CBS Presents Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter An Entertainment Tonight Specil Closed Captioned
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-♪ -[cheering]
MAN: Come on, y'all, this is Bob Newhart!
[cheering and applause]
Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX
Really didn't expect it to last this long.
-Hello? -H-hello?
-Hello? -Hello?
NISCHELLE TURNER: Bob Newhart.
His career spanned seven decades,
from stand-up...
-Hiya. All right... -[audience laughs]
TURNER: ...to sitcoms...
Honey, I'm home.
TURNER: ...and the big screen.
There's something I-I probably should tell you.
TURNER: How he went from an accountant...
It's unusual for a good accountant to become a comedian.
TURNER: ...to a Hollywood legend...
There were times when I thought to myself,
"Boy, you really screwed up your life."
TURNER: ...changing American culture with comedy.
I'm never gonna see another psychologist,
not even socially.
TURNER: Stories you never knew about Bob...
They were trying out hosts,
and I was a blithering idiot.
TURNER: ...and the blind date turned love of his life.
I wanted to be, uh, treated like a star,
but she wouldn't have any of that.
TURNER: His legacy in his own words...
What I get more and more now
is "Thank you for all the years of laughter,"
and... and my answer is-is the truth.
It was... it was my pleasure.
TURNER: CBS presents
Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter.
TURNER: Honoring the incomparable Bob Newhart.
Welcome, everybody. I'm Nischelle Turner.
He was a master of comedy,
a respected actor, a trailblazer.
But the thing about Bob is
he never needed a script to be funny.
He was just naturally brilliant at getting a laugh,
especially when it was off the cuff.
INTERVIEWER: Do you believe in reincarnatio?
If I had a choice, I would...
I think I would come back as my wife.
I mean, to be able to spend every day with me.
How much better can it get, you know?
INTERVIEWER 2: What's the secret to looking like you do
and being as talented
as you are at 88 years old?
Well, plastic surgery.
[interviewer laughs]
He just embodies the joy of what we get to do.
He was just always
wonderful and always happy.
This is not a toy.
Testing one, two, three, four. Testing one, two, three, four.
Pilot to Bombardier. Pilot to Bombardier.
INTERVIEWER 3: How do you account for the fact that not just once,
but twice, you have had
long-running, successful TV series?
America loves me.
Well, I mean, I-I am a television personality.
It's-it's only natural that I would attract
a certain number of fans.
TURNER: With his deadpan delivery and trademark stammer,
Bob Newhart turned the role of the comedy straight man
into a bona fide art form.
How you doing?
Okay, except I throwed my back out last week
crawling under a house.
Sounds like a tough job.
Wasn't a job, I just like crawling under houses.
Bob Newhart came to do
an episode of NCIS.
-Who are you? -[clears throat]
My name is, uh, is Magnus.
WEATHERLY: You know, your heart really is just
racing when that happens, and you have to
remember to stay in the scene because you're,
you know, he needs an acting partner.
You can't just be a fanboy.
You know you're not going to be a quarterback
and you're... and you're not going to be
on the basketball team,
and... but you made guys laugh,
and-and you became somebody.
It was important to become somebody.
Ladies and gentlemen, we proudly welcome to
the Walk of Fame, Mr. Bob Newhart.
Bobby, there it is. What do you think?
[cheering and applause]
I'm, uh, reminded of a story.
I'm reminded...
[police siren wails distantly]
Oh. Uh...
Ah, they're on to me, I guess.
[laughter]
Have you always written most of your stuff, Bob?
Yeah, I could-- when I first started out,
I-I couldn't afford anybody,
-you know? -Right.
So I had to write it myself.
And, uh, I have written 95% of it.
That's-that's the real kick,
is-is getting the germ of an idea
and then going with it
and then going out on stage and trying it
and having it work. That's-that's-that's the fun.
TURNER: Stand-up, movies, television,
Bob did it all.
But before he was an award-winning "A" lister,
Bob was a not so mild-mannered accountant
with a dream.
People will say to me, "Were you really an accountant?"
And I really was, because,
you know, why would...
why would you lie about something like that?
I worked as an accountant and, uh,
and just decided one day, I was just going to give this a try.
And then, the-the...
for four years, nothing happened.
And then, a disc jockey friend of mine in Chicago,
Dan Sorkin, invited the Warner Brothers people
to listen to some material I had written.
And they said, "Okay, we'll record it
at your next nightclub."
And I said, "Well, we-we got kind of a problem there
'cause I've never played a nightclub."
And they said, "Well, we'll have to
book you into a nightclub."
So they booked me into a club in, uh,
in Houston, Texas, called the Tidelands.
MAN: Right now, ladies and gentleme,
Bob Newhart.
[applause]
NEWHART: Thank you. Thank you very much.
I went down there for two week,
worked on a nightclub floor
for the first time in my life,
terrified out of my mind,
but realized that if you show fear of any kind,
you're... you're dead.
