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Post by rgs318 on Jul 18, 2024 15:59:37 GMT -5
I am sorry to say that comedian Bob Newhart has died today at age 94. I remember him as one of the greatest stand-up comics - with fellow comics Shelly Berman, George Carlin and Bill Cosby. His album, The Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart was once the all-time best seller and is still among the best. His two comedy series were huge. His talent and personality will clearly be missed and IMO the comedy world is less for his loss.
PS: Yes he was also Professor Neutron on The Big Bang Theory in a nice take-off on Mr. Wizard. And, he did play Papa Elf in the movie Elf.
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Post by rgs318 on Jul 18, 2024 16:10:00 GMT -5
He won three grammys, an emmy and a golden glode award. The Bob Newhart Show ran from 1972-1978 and Newhart ran from 1982-1990. I still mis Larry, Daryl and Daryl.
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Post by sader1970 on Jul 18, 2024 16:18:25 GMT -5
I wonder how many on here have no idea how great Bob was?
he had hilarious monologues and one that stands out for me was of a small town cop who discovers an unexploded bomb that washed up on his town beach from the war and he’s calling an expert on how to disarm it. One part that stood out was the guy on the other side with the manual apparently telling him to use some very sophisticated tool that was critical but when he says, “I don’t have one of those.” He said “ what? Huh? Try using the edge of a dime? Yeah, I have one of those.”
He hit home runs starring as a psychologist (Chicago I think) and lol his nutty patients and when that would be enough for a career, then played the owner of an Inn (Vermont, I believe) and it had the single greatest series finales. Anyone else remember it? For those who think they may watch it nd don’t want a spoiler, I will suggest stop reading here.
The whole Inn series was a dream as he wakes up in bed with his Chicago wife, Suzanne Pleshette, and tells her about all the characters in his dream from the Inn.
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Post by rgs318 on Jul 18, 2024 16:24:47 GMT -5
I agree that was perhaps the best finale for any comedy series. Yes, his first show was set in Chicago (and Newhart was in Vermont). He also had a drink every night as soon as he got home (and had the Martini delivered to his hand by Suzanne Pleshette as soon as he walked in the door).
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Post by rgs318 on Jul 18, 2024 16:27:25 GMT -5
My favorites of his many routines were "The griper in Washington's Army" and the call to Abe Lincoln from his agent. [The agent told him, Abe, remember it goes "You can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some if the time but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." The last time you said it, it came out "you can fool all of the people all of the time" and you just can't do that!  ] |
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Post by mm67 on Jul 18, 2024 16:33:12 GMT -5
He was a gift to many of us. May he rest in peace.
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Post by longsuffering on Jul 18, 2024 18:31:02 GMT -5
The series finale was brilliant. The guy who was a co-star on his first show who also co-starred on "I Dream of Jeannie" was a talented comic actor as well. I believe Bob was a pal of Don Rickles. What opposite comedic styles they had. I loved Bob's deadpan.
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Post by sader1970 on Jul 18, 2024 18:56:33 GMT -5
Here it is /\
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Post by sader1970 on Jul 18, 2024 20:35:04 GMT -5
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jul 18, 2024 21:07:45 GMT -5
He was a great talent-really enjoyed him as an actor and as a comedian. I believe he started out as an accountant but was just so funny on the phone that he turned that shtick into an enduring comedy career. Can you imagine the fun of encountering the Newharts and their best friends the Rickles couple in their travels
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Post by timholycross on Jul 19, 2024 6:34:07 GMT -5
The series finale was brilliant. The guy who was a co-star on his first show who also co-starred on "I Dream of Jeannie" was a talented comic actor as well. I believe Bob was a pal of Don Rickles. What opposite comedic styles they had. I loved Bob's deadpan. Bill Daily was the man's name.
I looked up the cast (didn't watch the show very much) and found it interesting that there were only 5 people in it you would call regulars (140 or so episodes made up the entire run of the show) and another man who was in 50.
The next most frequent cast member (19) was Florida Friebus. Any idea what show she was most noted for? No Googling!  |
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Post by rgs318 on Jul 19, 2024 6:48:53 GMT -5
The Jeffersons?
