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 (heck, any) 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 a season each in the ’90s, but those false starts pale in comparison to the massive success of his first two vehicles for his comedic talent. In the ’70s, he became a consistent face on CBS as a suffering psychologist in “The Bob Newhart Show,” opposite a terrific Suzanne Pleshette as his onscreen wife.
In the ’80s, he repeated the success of the show with “Newhart,” trading out the original series’ Chicago setting for a small rural Vermont town populated by a parade of quirky characters. Starring alongside Mary Frann as the proprietor of a local inn, Newhart was similar.