Indeed that was the greatest finale ever. The quirky cast of the Bob Newhart Show was great. Howard Hessman, who later portrayed Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati, was in several episodes. Newhart was the only good part of the movie Elf (which is an argument for another day).
Seinfeld capitalized on Bob Newhart’s wry straight-man and deadpan style of comedy because he eschewed topical humor and schtick, pioneering observant and psychological humor instead.
He’s one of the greats.
In 2021, he said “It’s nice to be remembered as someone who made people laugh.”
Indeed, you did. Yes, indeed. I look forward to binging again on his old, yet timeless, shows.
The “Just stop it!” episode is a classic. Something I’ve often been tempted to try on certain family members.
My Best Friend of over 50 years, is My Other Brother.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Newhart. Thanks for all the laughs.
I remember seeing him a few years ago when the Cubs were making that epic run at the World Series win. “Come on, Cubbies,” he said, I can’t wait a whole lot longer.
RIP.
I enjoyed his occasional appearances as Professor Proton on The Big Bang Theory.
Howard Hessman, who later portrayed Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati
==
Had earlier portrayed.
What I thought was one of the most interesting things was that he and Don Rickles were such good friends that they (and their wives) took vacations together.
We NEED insult comedians and comedians who can make the Woke feel really uncomfortable and stupid.
“Had earlier portrayed.”
No, The Bob Newhart Show ran from ’72 to ’78. WKRP ran from ’78 to ’82.
Here’s an excerpt from Newhart’s immortal routine which imagines Abraham Lincoln being managed by a Madison Avenue advertising firm for the Gettysburg Address:
_________________________________________
You what? You typed it? Abe, how many times have I told you–on the backs of envelopes…I understand it’s harder to read that way, but it looks like you wrote it on the train coming down…
What else, Abe? You changed ‘four score and seven’ to ‘eighty-seven’? I understand it means the same thing, Abe. That’s meant to be a grabber…Abe, we test-marketed that in Erie and they went out of their minds.
I don’t know who invented that one-sided telephone conversation format, but I think Newhart did it best.
Geez, I wonder how many of today’s high school students would get the historical allusions or the humor.
And it was his talented skill at deadpan that made him the perfect Prof. Proton on The Big Bang Theory.
Just one last gig that he did so, so, well.
Hmm … the one-sided telephone format goes back to at least 1913:
_____________________________________
This is the first comedy sketch to reach 1 million copies sold! The performer is Joe Hayman portraying a stereotypical Jewish man on the phone with his landlord, and was recorded in London in 1913.
Funny, but when I remember Bob Newhart, I think of his comedy records. The Buttoned Down Mind of Bob Newhart, The Buttoned Down Mind Strikes Back, etc. I still use the phrase “The Grace L. Ferguson Airline and Storm Door Company” to refer to incompetence, and could probably (or at least possibly) quote the phone conversation between Abe Lincoln and his speech writer. “They’ll remember. It’s the old modesty bit.”
Clever routines for more innocent times.
Waidmann
Bob Newhart was a classic comedian and will be missed. I loved his 70s show and his 80s show. I bought “Bob” on DVD out of curiosity, but it wasn’t very good. It was a show about a comic book creator written by people who clearly didn’t know anything about comic books. But Bob Newhart was fine in it. He had a certain style that he always used, but he was so good at it.
I finally heard his comedy albums a few years ago and loved them.
RIP
I was just reading Glen David Gold’s memoir, I Will Be Complete.He had just gotten hired at Hunter’s, a once-prominent but now defunct bookstore in LA’s Westwood district.
My first day, still being coached to use the register, I saw a man waiting in line wearing a cardigan and half-glasses. People were staring. Finally, the woman behind him said, “Aren’t you Bob Newhart?”
He gave a soft chuckle and said, “No, I get that all the time, though.”
“You even sound like him,” she said.
His reply was a sad shrug that implied a burden: he got that all the time, too.
He handed me his credit card. BOB NEWHART. His eyes flicked toward mine for less than a second, and I knew I was supposed to stay quiet, so I did. He bought his books and left.
When he’d hired me, Mike, in his beautiful radio announcer’s voice, suggested certain skills were involved when dealing with the famous. It wasn’t something that could be taught, really, but he could see I grasped the whole Tao of the thing, he said. He kept using Eastern philosophical words even when they didn’t line up with what he meant, but I nodded anyway, because I could see that it pleased him to say things like “Zen” when he meant “tact,” maybe.
Interesting coincidence.