So, with much bravado and fear,
I walked out and recorded the album,
which, uh, then
proceeded to go to number one.
Uh, Listen, Abe, I got the not. What-what's the problem?
You're-you're thinking of shaving it off.
[audience laughs]
Uh, Abe, uh, don't you see that's part of the image?
Right, with the shawl and the stovepipe hat,
-the string tie. -[audience laughs]
TURNER: Yes, Bob was a pioneer of
the stand-up comedy special.
His first two records won him three Grammys.
In 1961, it was the first time
a comedy album won album of the year,
beating out Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra,
and the only time a comedian has ever won best new artist.
NEWHART: My first album went to number one.
Then my second album went to number two.
Then the second album went to number one,
and the first album went to number two.
And that record was broken by Guns N' Roses.
TURNE: That success led to Bob's first steady television gig,
The Bob Newhart Show.
No, not this one.
[ringing]
Hello.
♪
TURNER: This one.
NEWHART: Yeah, I'm kind of surprised to have my own show, too.
TURNER: The 1961 variety show only lasted for a season.
It would be another decade
before Bob's groundbreaking sitcom of the same name
brought his brand of comedy to a wider audience.
This is Dr. Robert Hartley.
Yeah, could you tell me the, uh, the balance
in-in my checking account?
Four--
$47?
Could, uh, could you tell me
how I'd go about stopping payment on about...
16 checks?
INTERVIEWER: What do you think, uh, was
really made this show work for six seasons?
I think-- I think it was respect for our audience.
I think we respected their intelligence.
TURNER: The series featured Bob as a psychologist
living in his own hometown of Chicago,
with Suzanne Pleshette being
the perfect counterpoint as his wife Emily.
Gee, you know, Bob, all of a sudden,
you're so strong and impulsive.
Is that right, Emily?
Yeah, I think I liked you better the other way.
NEWHART: I was a psychologist, not a psychiatrist,
'cause I think a psychiatrist deals with much more
uh, serious problems.
And-and I said, I don't want any schizophrenic jokes,
I don't want any split-personality jokes.
And we tried to stay away from that.
We worked with groups, you kno,
that were people that were paranoid
or maybe neurotic at the most.
'Cause I didn't want to get our humor from that,
and I-I don't think we did.
When I gave him his college graduation present,
he hit me with it.
-What-what'd you give him? -A Pontiac.
INTERVIEWER: Why does it have such enduring appeal?
NEWHART: A great cast, to begin with.
The chemistry of the cast and-and great writing.
-Right. -And, um,
and then a star who takes all the credit for it.
[laughing]
INTERVIEWER: Did he take the credit for everything?
You are so [bleep] cute.
You're so cute.
-Never did. He never did. -No.
-Never, never, never. -It was a true ensemble.
TURNER: Ranked one of the greatest sitcoms of all time,
The Bob Newhart Show has been called quietly revolutionary.
The show helped legitimize therapy
as a practice in the 1970s,
and featured a couple who slept in the same bed,
but didn't have children.
Bob, until we have a family of our own,
substitute teaching is a good way for me to keep busy.
If you get any busier, we won't have time for a family.
TURNER: One of the secrets behind the show's long-term success:
Bob had the foresight
to make sure the humor was timeless.
I'll have this finished by the time I get through
the checker counter.
Howard, that's stealing.
No, stealing is when you walk out with it.
When eat it here, it's called snacking.
NEWHART: I said to the writers, I said, you know,
this show's gonna be syndicated.
All shows are syndicated,
so let's not do any topical jokes.
You know, uh,
we're going to look pretty silly in 15 years
doing, uh, President Ford tripping jokes.
And, uh, and we avoided that.
And I see it on some shows,
that it becomes very dated.
Hi, honey.
Well, of course, it's every Monday.
That's why it's called Monday Night Football.
TURNER: Bob also employed a bit
he perfected during his stand-up days,
his famous one-sided phone conversation.
It's how the first episode of the series began.
Mrs. Harrell, we've been over this before.
As you said yourself, you overeat because, uh,
having a beautiful body, you feel, threatens you.
Well, I'm happy to hear you
that you've been able to control it.
Mrs. Harrell? Yeah, I-I can't understand you
with your mouth full.
[audience laughs]
TURNER: One of the show's greatest assets,
according to Bob: the live studio audience.
Bob hated laugh tracks.
Well, the problem... I found the problem today,
and not to put down the programs today,
but they don't do them in front of a live audience.
And we always did it in front of a live audience where
the material was judged, so the writing was better,
and the actors
reacted more to the live audience.
TURNER: At the height of its popularit,
the Bob Newhart show
even spawned a drinking game.
The rules are simple. You take a sip every time
you hear someone say, "Bob."
Take a shot when you hear, "Hi, Bob."
-Hey, Bob. -Hello, Bob.
-Bob. -Bob.
-Hi, Bob. -Bob.
Hi, Bob.
NEWHART: Oh, I've never played it. No.
But I've heard various rules, various rules for it.
