Bob Newhart dead: one of the greatest stand-up comics was 94

Bob Newhart, one of the most beloved stand-up comedians of all time, had passed away at 94. According to THR, he died on Thursday morning, with no cause of death listed. He was 94. Many of you reading this may know him best from his classic role in Elf, where he played Will Ferrell’s adopted North Pole father, but his legendary career went back decades, with Newhart an Emmy, Golden Globe and Grammy Winner. Originally an accountant by trade, Newhart used to pass the time at work by making crank phone calls. Soon, he developed a stand-up comedy act, which became a monster hit, leading to an album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, which became the biggest-selling non-musical album of all time and won him three Grammys in 1961.

From there, Newhart became a popular talk show guest before moving into acting. In the seventies, he had a major hit. The Bob Newhart Show, in which he played a neurotic psychiatrist. In the eighties, he had another hit sitcom, Newhart, where he played an innkeeper in Vermont. The series finale to this sitcom is widely considered one of the best and most unusual ever, with the entire show having been a dream by the character he played on The Bob Newhart Show. He even wakes up in bed beside the woman who played his wife on that show, Suzanne Pleshette. As a child watching it, it blew my mind. More recently, he won an Emmy (his first ever – which is insane) for his recurring guest spot on The Big Bang Theory, where he played Arthur Jeffries in half a dozen episodes. He also had a (different) recurring role on the spin-off, Young Sheldon. 

Meanwhile, Newhart also had a decent run on the big screen, co-starring in the classic war satire adaptation Catch-22, voicing one of the titular mice in the Disney Rescuers movies, and co-starring in the comedy In & Out.

Newhart was also famous for being best friends with Don Rickles, the famous curmudgeonly insult comedian, with Judd Apatow recently making a short film about their famous friendship you can watch here. Through it all, Bob Newhart was a once-in-a-lifetime talent and a guy whose appeal spawned generations.

Let us know your favorite Newhart role in the talkbacks.