The comedian Bob Newhart whose stutter and deadpan prowess brought him stardom as a stand-up comedian and as a comedic actor on TV and in film, died at age 94 . The information was released this Thursday (18) by Jerry Digney, the actor’s agent.
Digney said Newhart died Thursday morning (18) in Los Angeles after a series of illnesses. The agent described the comedian’s death as “the end of an era in comedy.”
For five decades, Newhart’s popularity has rarely waned, whether recording a comedy album (“The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” was the first comedy album to win a Grammy for Album of the Year, for example), or starring or supporting in TV or movie comedies like “Catch-22,” “The City Against Vice” or “Elf.”
His notoriety continues to be due to the television programs “The Bob Newhart Show” (1972-1978) and “Newhart (1982-1990), two that were built on his persona as a reasonable man exploited by crazy people.
Born George Robert Newhart, the comedian was originally an accountant and copywriter. He was born on September 5, 1929 in Oak Park, Illinois in the United States.
He rose to fame with his 1960 album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart. The album was a phenomenon of its time: it became the best-selling album of the year, stayed at number one for 14 weeks on the Billboard album chart, and won a Grammy. He also had his second album, The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!, go to number one.
“The Bob Newhart Show” premiered in 1972. He played a Chicago psychologist, Bob Hartley, who saw a series of eccentric patients.
In “Newhart,” he took on the role of Vermont innkeeper Dick Loudon, who tries to stay sane while surrounded by comical locals.
In both cases, their characters found refuge with their wives, played by Suzanne Pleshette on “The Bob Newhart Show” and Mary Frann on “Newhart.”
The final episode of “Newhart” remains one of the most famous in the history of television. In the chapter, the town of Newhart is purchased by a Japanese millionaire. Golfers at a new course regularly hit the inn with their shots, and one day – in the middle of an argument with the townspeople – Newhart is hit by a golf ball. After a quick fade, he wakes up… as Hartley, his character from “The Bob Newhart Show,” in bed with Pleshette.
“Honey, wake up! You won’t believe the dream I just had,” he tells her, to a roar of laughter from the audience.
Newhart hosted a television variety show, also called “The Bob Newhart Show,” in 1961. Although it lasted only one season, he was honored with a Peabody Award.
He was a frequent guest on talk shows of the time and a regular substitute host on the “Tonight Show.”
Newhart never really retired, continuing to make television appearances in later years in “Young Sheldon ” It is “The Big Bang Theory ”.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m Robert Neff, a professional writer and editor. I specialize in the entertainment section, providing up-to-date coverage on the latest developments in film, television and music. My work has been featured on World Stock Market and other prominent publications.
