Bob Newhart, the American stand-up performer whose comedy made him one of many high TV stars of his period, has died, his publicist introduced Thursday. He was 94 years outdated.
The embellished Chicago icon was an accountant earlier than putting gold with comedy, acclaimed for his dry, deadpan supply.
He died at his Los Angeles dwelling after a sequence of quick diseases, his longtime publicist Jerry Digney stated in a press release.
Born September 5, 1929, in suburban Illinois, Newhart studied enterprise administration earlier than being drafted into the U.S. Army and serving within the Korean War.
He briefly studied regulation earlier than quitting and getting work as an accountant, whereas moonlighting as a comedy performer and author.
“In 1959, I gave myself a year to make it in comedy; it was back to accounting if comedy didn’t work out,” he has stated.
It did — he was signed to Warner Bros. Records, and “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” grew to become the music trade’s first comedy album to hit the highest of the gross sales charts.
It earned him prestigious Grammys for Best New Artist and Best Album, and helped launch his profession in tv. The recording is now archived within the Library of Congress.
Newhart starred in two long-running sitcoms within the Seventies and Eighties, and made visitor star appearances into his 90s.
He featured as a recurring visitor on “The Big Bang Theory” and likewise starred as Papa Elf within the Christmas movie “Elf.”
The second of his sitcoms — the eight-season “Newhart” — closed in one of the vital memorable sequence finales of all time.
In the ultimate episode, Newhart’s character wakes up in mattress together with his spouse from the primary sitcom, telling her a few unusual dream — the plot of the second present.
The stunt parodied a well-known plot factor from the sequence “Dallas.”
Newhart is survived by 4 youngsters. His spouse of six a long time, Virginia, died in 2023.
“Comedy has given me a wonderful life. When I first started out in stand-up, I just remember the sound of laughter,” he as soon as stated. “It’s one of the great sounds of the world.”
© 2024 AFP