CNN Editorial Research
(CNN) — Here’s a look at the life of comedian, actor and writer Bob Newhart.
Personal
Birth date: September 5, 1929
Birth place: Oak Park, Illinois
Birth name: George Robert Newhart
Father: George David Newhart, part-owner of a plumbing and heating business
Mother: Julia Pauline (Burns) Newhart
Marriage: Virginia (Quinn) Newhart (January 12, 1963-April 23, 2023, her death)
Children: Robert, Timothy, Jennifer and Courtney
Education: Loyola University of Chicago, B.S., 1952; Attended Loyola University School of Law in the mid-1950s.
Military service: US Army, 1952-1954
Other Facts
Before becoming a stand-up comedian, Newhart was an accountant for US Gypsum and an advertising copywriter in Chicago.
Stammering and saying “Same to you, fella,” are two standards of his deadpan monologues.
Some part of his name is in the title of each of his four television shows, Bob, Newhart and George.
He has earned nine Primetime Emmy nominations and won one. He was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1993.
He has been nominated for five Grammy Awards and won three.
He guest-hosted “The Tonight Show” 87 times.
Timeline
1959 – Signs recording contract with Warner Brothers.
February 1960 – First night club performance, at the Tidelands Motor Inn in Houston.
April 1, 1960 – His first album, “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart,” is released on April Fool’s Day. The album goes on to reach number one on the Billboard charts. It is the first comedy album to do so.
April 13, 1961 – Wins three Grammy Awards: Album of the Year for “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart,” Best Comedy Performance – Spoken Word for “The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!” and Best New Artist.
October 11, 1961-June 13, 1962 – “The Bob Newhart Show,” a 60-minute variety show with Newhart as host, airs. The short-lived show wins a Peabody Award and an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Humor.
1962 – First movie role in “Hell is for Heroes,” a World War II drama starring Steve McQueen.
September 16, 1972-April 1, 1978 – “The Bob Newhart Show” airs, with Newhart as psychologist Bob Hartley living in Chicago.
October 25, 1982-May 21, 1990 – “Newhart” airs, with Newhart playing a Vermont innkeeper.
September 18, 1992-December 27, 1993 – “Bob” airs, with Newhart as a cartoonist.
September 15, 1997-March 16, 1998 – “George & Leo” airs, with Newhart as a bookstore owner.
January 6, 1999 – Receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
October 29, 2002 – Receives the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
September 2006 – Newhart’s memoir, “I Shouldn’t Even Be Doing This!: And Other Things That Strike Me as Funny,” is published.
2007 – His album “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
2012 – The Newhart Family Theatre at the Mundelein Center for the Fine and Performing Arts opens at Loyola University in Chicago. Newhart graduated from Loyola and his three sisters graduated from Mundelein College. The two schools merged in 1991.
2013 – Wins an Emmy for Best Guest Actor for the television series “The Big Bang Theory.”
June 11, 2015 – Newhart appears in the opening episode of the documentary series “The Seventies.”
July 18, 2018 – The audio series “Hi Bob!” is released. In it, Newhart talks with various celebrities.
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