Bob Newhart lived a prolific career in the comedy industry until his death last week, July 18. He passed away peacefully at the age of 94 in his Los Angeles home after suffering from several illnesses. His publicist, Jerry Digney, confirmed the news.
He mainly worked in stand-up comedy shows, although fans would remember him for his stint as Arthur Jeffries in CBS’ The Big Bang Theory. He rarely accepted job offers over the past few years, except for this show. What made Newhart say yes to this beloved sitcom?
Why Bob Newhart Ultimately Joined The Big Bang Theory
In his interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actor and comedian Bob Newhart revealed he had been offered many opportunities to star in comedy series. Still, he turned them down for personal reasons.
I’ve been approached for other projects — some pilots — and that’s too much. Emotionally, I couldn’t go through another pilot to series, it takes too much out of you and it’s for the younger people today.
However, he was very open to joining The Big Bang Theory again because of one aspect that impressed him. “The Big Bang Theory is well written and it has an incredible cast. It’s intelligent, which is a vanishing commodity. It’s setup joke, setup joke, setup joke,” he explained.
Newhart recalled working on his own shows and they would take a minute to set up jokes. While it always paid off, he noticed that the new style now seems to have its own cadence. “There seems to be a rhythm now in sitcoms — setup joke, setup joke, setup joke. As a result, the audience doesn’t know what the joke is but they know it’s coming.”
The show has its own style of language and humor, and for Newhart, it is one of the reasons he agreed to do it. He also mentioned that the reason The Big Bang Theory is so successful is because “it’s beautifully cast, has great writing and it’s intelligent.” He also gave props to the show’s intelligent viewers.
The Legacy Of Bob Newhart
Before becoming an actor, Newhart served in the military in a non-combat role during the Korean War. After this, he found work as an accountant for a construction company and later on, as a copywriter.
In 1960, he released his first comedy album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, which earned a Grammy for Album of the Year. He was known for doing stand-up comedies, specifically for his one-sided phone conversation and pretending to speak like Abraham Lincoln and other notable personalities.
In 2013, he won his first Emmy Award for his role in The Big Bang Theory. He said to the press via EW: “I was totally unprepared for that.” Newhart joked that every time he got nominated, there was someone better than him who took the cake.
The Big Bang Theory is available to watch on Netflix.