But if-if you play it,
don't-don't go out driving after you played "Hi, Bob."
TURNER: The cast remained close throughout their lives
and reunited to celebrate the show's 19th anniversary in
1991. Bob had this...this sillydream.
It wasn't silly. It was very real. It was...
almost like I... I lived it.
It isn't just a cast getting together. It's friends.
And we've-we've stayed friends over the years, so...
Uh, we were portraying real people.
We weren't cartoons. And I thik people could identify with.
And...
I think people like to watch real people.
["Home to Emily" playing]
When I look back,
I remember those people
and how much fun we had, and, uh...
...and they're gone.
TURNER: Up next, how Bob created
one of the most memorable moments in TV history
with the help of his wife Ginnie.
[cheering, applause]
Plus, Lisa Kudrow, Betty White and Jason Bateman...
Yeah, buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-bye, buh-bye, now.
[laughter, applause]
That's, uh... that's, uh... It's not bad.
TURNER: ...behind the scenes with Bob and his famous costars.
WHITE: Do you wear makeup all the time at home?
Yeah. Yeah.
-Good for you. -[chuckles]
-I'll see you later. -Cannot stand her.
♪
My favorite story is the one that--
of the-the man who wanted you--
You were running a little long on the fir--
-the old Bob Newhart Show. -Oh.
The-the very first year of, uh...
of The Bob Newhart Show with Suzie,
the show was running a little long,
and, uh...
we-we needed about-- take two minutes out of the--
out of the script. And, uh...
they came up to me and they said, "Could you kind of...
"Would you mind running your speeches together?
-'Cause it would, you know, really help us." -[giggling]
And I said, "Well, this-this stammer
"has gotten me a home in Beverly Hills,
-and I'm not-not about to change it now." -No.
TURNER: Bob Newhart never expected
to hit it big in television,
but four years after saying goodbye
to psychologist Bob Hartley,
he was ready for a comeback as Dick Loudon onNewhart.
[theme music playing]
I've heard from every crackpot and loose screw in the county.
Oh, your mother called.
[laughter]
I'm about 85%, um,
uh, Bob Hartley,
uh, Dick Loudon.
Uh, and as my kids will testif, and my wife,
the other 15%
is a very...
extremely sick man...
...who should be put away
but is making too much money doing what he's doing.
So they're not about--
The family's not about to commit him.
-REPORTER: [chuckles] No. -[laughing]
TURNER: The series about a Vermont innkeeper
surrounded by a group of eccentric locals
was a natural fit for Bob.
He just had to get used to having a different TV wife.
I remember o-one time I called,
uh, Mary Frann, I called her "Emily."
-DUFFY: Yeah. [laughs] -[Voldstad laughs] -NEWHART: Instead of Joanna.
And the audience...
the audience just broke up.
TURNER: But once again, Bob was the straight man,
with plenty of opportunities for his signature
one-sided phone conversations.
No, I-I'm sorry, we don't accept pets.
We do accept children, yes.
NEWHART: Going into this series,
um...
I sat down and tried to find
what I thought were the reasons that the first series worked.
And so I tried to take those same things
that made that show successful
and-and apply them to this, which was
in the case of an inn.
And the owner of an inn obviously
can't say to a-a guest,
"You're a nut. Get out of my hotel."
I'll tell you what, there's a--
there's a very nice kennel in town.
Well...
Well, you-you can call 'em,
but I-I don't think they take people.
REPORTER: Who was the biggest prankster?
-That would be... -[laughing]
We just, um...
We just laughed. I mean, we-we just--
It was eight-eight years of laughing.
We had a show last week where I was very mad at him
and I storm to the bedroom closet to put my clothes away,
and he had arranged
for all this paraphernalia to fall out of the closet--
handcuffs, whips, chains, everything.
And I turned to the audience and said,
"And you're not getting any of that tonight, either."
Is that "700"?
[laughing]
-No. No. -No.
TURNER: In spite of its 25 Emmy nominations,
the show never took home a trophy.
But it was a hit with critics and audiences alike,
running for eight seasons and consistently charting
among the top 25 shows on the air.
I think the women watch and they say,
"Oh, my God, that's exactly what Norm or Ted or Fred would do."
And the men watch and they say,
"Oh, God, I would have done exactly the same thing.
"And thank God I'm watching it
instead of being the person that's doing it."
Okay, that's it.
[man laughing]
I've heard enough out of you guys.
Oh, yeah?
Pretty much, yeah.
TURNER: But it's the series finale in 1990,
with a then unknown Lisa Kudrow guesting,
that's considered one of the most memorable in TV history.
-Honey. -[laughter, applause]
Honey. [clears throat]
Honey, wake up. You...
you won't believe the dream I just had.
[Emily groans]
In the sixth year--
this is-- the show went eight years-- in the sixth year,
we were at a Christmas party, and my--
I said to my wife Ginnie, I said, uh...
I said, "I think this is the last year of the show."
