Bob Newhart, whose stammering, deadpan unflappability carried him to stardom as a standup comedian and later in television and movies, has died. He was 94.
Jaysus. It's been a rough couple of weeks for Hollywood.
I used to love watching his Newhart show. Was the first time I'd ever seen William Sanderson, who was and always will be one of the best comedic actors ever (see E.B. Farnum on Deadwood).
People don't remember it anymore, but Bob used to do standup. Most of it was one-sided conversations. The driving instructor routine was the most famous, but I like the opener to that same album (The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart) about ad execs trying to punch up Lincoln's Gettysburg Address before he gives the speech more-
I think Newhart, his second sitcom, was the OG meta, 4th wall break for a scripted show to to hit TV. Funny as hell. So much so that Bryan Cranston riffed it after breaking bad with the wife from Malcom in the middle:
Oh, um...although, you know I-I started my career several years before, uh, Bob, so you know, I could never really learn anything directly from him...uh, still, I think in a way, in a very meaningful way, that I....uh....uh, all of us, have, uh, have learned from him. You know, that is, by....being a man on television for....for....for so many years, even, even though many of us, we, we didn't, we didn't watch his show. Th-thank you.
Just discovered (and am now watching) that Judd Apatow made a 20 minute documentary on the friendship between Don Rickles and Bob Newhart- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3cs7PyXPsU
dude was something else, I remember being a little boy and laughing so much my mother came into the room to see what was on. then she looks at me and smiles "what is so funny to you? thats an old folks show?"
I always found his humor and I am glad he lived a long and fruitful life.
I'm sad he's gone, but I can't be too sad because he lived a good, long, happy and very successful life, with a loving marriage, great friends, and terrific kids.
Larry, his bother Daryl, and his other brother Daryl are all alive and well, though they’ve each retired in the last five years. Larry’s 80, his brothers are both in their 70’s.