Talk about longevity! Bob Newhart is celebrating his 50th year in show business. For this accomplishment, he was honored by the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences on June 1 at the Leonard H. Golderson Theatre in North Hollywood.
Fifty years – wow. What did Newhart have to say about his career? “I’m surprised it lasted this long, you know? I may have a future in this business. I don’t know,” said Newhart, in what I pictured is his typical deadpan but hilarious delivery.
I have always loved Bob Newhart. I grew up with him in the ‘70s as Dr. Bob Hartley on “The Bob Newhart Show.” I wanted to be a psychiatrist and live in a really cool apartment that overlooked Chicago with my best friend living close by. Of course, none of that happened, but the show is still a favorite of mine today and I own several seasons on DVD.
After six seasons of “The Bob Newhart Show,” Bob returned to sitcom television in 1982 with “Newhart.” I will admit that I never watched “Newhart” as much because I loved the Hartley character so much. I did watch the finale and what a perfect example of classic television it was.
I don’t think I will spoil the ending for anyone since the show ended in 1990, so I will tell you what happened. Bob, playing innkeeper Dick Loudon, wakes up at the end of the show and rolls over to tell his wife, “”Honey, you won’t believe the dream I just had.” But, it isn’t his “Newhart” wife Mary (played by Joanna Loudon), but by “The Bob Newhart Show” wife Emily (played by Suzanne Pleshette). After a brief exchange, Dick tells Emily to go back to sleep, adding “You really should wear more sweaters,” something Joanna Loudon was known for doing on “Newhart.” “Newhart” ran eight seasons.
Now for some people, that might be enough. But, octogenarian Bob remains active, having appeared in three episodes of “ER” in 2003, three episodes of “Desperate Housewives” in 2005, and most recently on “The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice.” He also appears on talk shows such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Tonight Show,” and “The Bonnie Hunt Show.”
If you are a Newhart fan, you may want to check out his comedy albums from the ‘60s. That’s how Bob started his career and it is classic Newhart that still remains relevant and hilarious in today’s world. I didn’t discover them until several years ago, but am glad I did. You can purchase “Something Like This…The Bob Newhart Anthology,” “Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart,” “Best of Bob Newhart” and “This Is It!“ at Amazon.com.
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