And right away, she said, "Well,
"if this is the last year, you ought to end it in a--
in a dream sequence and wake up in bed with Suzanne."
[cheering, applause]
All right, Bob.
What is it?
Well, I-I was an innkeeper in this...
crazy little town in Vermont.
-[laughter] -TURNER: Yes, that's Suzanne Pleshette,
Bob's TV wife from his first sitcom,
revealing the whole series was just a dream.
That final shot was a closely guarded secret.
NEWHART: Even the crew, they-they-they went to dinner
and we said, "Oh, we've added a...
we've added a scene." So... [stammers]
You know, camera,
you-you shoot this way, you shoot that way.
-VOLDSTAD: Wow. -So they-they didn't even know about it.
TURNER: Bob continued to do stand-up shows
and even did a couple of movies during his time away from TV.
But it didn't take long for him
to find a live studio audience again.
In 1992, he made his return withBob.
[theme music playing]
I've always had a gift
for titling shows.
-[laughter] -I did a... I...
I did a show in '61
calledThe Bob Newhart Show.
It was a variety show. ThenBob Newhart Show,
thenNewhart, thenBob.
And the next series,
which I'll be doing in my 90s, uh...
will be called The.
[laughter]
TURNER: But this show was different frm anything Bob had done before.
For starters,
he was a cartoonist with a family.
Dad, you created a comic book?
I didn't know you used to be interesting.
NEWHART: I actually have a daughter.
I actually, uh, apparently...
...after the success of the other two shows...
...finally learned how to have children,
um, late in life.
You know, when I say, "Well, honey, here's what I would do,"
I've never said that in a series before.
So it-it really is-is...
I mean, I've said it in real life a lot of times,
but, uh, it's the first time in a series I've ever done it.
TURNER: Bob also cast longtime friends in cameos on the show,
likeThe Bob Newhart Show's Bill Daily
andNewhart alum Tom Poston.
Betty White signed on as Bob's boss in season two.
I'm a newborn baby, Bob.
Spank my little rear and watch me go.
[laughter]
Me-Metaphorically, of course.
WHITE: I'm trying to remember this man's last name.
-[laughing] -I know his first name because,
you know, it's on the front of all the books.
-Newhart. That's right. That's what it is. -Newhart. Right, right. Yeah.
TURNER: Bob the series was canceled after two seasons,
but Bob the comedian was almost philosophical about its demise.
A decision was made to, um...
...to show the American public
a Bob they had never seen.
And, uh, uh, actors, we call it stretching.
And I found that actors should only stretch
in exercise videos.
-They shouldn't... -[laughter]
They shouldn't stretch in front of anybody else.
Uh, because, the public,
they don't care whether you're stretching or not.
So we gave 'em a-a Bob they had never seen,
and they came back with a very resounding
"We don't want to see a Bob we've never seen.
Bring that other guy back, the one we like."
So... so I learned my lesson and I'm not stretching.
TURNER: Well, actually, Bob stretched one more time--
in 1997, with the sitcom George & Leo.
And if you're thinking Bob finally moved away
from using his own name to title his shows, think agai.
George is his real first name.
ANNOUNCER: The one and only Mr. Bob Newhart!
-[cheering, whistling] -NEWHART: We do this in front
of a-a live audience.
Uh, Judd did all of his.
I've done all of mine in front of a live audience.
Just, uh... That's the way you do it. I don't, uh...
-Laugh track is stupid. Um... -[laughter]
I mean, I-I r-- I-I'm offended by it.
You know, I mean, a-a guy walks in the door and says hello
and it's... [laughing loudly]
TURNER: Bob starred as George,
Judd Hirsch was Leo
in this comedy of opposites.
The two become in-laws when their kids get married.
And, yes, that's Jason Bateman as Bob's son.
Oh, that's a...
perfect version of-of my signature.
Yeah. I mastered it back in high school.
[laughter]
I-I-I can also do you on the phone.
Uh...
Yeah, yeah, Ted...
Ted is sick today.
[laughter]
Yeah, buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-bye, buh-bye, now.
[laughter]
That's, uh... that's, uh... It's not bad.
The idea of-of Bob Newhart and Judd Hirsch
handling a grandchild is, you know...
puts a smile on anybody's face.
L-Look at her again.
-[baby crying] -[laughter]
Uh, I-I had the same reaction
-when I first met him. -Come on.
TURNER: The show only ran for 22 episodes.
But once again, Bob made sure o reunite with some old friends,
bringing some ofThe Bob Newhart Show cast
together one more time
on the last series he ever starred in.
Well, good for you, Bob.
Not easy to admit you have a problem.
He called me "Bob." Didn't even realize he called me "Bob."
But the man's getting along in years, and...
it's to be excused.
We're shooting here!
BONERZ: Don't excuse me, Bob.
-That's okay. I can take it. -[laughing]
That's okay. If that's the way he has to work
to get laughs these days, it's okay. I-I'll...
I'll suffer.
♪
NEWHART: The art in making is
making it appear to be yourself.
