According to The Hollywood Reporter, Bob Newhart (Elf, Bob), a comedian and actor known for his deadpan humor, passed away this morning at 94. As his publicist Jerry Digney stated, Newhart died at his home in Los Angeles after succumbing to a string of short illnesses.
Newhart was born in Oak Park, Illinois, on September 5, 1929. After serving in the Korean War, Newhart worked as an accountant before working in the film industry as an advertising copywriter for producer Fred A. Niles (Nashville Rebel, Two Before Zero) in 1958.
As stated by The Hollywood Reporter, Newhart won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best New Artist for his successful 1960 comedy album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart.
Newhart appeared as a guest on a 1971 episode of the sketch comedy series The Carol Burnett Show. Comedian and actress Carol Burnett (Annie, Better Call Saul) paid tribute to Newhart on X, “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.”
In 1972, Newhart was cast by production company MTM Enterprises to play the role of Bob Hartley, a clinical psychologist in Chicago, on The Bob Newhart Show. The show became extremely popular and is considered one of the greatest sitcoms ever. It also had a talented supporting cast including Suzanne Pleshette (The Birds, Spirited Away), Peter Bonerz (Murphy Brown, Man on the Moon), Marcia Wallace (The Simpsons, The Addams Family), Bill Daily (I Dream of Jeannie, Starting from Scratch) and Jack Riley (Rugrats, McCabe & Mrs. Miller).
After The Bob Newhart Show ended in 1978, Newhart returned to CBS in 1982 to star in another MTM comedy called Newhart, where he played Dick Loudon, a New York author turned innkeeper in Vermont. The show was very successful, running for eight seasons, and featured a talented cast including Mary Frann (King’s Crossing, Days of Our Lives), Tom Poston (Mork & Mindy, On the Rocks), Julia Duffy (Palm Royale, The Doctors), Peter Scolari (Evil, Girls), William Sanderson (Blade Runner, True Blood), Tony Papenfuss (Seinfeld, Timecop) and John Voldstad (Forrest Gump, Hill Street Blues). The series concluded with a highly acclaimed ending where Dick Loudon wakes up as Bob Hartley from The Bob Newhart Show, suggesting that the show Newhart was all a dream.
Newhart also won an Emmy in 2013 for his role as a guest star on the TV show The Big Bang Theory, where he played the character Arthur Jeffries, also known as Professor Proton, who was the former host of a children’s science show.
According to Variety, Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men, Young Sheldon), creator of The Big Bang Theory, commemorates Newhart in a statement, “For years I begged Bob to appear on one of my shows. He always said no. But then he fell in love with ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and said yes – with two provisions. One: his character had to have an arc that spanned several episodes. And two: he wanted to win an Emmy. We delivered on both. I got to work with a comedy legend. A master of the craft, and a kind and gentle man. I even got to call him a friend. How lucky am I?”
Jamie Lee Curtis (The Bear, Scream Queens) also commemorates Newhart on Instagram, captioning, “They will be laughing wherever people go when they leave us. God, he was funny! Bob Newhart. You will be missed!”
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill (Invincible, Regular Show) remembers the late comedian on X, “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! #RIP”
Comedian and actor Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder, Madagascar) pays his tributes on X as well, “Bob Newhart. What a career. An iconic comedic actor. I and so many people grew up watching him. He was so subtle and had a brilliant sense of timing and understatement. And an incredibly kind man. Sending love to his family. Xxx”
Surviving Newhart are his children Robert Jr., Timothy, Courtney and Jennifer, as well as his ten grandchildren.