Bob Newhart

Bob Newhart
Newhart at the 1987 Emmy Awards
Birth name	George Robert Newhart
Born	(1929-09-05)September 5, 1929 Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.
Died	July 18, 2024(2024-07-18) (aged 94) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	San Fernando Mission Cemetery, Mission Hills, California
Medium	Album film television stand-up
Alma mater	Loyola University Chicago (BBA)
Years active	1958–2020
Genres	Deadpan satire observational comedy
Subject(s)	American culture American politics
Spouse	Virginia Quinn ​ ​ (m. 1963; died 2023)​
Children	4[1]
Relative(s)	Paul Brittain (nephew)[2] Bill Quinn (father-in-law)
Website	bobnewhartofficial.com
Military service
Service	United States Army
Years of service	1952–1954
Rank	Staff sergeant
Unit	Armed Forces Radio Service
Awards	Good Conduct Medal

George Robert Newhart (September 5, 1929 – July 18, 2024) was an American comedian and actor. He was known for his deadpan and stammering delivery style. Beginning as a stand-up comedian, he transitioned his career to acting in television. He received numerous accolades, including three Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2002.^[3]

Newhart came to prominence in 1960 when his record album of comedic monologues, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, became a bestseller and reached number one on the Billboard pop album chart and won two Grammy Awards for Album of the Year, and Best New Artist.^[4] That same year he released his follow-up album, The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back! (1960), which was also a success, and the two albums held the Billboard number one and number two spots simultaneously.^[5] He later released several additional comedy albums.

Newhart hosted a short-lived NBC variety show titled The Bob Newhart Show (1961) before starring as Chicago psychologist Robert Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show from 1972 to 1978. For the latter, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Male TV Star. He then starred as Vermont innkeeper Dick Loudon on the series Newhart from 1982 to 1990 where he received three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He also had two short-lived sitcoms, Bob (1992–1993) and George and Leo (1997–1998).

Newhart acted in films such as Hot Millions (1968), Catch-22 (1970), Cold Turkey (1971), In & Out (1997), and Elf (2003). He also voiced Bernard in the Disney animated films The Rescuers (1977) and The Rescuers Down Under (1990). Newhart played Professor Proton on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory from 2013 to 2018, for which he received his first ever career Emmy Award, for the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He also reprised his role as Professor Proton in the prequel series Young Sheldon (2017–2020).^[6]