And the art is in...
in making it not appear to be acting.
Um...
But when they're not your words
and three cameras are aimed at you
and you try not to bump into furniture,
then-then it's acting.
TURNER: But Bob wasn't just a TV comedy pioneer.
Yes, yes, I-I raised Buddy.
TURNER: Coming up,
from Papa Elf to Professor Proton,
how Bob became a pop culture icon.
Thank you, Sid.
[chuckles]
He's such a-a national treasure.
♪
And action.
[knocking]
PAPA ELF: Buddy, are you okay?
I'm sorry, Papa.
Just need some alone time.
TURNER: Bob Newhart brought his wit and charm to the big scree,
winning over a whole new generation of fans
with movies like Elf.
The 2003 film became an instant Christmas classic,
and is still one of the highest-grossing holiday movies
of all time.
[gasps] Santa's sleigh.
You're gonna help me make it fly.
NEWHART: I have two boys, and, um,
Will was my son. I just treated him as I...
as I would a son.
WILL FERRELL: Yeah, Bob-- I just tried to,
you know, take advantage of all my time with... with Bob.
Buddy, I-I think there is something
I-I probably should tell you.
I didn't put in for the tights.
You know, at the end of a movi,
you can always put in
for wardrobe, but I...
I didn't care if I ever wore them again.
TURNER: That same year, Bob got a crash course
in designer fashion, as Elle Woods' doorman
inLegally Blonde 2.
[scoffs] All day long,
I've felt like white, open-toed shoes after Labor Day.
I hate that feeling.
What, uh, what... whatever that means.
I read the script, I liked the script, and, uh,
it was chance to work with, uh... with Reese.
Thank you, Sid.
[laughs softly]
REESE WITHERSPOON: Bob Newhart--
he's such a... a national treasure.
I found myself just listening to him.
Uh, uh, c-coming through. Uh, pardon me.
TURNER: Back in the '70s, Bob lent his iconic voice
to the Disney animated film The Rescuers,
and its sequel in the '90s.
-Bianca? -Bernard!
FEMALE REPORTER: Have your grandchildren--
have they seenThe Rescuers?
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. That's required,
-whether they like it or not, yeah. -Yeah.
Bob Newhart, everybody!
[applause]
Archie, it's time to start the show. Now stop that!
[laughter]
You hear that?
-[knocking] -No.
TURNER: Between movies and guest roles,
Bob kept busy in his seventies and eighties,
appearing on shows likeER, which earned him an Emmy nod.
I'm a 71-year-old man who's going blind.
It's the first intentionally dramatic role
[laughing]: that I've... that I've done.
TURNER: There was also a three-episode arc
onDesperate Housewives.
Why was she hitting you?
I threw a... threw a book at her.
Morty!
It came totally out of the blue.
And my manager came to me and said,
um, "They want you on
Desperate Housewives."
-[grunts] -Stop it! [groaning]
TURNER: But it was Bob's recurring role
onThe Big Bang Theory
that would lead to a big career first.
It's really you.
[audience laughter, applause and cheering]
PARSONS: It was the first person
we've I ever had that I really thought,
"Oh, my God, you exist."
You know, he's like an icon.
Literally, he is an icon to me.
Professor Proton, it's an honor to meet you.
Is, uh... is he dangerous?
[audience laughter]
I love him so much. I love him so much.
-I love him so much. -I do, too.
NEWHART: When I walked on that set,
it was... uh, it was home.
TURNER: In 2013, Bob guest starred
as Sheldon's TV idol, Professor Proton.
Chuck Lorre and I-- we'd been talking about...
about doing various shows.
I said, "Chuck, uh, number one, Big Ban-- Big Bang Theory,
because it's so well-written."
And so, Chuck said, "Okay. Okay, you got it."
CHUCK LORRE: I remember when we shot
your first scene on Bang,and...
...we had to stop, uh, the scene.
The-the audience just stood up and went crazy
when they realized that was yo.
You couldn't get a word out 'cause they all just kept
applauding and applauding,
and he was crying. [laughs]
I am-- I'm awake, right?
[audience laughter]
MARGO MARTINDALE: And the Emmy
for Outstanding Guest Actor
in a Comedy Series goes to...
[squeaks]
[screams] ...Bob Newhart.
[cheering, applause]
Uh, first of all, my wife of 50 years...
-[applause] -[Newhart clears throat]
...which just proves that, uh, there-there are
long marriages in, uh, in show business.
-REPORTER: It's heavier than it looks? -Yes. [laughs]
-Yeah, you never got to hold one. -No, I never got to hold one.
-[cheering] -NEWHART: Standing ovation,
that really threw me.
That was like, uh,
I wasn't, I wasn't prepared for that.
It was emotional. It was emotional.
TURNER: Hard to believe that despite all of Bob's sitcom success
and after six previous nominations,
this was his first and only Emmy win.
When I saw the... the Emmy,
um, and it was about to be handed to me,
-uh, it was like... -[cheering, applause]
"Oh, my God, I'm-I'm gonna have one of those things."
