Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart, better known as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide bestseller and reached number one on the Billboard pop album chart—it remains the 20th best-selling comedy album in history. The follow-up album, The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back! was also a massive success, and the two...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Actor
Date of Birth5 September 1929
CityOak Park, IL
CountryUnited States of America
People stayed home on Saturdays to watch CBS, ... I don't know why or how the networks abandoned Saturday nights. Maybe cable has had something to do with that. I don't know, but I do know that at one time Saturdays were big for the networks.
More and more, as I get older, people come up to me and say, 'Thank you for all the laughter.' And my standard answer is, 'It was my pleasure.' But that's the truth.
I was not influenced by Jack Benny, and people have remarked on my timing and Jack's timing, but I don't think you can teach timing. It's something you hear in your head.
The reason I'm a psychologist is based in part on my telephone routines. Much of my humor comes out of reaction to what other people are saying. A psychologist is a man who listens, who is sympathetic.
One of the first things that you learn as a stand-up is, you're the boss. It's your stage, and don't screw with me because I'll make you look bad, which I had to do, because you wind up with drunks and loud people.
I couldn't play off people that I don't personally like.
The giant superstars are people whose talent is so enormous that their death wish can't destroy it.
There's gratification in making somebody laugh. It's a wonderful sound. I find myself, to this day, doing it, wanting to make people laugh.
But I really believe that if you have the ability, there is an obligation to make people laugh
People with a sense of humor tend to be less egocentric and more realistic in their view of the world and more humble in moments of success and less defeated in times of travail.
I always hated when the studios just kind of said that anybody can act. You look at people like Spencer Tracy, Henry Fonda - and I'm just talking about the male actors - there aren't a lot who can act. It's a very special talent, and I wish it were recognized as a very special talent.
There is an edginess in my work that people don't always recognize.
With the advent of cell phones, especially with the very small microphone that attach to the cell phone itself, it's getting harder and harder I find, to differentiate between schizophrenics and people talking on a cell phone.
When I was off TV, people would ask me to please come back, which I think was their way of saying, 'There's nothing out there for us.'