Bob Newhart, Legendary Sitcom Star, Dead At 94

Bob Newhart, the legendary sitcom star, died on July 18 at age 94, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Newhart was born on September 5, 1929, in Oak Park, Illinois, to parents George and Julia. George was part-owner of a plumbing and heating supply business and Julia tended to the home. Both were of Irish ancestry.

Newhart grew up in a middle class family. Yet, while he participated in theater in high school, it was never a passion. Newhart attended Loyola University where he received a degree in accounting in 1952. He went on to serve in the United States Army for two years as a clerk. He returned to Loyola for his law degree, but ultimately left school without finishing his studies. Newhart performed with a local theater company for fun, but maintained his full-time job as an advertising copywriter at Fred Niles Films Company to earn a living. At age 30, Newhart was reportedly so bored by his office job that he and friend Ed Gallagher would create skits on the telephone to make themselves laugh — a pastime that ultimately led to the big time.

As Bob Newhart told the Television Academy of his career before hitting it big in the comedy world, "I worked as an accountant for two-and-a-half years, then worked as a copywriter. People had always been saying, 'gee, you're funny. You think funny.' So I just decided I was gonna give it a try and see what happened."

Realizing they had an aptitude for creating jokes, Newhart and Ed Gallagher tried to sell their comedy bits to radio stations. Although they were unsuccessful in their attempts, their humor caught the eye of a disc jockey who gave Newhart a chance to perform on the radio. This lead to a contract with Warner Bros. and the recording of his first set of nightclub performances, titled "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart," in 1960. It would go on to be a smash hit and one of the first comedy albums to top the Billboard charts. 

"The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart" would later be the first comedy album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts. It won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year, beating out Harry Belafonte, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra, He also won in the category of Best New Artist.

Newhart later told CBS News about the reaction to his album taking home the top prize that fateful evening. "I got to know Frank. My stammer is getting even worse as I discuss it! I don't think Frank was thrilled that a stand-up comic beat out his album." Newhart held the record for holding both the No. 1 and No. 2 albums on the Billboard chart. This record went unbroken until Guns 'N Roses took over the charts. 

As further proof of his comedic prowess, Newhart stood in for Johnny Carson, hosting "The Tonight Show" 87 times in his career. "I get this question a lot: 'Why do you still do comedy?' " he said (via People). "Why would you ever get tired of making people laugh? You never want to give up that sound, that great sound that you fell in love with 60 years ago."

Bob Newhart's television career was legendary, and his trademark was in his delivery. He starred in the "Bob Newhart Variety Show," which was quickly followed by "The Bob Newhart Show" from 1972-1978 and "Newhart" from 1982-1990. At the time, "The Bob Newhart Show," in which he co-starred alongside Suzanne Pleshette, was part of CBS' biggest night of the week — Saturday. The lineup included "All in the Family," "M*A*S*H," "Mary Tyler Moore," and "The Carol Burnett Show." 

"Murderer's Row," Newhart told CBS News of that magical night in television. "We used to get Super Bowl numbers. There were only three networks at that time — well, some people claim two-and-a-half networks."

He also made his mark in the world of motion pictures, appearing in 18 feature films. These included "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever," "Catch-22," "The Rescuers," "The Entertainers," "In and Out," "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde," and "Elf."

Bob Newhart met his wife Ginny for the first time in 1962. They were set up on a blind date by the late comedian Buddy Hackett, for whom Ginny was working as a babysitter. She was there for his rise to the top — and the occasional miss. "She'd be in the dressing room. She'd say, 'Something's wrong with the sound system. I couldn't hear anything,'" he told People. "I said, 'Honey, nothing was wrong with the sound system. They didn't laugh!'"

In the same interview, Newhart spoke of how he and Ginny met. "Well, we're both Catholic. She's three quarters Irish. I'm three quarters Irish. Buddy said, 'I've got a girl for you. She's going with another guy, but I don't think he's right for her, so I'm going to fix you up on a blind date. You'll meet her and you'll date and you'll get married. Then you'll have kids and you'll call one of the kids Buddy.'" As predicted, Newhart and Ginny wed in 1963, and welcomed four children: sons Robert and Timothy, and daughters Jennifer and Courtney. The couple boasted 10 grandchildren, too.

Doing comedy even through the COVID-19 pandemic, making people laugh was simply a part of who Newhart was. In an interview with CBS in November 2020, he joked, "I have this theory that when it's all over, for death, and you go up I've been led to believe to heaven and there's a God and he says, 'What did you do?' And I say, 'I made people laugh.' 'Yeah, get in that real short line over there.'" This comedic legend will sorely be missed.