TURNER: Bob would return toThe Big Bang Theory
several more times and even earned two more Emmy nods.
[audience cheering]
Oh, great, this again.
[audience laughter]
Is this heavy?
Um, oh, this is my own.
-Oh! -I have to get into wardrobe in a few minutes.
[laughter]
-If we could kind of speed it up, that would be... -Yeah, definitely.
TURNER: His final appearance was in 2018,
marking one of the last times
we would see Bob on prime-time TV.
Whatever you do,
don't order the Reuben.
I missed the live audience.
It-it's, uh...
-I can't describe the feeling. -[audience laughter]
People are laughing, and-and you're enjoying it
and they're enjoying it and...
A-And you're ju-- in your mind, you just say,
"This is great.
This is just great."
-TURNER: Still ahead... -FRAZIER: How did you meet your wife?
Uh, fixed up on a blind date by Buddy Hackett.
TURNER: ...Bob's romance with the love of his life Ginnie,
and why he almost gave up on following his dream.
There were times when I thought to myself,
uh, "Boy, you really screwed up your life."
♪
TURNER: Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter will continue.
This is CBS.
♪
-[audience laughter] -I'd love to stay,
but I think I'd better walk over to the motel.
Okay, see you later, Mom.
[audience laughter]
FRAZIER: What do you remember about your mom and dad?
NEWHART: Uh, Dad and I, we're not, we're not really close,
and that's not...
unusual among comics.
It becomes, "Well, now-now maybe Dad will notice me."
Herb, say something to your boy.
Where's my pie, boy?
Was there a point where you think
you finally pleased him?
I think so, yeah.
I think there was a time in Chicago.
The-The Bob Newhart Show
was in syndication, and, uh, it hadn't
come to Chicago yet.
And he kept calling up the station saying,
"When'sThe Bob Newhart Show gonna be on?"
[laughs]: So I finally, I finally broke through with Dad.
-Dad. -You win.
TURNER: Bob was born in 1929
in a suburb of Chicago as George Robert Newhart.
Were you the funny kid in school?
I was the guy in a group,
and I would turn to the next guy and I'd say something funny,
and he'd start laughing.
I'm still doing it. I think that's what I still do.
TURNER: Bob would go on to get a college degree
in business management before enlisting in the Army.
He served as a clerk during the Korean War
and, afterwards, attended law school
but left without a degree.
There were times when I thought to myself,
uh, "Boy, you really screwed up your life."
I mean, 'cause, uh, my friends were all...
they were attorneys and accountants and doctors,
and they were all getting married and-and buying homes,
and-and I was, I was taking these part-time jobs,
you know, and, uh...
But it worked out. It worked out.
Some people wonder if it isn't unusual, uh,
for an accountant to become a comedian.
Uh, it's unusual for a good accountant
-to become a comedian. Uh... -[audience laughter]
I was a very poor accountant.
TURNER: Yes, everything changed in 1960
when he recorded that now-famous set.
Mr. Bob Newhart.
TURNER: The success was instant,
and Bob didn't just book stand-up gigs.
His first film was the 1962 war movieHell Is for Heroes.
S-Sergeant, y-you don't understand.
I was sent to clerk typist school.
That's all I've ever done in the Army, was-was type.
TURNER: It was that same year that Bob first met
his lifelong love Ginnie.
♪
NEWHART: Ginnie is...
she's a very funny person.
In the 42 years, we have,
we have never had a fight.
-INTERVIEWER: What's wrong with you? -[laughs]: I know.
I tried to do that with a straight face.
[interviewer laughs]
FRAZIER: How did you meet your wife?
Uh, fixed up on a blind date by Buddy Hackett.
Buddy Hackett said, uh...
[Buddy Hackett impression]: He said, "Bob, Bobby,"
he said, "you're Catholic, right?"
[regular voice]: I said, "Yeah, yeah, Buddy, I'm Catholic."
[Buddy Hackett impression]: "Okay, I got a girl for you."
GINNIE: And I really didn't know who he was.
I'd heard the name, but I didn't have his albums.
And I didn't really know what he did until...
I-- he was doing the-the television show.
TURNER: Ginnie shared that onAmerican Masters in 2005.
And you may not know this,
but she was actually born into showbiz.
Her father was actor Bill Quin,
who appeared in films likeThe Birds
andTwilight Zone: The Movie,
and even guest-starred onNewhart.
What's going on?
They're finally getting married. That's what's going on.
TURNER: Ginnie and Bob would get married in 1963,
one year after they met.
Ginnie, she said to me, like, um...
"Bob, would you go clean out the dog run?"
and-and I'll say...
"Do you think Clark Gable was asked
to clean out the dog run?"
And-and she will say,
-"You're no Clark Gable." -[laughter]
NEWHART: She insisted we try to live
as normal a life as we could under the circumstances,
and-and we did.
