Legendary Comedian Bob Newhart Dead at Age 94 After ‘A Series of Short Illnesses’
Funnyman Bob Newhart has died at the age of 94.
The comedian’s publicist confirmed that Newhart died after “a series of short illnesses” on Thursday, July 18, per The Rolling Stone.
Newhart was born and raised in a Chicago suburb and later attended Loyola University. After graduation, Newhart was drafted into the Army during the Korean War where he served as a clerk. When he finished his tour of duty, Newhart returned to Loyola to study law, but later decided to pursue a career in accounting. However, he eventually found the monotony of the job boring and created fictional conversations with a coworker.
When a local disc jockey heard one of the conversations, it opened up an opportunity for Newhart to send in his work to Warner Brothers Records, which was actively searching for new standup comedians at the time.
Newhart rose to fame after his debut album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, became a hit in the year 1960. The album won a Grammy for Best Comedy Spoken Word Album, Album of the Year and Best New Artist in 1961. From there, Newhart set his sights on acting. He started out in The Bob Newhart Variety Show, which nabbed an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, but the series was canceled after just one season. The Illinois native didn’t let the setback affect him, and in the early ‘70s, Newhart was approached by Mary Tyler Moore. Moore wanted Newhart to take on his own show once again, which led to long-running TV sitcoms like The Bob Newhart Show.
Newhart saw success in his role as psychologist Bob Hartley, and the series often took on topics that were a little edgier at the time. He and his on-screen wife, Emily (Suzanne Pleshette) were an older childless couple, something that was somewhat frowned upon in the ‘70s, but Newhart managed to tackle the subject with grace. However, he decided to call it quits with The Bob Newhart Show after 7 seasons in 1978, but it wasn’t long before he was persuaded to return to television with Newhart in 1982.
In Newhart, the First Family star played author Dick Louden, and the show lasted 8 seasons. However, its finale caused a divide in the fandom after the final scene showed Newhart waking up next to Suzanne Pleshette’s Emily in bed, proving that the entire world of Newhart was simply a dream.
Younger generations likely recognized Newhart from his role as Buddy the Elf’s dad in Elf and as The Big Bang Theory’s Professor Proton.
Newhart married Virginia Quinn in 1964 and the couple stayed married until her death in 2024. He’s survived by his four children, Robert, Timothy, Jennifer and Courtney.
In 2019, Newhart opened up about the topic of death in his typical comedic fashion.
”What I’m actually hoping is there’s the Pearly Gates and God’s there and he says to me, ‘What did you do in life?’” the dad of four told The Rolling Stone. “And I say, ‘I was a stand-up comedian.’ And he says: ‘Get in that real short line over there.’ God has an incredible sense of humor, an unimaginable sense of humor. Just look around.”
