Bob Newhart, legendary comedian, dead at 94..See more

Bob Newhart, whose stammering, deadpan unflappability carried him to stardom as a standup comedian and later in television and movies, has died, according to a statement from his longtime publicist Jerry Digney. He was 94.

Digney said Newhart died in Los Angeles on Thursday morning after a series of short illnesses. He called the star’s passing an “end of an era in comedy.”

Over the course of five decades, Newhart’s popularity rarely waned, whether it was as the recording star of the comedy album

“The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” (the firstcomedy album to win the Grammy for album of the year), the lead in two top-rated television sitcoms, or a supporting actor in movies including “Catch-22” (in which he played the timid Maj. Major), “Cold Turkey” and “Elf.”

He remains best known for the television shows, “The Bob Newhart Show” (1972-78) and “Newhart” (1982-90), both of which were built around his persona as a reasonable man put-upon by crazies.

Born George Robert Newhart in Oak Park, Illinois on September 5, 1929, Newhart was originally an accountant and advertising copywriter.

In 2022, he mused about his time as an accountant, joking, “in my case, I don’t think it’s amazing that a bad accountant could become a comedian.”

He added that “there’s something about numbers and music and comedy, I’m not sure what it is,” going on to mention some comedy contemporaries that has an interest in music like he did.