You know, I mean, I was dragged along kicking and screaming
'cause I wanted to be, uh... uh, treated like a star,
but s-she wouldn't have any of that.
TURNER: Yeah, Ginnie had no problem keeping Bob grounded,
but she was also his biggest supporter.
NEWHART: She always reads everything
that I, that I'm gonna do.
'Cause I-- really, her advice has been...
uh, very helpful, I mean, she..
she knows me better than anybody.
She cuts right to, to the bone,
and... and, uh,
she's been right time and time again.
Oh, she-- God, if she sees this...
[sighs] That-that...
we don't have to make that part of it, do we?
[laughter]
Ginnie was also there for the tough times.
In 1985, Bob was rushed to the ER
after developing a nosebleed that wouldn't stop.
The years of smoking had caught up with him.
He was diagnosed with secondary polycythemia--
an overproduction of red cells.
Doctors ordered him to quit smoking.
Another challenge for the couple--
early on in his career, Bob struggled to pay the bills.
It frightened him. It frightened him a lot.
He used to run to the mailbox all the time,
waiting for that check
for the last thing, 'cause we were always up against the gun.
What's a perfect day for you nowadays?
Uh, see my kids, the grandkids.
And Ginnie and I-- we sit and..
we watch movies at night.
Comedians in marriages...
...tend to laugh.
There's something about laughter
and the length of a marriage.
TURNER: Together, the couple had four children
and ten grandchildren,
and you can bet the proud grandpa was excited
to share his Christmas classic.
To see their grandfather as an elf has got to...
It's gonna be very interesting to see their-their reaction.
You want to give me a hand with that?
You want me to help?
GINNIE: Oh, he was wonderful.
He was so fuzzy and warm
and just like he is a grandfather.
NEWHART: "Nothing like he really is"
-is what she's trying to say. -Yeah, well...
Poppy wants to see you.
NEWHART: A great part
of being a grandfather
and a grandmother is,
you-you can just leave, you know.
It-It's like, "Oh, look at the time."
TURNER: In 2023, Bob and Ginnie celebrated
their 60th wedding anniversary,
just three months before she passed away
after battling a long illness.
NEWHART: The one thing I regret,
um... was, when I first enjoyed the success
of the, of the record album
and theSullivan Shows,
that-that Ginnie and I weren't married
so that we could have, um, enjoyed that together,
but I can't change that.
But that's one thing I, I feel sorry about.
-TURNER: Coming up... -NEWHART: My daughter called.
She said, "Well, people are calling in.
"They're going crazy on the, on the Internet that, uh,
the guy looks like you."
TURNER: Bob's doppelganger on the football field,
plus the late-night gig that got away.
Well, they were trying out hosts--
I didn't know it at the time-- and I was a blithering idiot.
♪
NEWHART: Somebody called me up and they said, "Look,
Don Rickles is looking for a best friend."
[laughter]
"And..."
"And none of us want to do it. Would you?"
DON RICKLES: Look what America did.
Made him the biggest thing in the world.
And now I just carry his books.
TURNER: Fellow comedian Don Rickles was one of Bob's closest friends,
and many considered the pair
Hollywood's real-life Odd Couple.
We have a great chemistry together.
We are completely different
and yet we're very much alike.
Both wives want to do the same thing--
-spend, spend, spend. -[laughs]
I didn't start out in stand-up.
I started out as a ventriloquist,
and my very first dummy was a dummy named...
-Don. -[laughter]
[applause]
REPORTER: What's the worst thing you can say about Bob?
He's a wonderful guy. What am I gonna tell you?
Thank you very much. I love you, Donald, I love you.
We were opposites, you know, but we had a great time togethr
and, um, traveled together, laughed together.
That statue of Don Rickles--
it-it was almost lifelike.
That was Don Rickles.
TURNER: Bob's kids called Don "Uncle Don,"
and Bob was "Uncle Bob."
With their wives, they traveled the world,
sharing some of their personal videos
in the 2023 documentary Bob & Don: A Love Story.
♪ On the sea of time♪
♪ We will sing along Broadway♪
♪ And we'll dance.♪
You said the two of you were brothers of the heart.
What did that mean?
We, we both had the same values.
I'm Catholic, Don was religiou.
We-We'd celebrate
the Jewish holidays, they'd celebrate Catholic holidays,
Christmas, and we'd do caroling here.
TURNER: In 2017, at the age of 90, Don passed away.
For Bob, things would never be the same.
I still think about him.
Up until, um, Don passed, he-he lived about a block away.
I could walk over and get insulted and then...
[both laugh]
That's a nice suit, Dick. You wear that,
and in eight years it'll come back in style. [laughs]
TURNER: Don once guest-starred
as a late-night talk show host onNewhart.
But did you know that Bob almost became one in real life?
Yeah, he filled in onThe Tonight Show
when Johnny Carson was in contract negotiations.
I did three weeks in New York.
They were trying out hosts-- I didn't know it at the time--
and I was a blithering idiot.
I mean, that was after three weeks,
and the man did...
50 years?
