wallace played Carol Kester, the receptionist in the medical building where Bob worked, while Peter Bonerz played Dr. Jerry Robinson, an eccentric orthodontist. With the death of Bob Newhart, Bonerz, now 85, became he only surviving member of show's main cast.
Below is a photo of the cast of The Bob Newhart Show, standing (from left): Bill Daley, Marcia Wallace, Peter Bonerz: seated Bob Newhart and Suzanne Pleshette.
In Newhart, Bob portrayed Vermont innkeeper Dick Loudon. Louden was an author of do-it-yourself and travel books. He and his wife, Joanna, played by Mary Frann, moved from New York City to a small town in Vermont, where they owned and operated the Stratford Inn. Tom Poston played the inn's handyman George Utley (It's interesting to note that Poston married Suzanne Pleshette in 2001. Poston died of respiratory failure on April 30, 2007 at the age of 85. Pleshette passed away on January 19, 2008 after a battle with lung cancer. She was 70 years old at the time of her passing).
 |
| The cast of Newhart |
Bob returned to television in 1992. He starred in series about a cartoonist called Bob. The series had an ensemble cast, including Lisa Kudrow of Friends fame. Despite good critical reviews, the show failed to attract a strong audience. It was cancelled soon after the start of its second season.
In 1997, Bob appeared alongside Jason Bateman and Judd Hirsh in a sitcom called George & Leo. The show was cancelled after its first season.
 |
| Judd Hirsh and Bob |
In 2003, Bob guest-stared in three episodes of the medical drama ER. The role earned him a Primetime Emmy Award Nomination.
In 2005, Bob appeared in three episodes of Desperate Housewives as Morty Flickman, the on-again/off again boyfriend of Sophie, Leslie Ann Warren's character.
In 2013, Bob guest-starred in a sixth season episode of The Big Bang Theory. He played the elderly Professor Proton (Arthur Jeffries), an ex-TV show host who had become a children's party entertainer. Bob received a Primetime Emmy Award for that role.
In June of 2015, Bob appeared in the series finale of Hot in Cleveland, portraying the father-in-law of Joy Scoggs, played by Jane Leeves, who also played Daphne on Frasier.
On January 12, 1963, Bob married Virginia Lillian "Ginnie" Quinn, the daughter of character actor Bill Quinn. The couple met in 1962 on a blind date set up by their mutual friend, actor and comedian Buddy Hackett. Bob and Ginnie had four children together - sons Robert, born in November 1963, and Timothy, born in 1967, and their daughters Jennifer, born in 1971, and Courtney, born in 1977. They nicknamed one of their daughter "Buddy." in order to fulfill a promise to Hackett.
 |
| Bob and Ginnie Newhart |
Bob and Ginnie celebrated their 60th anniversary in January of 2013. To mark the event, Bob posted a series of their favourite photos together on social media. Sadly, Ginnie passed away just three months later, on April 23, 2023. She died in Los Angeles after a long illness. She was 82 years old at the time of her death.
In a 2022 interview with Parade, Bob was asked about the longevity of his marriage, "The marriage of comedians," he said. "no matter how stormy, seem to last a long time, and I attribute it to laughter. No matter how intense the argument you're having, you can find a line, and then you both look at each other and start laughing. It's over, you know? I think that sense of humor is very important to the longevity of a marriage."
Rest in peace, Bob Newhart. Thanks for the laughter.
END NOTES
* In 1962, Bob filmed An Evening with Bob Newhart, which is considered to be the first pay-per-view television special, for Canadian-based Telemeter.
* Bob and Ginnie Newhart were close friends with comedian Don Rickles and his wife, Barbara. The Newhart and Rickles family vacationed together. On January 24, 2005, Bob and Don appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. It was the Monday following Johnny Carson's death, and they reminisced about their many appearances on Carson's show.
* It was Ginnie Newhart who inspired the memorable 1990 finale of Newhart. It was a clever callback to Bob's previous sitcom, The Bob Newhart Show. Newhart ended with Bob waking up in Chicago next to his TV wife Suzanne Pleshette from The Bob Newhart Show, revealing that the second series, set in Vermont, was really just a dream. Ginnie apparently suggested the idea to Bob at a Christmas party that was also attended by Suzanne Pleshette.
* In 2006, Hyperion Books published Bob's first book I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This!: and Other Things That Strike Me as Funny. The book is principally a memoir, but also contains comic bits. Many of Bob's classic routines are entwined in the text.
SOURCES: Chicago Sun Times, "Ginnie Newhart, comedian's wife for six decades, dies at 82," by AP,, April 24, 2023; People, "Inside Bob Newhart and Wife Ginnie's 60-year Love Story," by Liza Esquibias, July 18, 2024, Wikipedia; Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
- Joanne
