Bob Newhart, Legendary Actor and Comedian, Dead at 94

Bob Newhart, the legendary stand-up comedian who later became the star of several popular television sitcoms, has died at the age of 94.

Newhart was born on September 5th, 1929 in Oak Park, Illinois. He graduated with a degree in business management from the Loyola University of Chicago in 1952 before he was drafted into the United States Army. He served as a personnel manager in the Korean War until he was discharged in 1954. Following his stint in the army, Newhart briefly returned to Loyola to study law, but left the program after he was asked to act unethically during an internship.

Newhart then began working as an accountant for United States Gypsum, but said that his “That’s close enough” mantra and his tendency to adjust account imbalances with his own money proved he wasn’t cut out for the job. In 1958, he began working as an advertising copywriter for film and television producer Fred A. Niles, and passed his time having long, absurdist phone conversation with a coworker. After a while, the pair began recording their conversations and sending them to radio stations as audition tapes. When that coworker left the business, Newhart continued the recordings himself, which is how he developed his his stammering, deadpan monologue style.

Thanks to disc jockey Dan Sorkin, Newhart signed to Warner Bros Records in 1959 and began releasing comedy albums. In his one-sided conversations, Newhart played the straight man, reacting to what the nonexistent other person was saying. His 1960 debut, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, became the first comedy album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Mono Action Albums chart. It won the Grammy Award for Best New Album in 1961, and Newhart won Best New Artist — the first time a comedy project won either award.

That same year, Newhart scored his own NBC variety show. The Bob Newhart Show only lasted for a season, but it earned an Emmy nomination and a Peabody Award. Newhart went on to co-host the variety show The Entertainers with Carol Burnett and Caterina Valente and became a frequent guest of The Dean Martin Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He hosted Saturday Night Live twice, in 1980 and 1995.

Newhart was also a celebrated actor. The Bob Newhart Show received the sitcom treatment in 1972, and it ran on CBS until 1978. In the show, Newhart played psychologist Bob Hartley. Naturally, hijinks ensued with his family and patients. When the show ended, Newhart began Newhart, where he played innkeeper and TV talk show host Dick Loudon. Newhart ran on CBS until 1990. In 1992, he portrayed a cartoonist in the short-lived CBS series Bob. 

Newhart continued to act into the 21st century, with recurring roles on ER and Desperate Housewives and guest appearances on The Big Bang Theory and Hot in Cleveland. In 1995, he filmed his first stand-up special, Off the Record. In 2006, Newhart released his first book, I Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This. 

In 1985, Newhart was hospitalized with secondary polycythemia, brought on by years of smoking. He recovered after several weeks and broke the habit after the scare. He is survived by his wife, Virginia Quinn, their four children, Robert, Timothy, Jennifer, and Courtney, and ten grandchildren.