Bob Newhart has left the stage for the last time, and the dream is over. Newhart, who died Thursday at the age of 94, was a quiet comic giant whose sneaky genius ruled comedy across seven decades and whose name was attached to four fine sitcoms — “The Bob Newhart Show,” “Newhart,” “Bob” and “George and Leo,” his actual first name being George — and a drinking game, “Hi, Bob.” (Pardon me while I sip.) His mastery of one-sided conversations notwithstanding, “The Bob Newhart Show” demonstrated that its star’s true artistry emerged when he had other actors to play off and react to. Relatively few sitcoms were interested in adult married couples when “The Bob Newhart Show” went on the air, and especially one without the baggage of children. When “Newhart” suddenly morphed into “The Bob Newhart Show” in its famous final moments, suggesting the entire later series had been Bob Hartley’s dream, it was to that bed it magnetically returned.

Source: Los Angeles Times July 20, 2024 12:04 UTC