TURNER: Over his career, Bob filled in
onThe Tonight Show 87 times.
He also hostedSNL twice.
I hosted, uh, 15 years ago in 1980
and apparently made such an impression on them...
-[laughter] -...they, they said,
"Boy, we got to have this guy back as soon as possible."
TURNER: And back in the '60s, he even performed
for Queen Elizabeth at theRoyal Variety show.
But all the notoriety never went to his head.
In fact, he was always just a guy
from the Midwest and a lifelong Cubs fan.
SPORTSCASTER: Washburn strikes out, and the game is over.
-You bum! -TURNER: In 2015,
Bob's love for sports took an unexpected turn
during the national college championship football game,
thanks to a ref that was his doppelganger.
NEWHART: I was watching the game.
My daughter called
and she said, "Dad, uh, turn on the game."
I said, "Well, I got it on."
She said, "Well, people are calling in.
"They're going crazy on the, on the Internet
that, uh, the guy looks like you."
I woke up this morning, and my wife had run off with him.
-TURNER: Still ahead... -INTERVIEWER: What do you think
is the most important decision you've made in your career?
TURNER: ...Bob Newhart in his own words
and the legacy he leaves behin.
What I get more and more now is,
"Thank you for all the years of laughter,"
and-and my answer is-is the truth--
"It was, it was my pleasure."
♪
NEWHART: I had to flip a coin one day whether--
and decide whether I wanted to go into comedy or bank-robbing,
and, uh, came up tails, and tails was comedy, so...
...so that's what I did.
Son of a gun, we're gonna have big fun, Emily.
BROOKE ANDERSON: Here we are.
This is Newhart Street.
This was your stage.
That's right, that's right. This is Stage 17.
I did, uh, I spent six years
here doingThe Bob Newhart Show
and then eight years doing Newhart.
So I-I spent 14 years on this, on this lot,
on-on this very stage.
He is undoubtedly a TV legend,
but deep down Bob Newhart always thought of himself
as a stand-up comic first,
a job he was still doing in his 90s
that he started doing in his 30s.
NEWHART: Now, how fast were you going
when Mr. Adams jumped from the car?
[audience laughing]
S-Seven-Seventy-five?
[laughter]
That's where I started.
Well, I can't ever imagine not doing stand-up.
But I loved the TV shows.
I mean, the-the T...
We had it down, um...
You know, it was a normal life.
I-I could-- I wasn't on the road all the time
and I would drive the kids to school in the morning
and my wife would pick 'em up at night-- in-in the afternoon.
Uh, it was a normal life, so I loved that about it.
I loved...
It was great writing, and I loved the cast.
It was a, it was a fun time.
I feel so good, I'm gonna take the afternoon off.
[laughter]
TURNER: With his unique observational humor, inherent sense of timin,
and uncanny ability to get a laugh by doing almost nothin,
Bob inspired a generation of comics
and leaves behind an unmatched legacy of laughte.
Tonight I have placed beloved TV icon Bob Newhart...
[laughter]
...in an airtight container
with exactly three hours' worth of air.
[laughter]
REPORTER: So, what is the secret of your, your 50 years in show business?
I don't, I don't know.
I-I really, uh, I really didn't expect it
to last this long.
It-it happened so suddenly, and I-I just assumed
five, six years, it was going to be over.
I-I never thought it was going to go this far.
Career-wise, the high would be, um,
PBS-- they designated me a-an American Master.
Now, that-that's something that I never thought.
I don't think of myself as an American Master.
I was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame,
and that was very special.
This is a-- it's a great treat.
I've, uh-- the only other time I was ever inducted into anything,
I had to take off all my clothes.
[laughter]
Of course, the, uh,
the Mark Twain award for comedians.
Uh, we have a saying, um...
"You, uh, you can take the boy out of accounting,
but you can't take accounting out of the boy."
[laughter]
It's not a very funny saying, but it's...
It's been a great life.
TURNER: But it's Bob's humility
and deep love of family
that truly defined his character.
INTERVIEWER: What do you think is the most important decision
you've made in your career?
Uh, the woman I married.
That was easy. [chuckles]
INTERVIEWER 2: When you look back on your illustrious career,
what moment do you think will resonate the most with you?
Oh, well, there's so many.
Um, well, my marriage, the kid,
things outside the business, really.
Wh-When it's all done, uh,
it's all about family and friends.
Uh... it's been a great life.
It's just, you know, making people laugh is...
...it-it's wonderful.
I-I'm hoping that when, you know,
it's time to go upstairs-- hopefully go upstairs...
[Bob and Brooke laugh]
...uh, that, you know,
that St. Peter will say, "What did you do?"
And I said-- and I'll answer, "I made, uh, people laugh."
And, uh, he'll say,
"Get... get in that real short line over there."
How do you want yourself to be remembered?
As a good person.
I can't ask for much better than that.
And who gave us all so many laughs.
Well, it was my pleasure.
♪
Captioning sponsored by CBS
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org