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Post by rgs318 on Jul 19, 2024 6:51:07 GMT -5
Bob said he left accounting becuase his theory was that if you "get the result within a few cents that is OK." That has actually become standard practice...with long overtime to reconcile ledgers now found to not be worth the expense. I use his method in my personal checking account. |
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Post by sader1970 on Jul 19, 2024 8:27:34 GMT -5
I believe that the M*A*S*H finale was the highest rated series finale in TV history but for my money, the Newhart finale was the best. Maybe not the entire show but the last scene which totally, TOTALLY surprised me. Newhart was a comic genius and unlike most comedians, was a college-educated person and that came across. For the life of me, I could not understand his long-time friendship with Rickles whose humor was about 180 degrees different. However, I have heard that Rickles was not at all like his on-stage persona in his real life and was an actual sweetheart. Go figure. As for M*A*S*H, some of you might know that I had one slight encounter with Alan Alda. On a business flight home from Columbus, OH to LGA. I've got the aisle seat of 3 across and the middle seat occupied by an obvious college age girl and the window seat was a lady old enough to be mother. Outside of then usual chit-chat pleasantries with them, and not really trying, their conversation was about how the semester went (sounded like OSU) and Mom apparently went there to bring daughter home. Daughter says: "Is Daddy going to pick us up at the airport" and Mom says "yes." Traditional stuff. So, we land and deboard and I lose sight of my two travel companions and then I see a tall, thin gentleman with gray hair in the crowd. He looks EXACTLY like Alan Alda EXCEPT in the show he has dark hair. He starts waving like crazy and has the Alda grin I had seen so much on M*A*S*H and he's looking right at me. And I'm thinking "huh?! I know HIM but he sure doesn't know me." Then, when I hear the girl yell "DADDY!!" I notice that daughter and Mom are right next to me. He gives both of them a big hug. Yeah, he was waving to them, not me.  I was too cool to say anything to him especially as it was homecoming for his daughter. The very next night is the Emmy Awards. The cameras show Alda at his table and next to him is his wife and daughter and another daughter. From memory, Alda won another Emmy that night. |
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Post by Tom on Jul 19, 2024 10:42:25 GMT -5
He hit home runs starring as a psychologist (Chicago I think) and lol his nutty patients and when that would be enough for a career, then played the owner of an Inn (Vermont, I believe) and it had the single greatest series finales. Anyone else remember it? For those who think they may watch it nd don’t want a spoiler, I will suggest stop reading here. The whole Inn series was a dream as he wakes up in bed with his Chicago wife, Suzanne Pleshette, and tells her about all the characters in his dream from the Inn. Fabulous finale, but not worth googling if you weren't a fan of the two shows. Not only same actress as first show, but same set as well. However, if you weren't familiar with the first show, the joke would go over your head |
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Post by Xmassader on Jul 19, 2024 14:16:10 GMT -5
Until I read his bio on Wikipedia, I didn’t realize that he grew up in an Irish/German Catholic family in Chicago, went to a Jesuit HS and then Loyola (Chic.) for undergrad and then to Loyola (Chic.) Law School before dropping out, apparently after being asked to do something unethical while he was an intern (which he refused to do).
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Post by timholycross on Jul 20, 2024 11:25:52 GMT -5
Florida Friebus played Dobie Gillis' mom!
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Post by rgs318 on Jul 20, 2024 11:32:26 GMT -5
Wow...had no idea. My info on that series starts and stops with Maynard G Krebbs. |
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Post by newfieguy74 on Jul 20, 2024 13:39:48 GMT -5
You don't remember Chatsworth Osborne Jr. III?
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jul 20, 2024 13:44:00 GMT -5
Trivia- what actor from the Dobie Gillis show later ran for congress?
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Post by timholycross on Jul 21, 2024 9:44:31 GMT -5
Trivia- what actor from the Dobie Gillis show later ran for congress? As did "Miss Jane" from the Beverly Hillbillies!
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Post by timholycross on Jul 21, 2024 9:46:24 GMT -5
You don't remember Chatsworth Osborne Jr. III? Another trivia question: What actor played Chatsworth's predecessor (different name, but same m/o; i.e. rich preppie)?
The imdb cast list for this show has some well-known folks on it
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Jul 21, 2024 10:29:54 GMT -5
Did Dwayne (Dobie) Hickman run for something?
I remember Tuesday Weld....
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Jul 21, 2024 11:26:32 GMT -5
I think Warren Beatty may have been on the show as a young man--perhaps he preceded the Chatsworth Osborne character?
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Post by sader1970 on Jul 21, 2024 16:08:04 GMT -5
Hope no one minds getting back to Bob Newhart. Look what I found:
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I was too cool to say anything to him especially as it was homecoming for his daughter. 