The reason he got hired was that during his job interview, some Japanese customers asked a question. He jumped in and, using his year of Japanese in college, answered their query. The Japanese wanted to know if the books at the upstairs table labeled “bargain” were always on sale, or if they were on sale just for the day. Gold replied, “always on sale.” Some time later, he realized that instead of saying “always on sale” in Japanese, he had actually said “never on sale.” 🙂
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Indeed that was the greatest finale ever. The quirky cast of the Bob Newhart Show was great. Howard Hessman, who later portrayed Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati, was in several episodes. Newhart was the only good part of the movie Elf (which is an argument for another day).
Seinfeld capitalized on Bob Newhart’s wry straight-man and deadpan style of comedy because he eschewed topical humor and schtick, pioneering observant and psychological humor instead.
He’s one of the greats.
In 2021, he said “It’s nice to be remembered as someone who made people laugh.”
Indeed, you did. Yes, indeed. I look forward to binging again on his old, yet timeless, shows.
The “Just stop it!” episode is a classic. Something I’ve often been tempted to try on certain family members.
My Best Friend of over 50 years, is My Other Brother.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Newhart. Thanks for all the laughs.
I remember seeing him a few years ago when the Cubs were making that epic run at the World Series win. “Come on, Cubbies,” he said, I can’t wait a whole lot longer.
RIP.
I enjoyed his occasional appearances as Professor Proton on The Big Bang Theory.
Howard Hessman, who later portrayed Dr. Johnny Fever on WKRP in Cincinnati
==
Had earlier portrayed.
https://youtu.be/-P2V5r_eXqQ
His very best friend was Don Rickles.
What I thought was one of the most interesting things was that he and Don Rickles were such good friends that they (and their wives) took vacations together.
We NEED insult comedians and comedians who can make the Woke feel really uncomfortable and stupid.
“Had earlier portrayed.”
No, The Bob Newhart Show ran from ’72 to ’78. WKRP ran from ’78 to ’82.
https://i.imgflip.com/8k9284.jpg
He would make me happy. He will be missed.
Don’t forget his 60s stand-up comedy!
Here’s an excerpt from Newhart’s immortal routine which imagines Abraham Lincoln being managed by a Madison Avenue advertising firm for the Gettysburg Address:
_________________________________________
You what? You typed it? Abe, how many times have I told you–on the backs of envelopes…I understand it’s harder to read that way, but it looks like you wrote it on the train coming down…
What else, Abe? You changed ‘four score and seven’ to ‘eighty-seven’? I understand it means the same thing, Abe. That’s meant to be a grabber…Abe, we test-marketed that in Erie and they went out of their minds.
–Bob Newhart, “Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue” (1960)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od82WdGXtuc
_________________________________________
I don’t know who invented that one-sided telephone conversation format, but I think Newhart did it best.
Geez, I wonder how many of today’s high school students would get the historical allusions or the humor.
And it was his talented skill at deadpan that made him the perfect Prof. Proton on The Big Bang Theory.
Just one last gig that he did so, so, well.
Hmm … the one-sided telephone format goes back to at least 1913:
_____________________________________
This is the first comedy sketch to reach 1 million copies sold! The performer is Joe Hayman portraying a stereotypical Jewish man on the phone with his landlord, and was recorded in London in 1913.
–Joe Hayman, “Cohen on The Telephone” (1913)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvOONWjx5RU
Funny, but when I remember Bob Newhart, I think of his comedy records. The Buttoned Down Mind of Bob Newhart, The Buttoned Down Mind Strikes Back, etc. I still use the phrase “The Grace L. Ferguson Airline and Storm Door Company” to refer to incompetence, and could probably (or at least possibly) quote the phone conversation between Abe Lincoln and his speech writer. “They’ll remember. It’s the old modesty bit.”
Clever routines for more innocent times.
Waidmann
Bob Newhart was a classic comedian and will be missed. I loved his 70s show and his 80s show. I bought “Bob” on DVD out of curiosity, but it wasn’t very good. It was a show about a comic book creator written by people who clearly didn’t know anything about comic books. But Bob Newhart was fine in it. He had a certain style that he always used, but he was so good at it.
I finally heard his comedy albums a few years ago and loved them.
RIP
I was just reading Glen David Gold’s memoir, I Will Be Complete.He had just gotten hired at Hunter’s, a once-prominent but now defunct bookstore in LA’s Westwood district.
Interesting coincidence.
The reason he got hired was that during his job interview, some Japanese customers asked a question. He jumped in and, using his year of Japanese in college, answered their query. The Japanese wanted to know if the books at the upstairs table labeled “bargain” were always on sale, or if they were on sale just for the day. Gold replied, “always on sale.” Some time later, he realized that instead of saying “always on sale” in Japanese, he had actually said “never on sale.” 🙂