News

When Bob Newhart died July 19 at the age of 94, the world lost one of the last remaining comedians of a certain era. Predating “Saturday Night Live” and more contemporary avenues for comedy, the Chicago-born master of dry, deadpan wit came up through stand-up sets in his city, growing into a familiar face in the ’60s with appearances on variety series such as “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.” His debut live album “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” was what shot him into full superstar status, becoming the first comedy album to receive the Grammy for Album of the Year; a feat most comedians ever seem unlikely to repeat today.

Of course, nowadays Newhart is remembered most vividly not for his live work but as one of the great stars of the sitcom genre. He had two short-lived series (“Bob” and “George and Leo”) that sputtered after...

CBS sitcom "The Bob Newhart Show" was a staple for American TV audiences of the '70s, thanks in large part to clever writing and Newhart's much-loved performance as psychologist and comedic straight man Bob Hartley. The show ran for six seasons from 1972 to 1978, but it had a surprisingly long pop cultural afterlife. Characters from "The Bob Newhart Show" have popped up in everything from "Murphy Brown" to "St. Elsewhere" to "Alf," though their most famous reappearance came in the jokey "Newhart" finale in 1990. In it, Newhart wakes up in bed next to his wife from the previous series and discovers that this entire sitcom was all an elaborate dream. "The Bob Newhart Show," it turned out, was his real world.

When it wasn't being resurrected for increasingly meta crossovers, "The Bob Newhart Show" was a pretty straightforward sitcom about the life of a mental health clinician and the assortment...

The Big Bang Theory recruited comedy legend Bob Newhart to its roster of characters in 2013. But the veteran comic had two unique requirements to solidify his slot on the hit program.

Bob Newhart wanted these 2 things included in ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Bob Newhart | Michael Buckner/Getty Images

Newhart was already an established television star and comedian before being brought on board The Big Bang Theory. Perhaps his most iconic roles were in the sitcoms The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart. The latter even had one of television’s most lauded series finales.

Newhart has had several other television credits to his name since then. He briefly starred in the sitcom George and Leo, and has enjoyed small parts in a variety of shows ranging from Mad TV to ER.

In 2013, he added The Big Bang Theory to his long legacy. Newhart played a fictional character by the name of Professor Proton,...