Bob Newhart, comedy legend, dies at 94

Award-winning actor and legendary comedian Bob Newhart has died, according to multiple reports. The comedy icon was 94.

Newhart died on Thursday at his home in Los Angeles after a series of short illnesses, according to his longtime publicist Jerry Digney.

Newhart is survived by four children and 10 grandchildren.

In 1955, Newhart started a job as an accountant. However, he realized that he wanted a career in comedy.

Newhart started making comedic bits revolving around one-sided telephone conversations. He was hired to do comedy sketches on the radio.

Newhart then became a stand-up comedian. He notched a contract with Warner Brothers Records, which resulted in the 1960 release of “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” — the first comedy album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts. It won the Grammy for Album of the Year, and Newhart took home the award for Best New Artist. In 2007, the comedy album was selected as one of 25 entries into the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.

Newhart followed up with an illustrious television and movie career.

In 1962, Newhart appeared in the Steve McQueen war film "Hell Is for Heroes."

Newhart acted in notable movies such as "Cold Turkey," "In & Out," and "Elf," plus was a voice actor in Disney's "The Rescuers."

His TV career started in 1961 when he hosted "The Bob Newhart Show." The show lasted only one season, but Newhart was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Peabody Award.

In 1963, he made an appearance in an episode of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour."

In 1972, he got his second "The Bob Newhart Show," which ran until 1978.

In 1982, the iconic deadpan comedic actor got another sitcom with "Newhart," which lasted eight years.

Newhart starred in the sitcom "Bob" for one season starting in 1992 and then in "George and Leo" with Judd Hirsch in 1997.

Newhart appeared in episodes of "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," "Saturday Night Live," "The Simpsons," "Everybody Loves Raymond," "ER," "NCIS," "The Big Bang Theory," and "Young Sheldon" in 2020.

Newhart was a regular on the TV talk show and variety show circuit, making numerous guest appearances on "The Jack Paar Show," "The Gary Moore Show," "The Dean Martin Show," "The Ed Sullivan Show," and "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson."

Newhart was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1993.

For his comedic talents, he won the Mark Twain Prize for Humor in 2002.

Newhart is survived by four children and 10 grandchildren. His wife of 60 years, Virginia "Ginnie" Newhart, died in 2023.

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