The NCIS Episode You Forgot Starred Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart is a legendary actor. He started his career as a standup comedian before breaking into the television industry (via Britannica). He is best known for his work on sitcoms before getting a show of his own, "The Bob Newhart Show." Eventually, he would have another sitcom called "Bob" that aired in the '90s as well as "George & Leo," which debuted in 1997 and ran until the following year.
Fans of the hit Will Ferrell movie "Elf" will recognize Newhart as well. He played the Papa Elf to Ferrell's Buddy the Elf. At 91 years old, Newhart is still working in Hollywood, according to Forbes, but why is Newhart dedicated to working through his 90s? It's easy — he loves the laughter. Newhart said, "I fell in love with the sound of laughter 61 years ago," adding, "It's a sound I wanted to keep hearing. It's one of the great sounds in the world, I'm serious. I think it's true. The mail I get, you become part of people's lives. ... It's just great to make people laugh."
While Newhart is known for comedy, he has had more serious roles as well, including a spot on "NCIS" that you may have forgotten about.
Newhart was on an episode of 'NCIS' in 2011
In 2011, Newhart made a guest appearance on the "NCIS" episode, "Recruited" (via TV Goodness). He took on the role of Dr. Walter Magnus who was Dr. Donald Mallard — aka Ducky's — predecessor at NCIS. While he brought some humor to the role, his character was a tragic one. Older in age, he was dealing with Alzheimer's. He told Ducky that his wife had passed away and he had become estranged from his daughter. Eventually, it was discovered that he was living with his daughter and her family. When he zoned out and got disoriented working with Ducky, it became clear that he was suffering from the illness.
While the role was more serious than fans were used to seeing Newhart take on, he did have some humorous lines (via IMDb). Most notably, telling Special Agent DiNozzo that he was excited to be back in autopsy. DiNozzo replied that the room was smelly from the dead bodies, but Newhart quipped that it was "a matter of opinion."