Talk:Bob Newhart

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Discussion[edit]

any more about Virginia Quinn? She was stunning, I can't believe there isn't more about her. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.35.90.98 (talk) 23:10, 13 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

there's a contradiction in the article regarding the length of time during which the Bob Newhart show ran. According to the "Television" section, the show ran 1 year. However the Sitcoms section lists the show as lasting 6 seasons. Perhaps there is a naming error here? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.173.118.221 (talk) 11:50, 4 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

What's the deal with the one-line unsubstantiated mention of bob doing frann? no citation, and nothing to back it up in my 4 minutes of googling. Should be cited or removed. Second paragraph, Newhart.

There is a statement under the personal section that I believe says, 'He was good friends with Don Rickles.' Both men are still alive, are they not friends anymore or what? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mylittlezach (talk • contribs) 04:29, 19 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

"world's first solo straight man" - I don't think this statement is defendable. At the very least it needs backing up. Shelley Berman was doing his own solo telephone conversations in the late 50's, and he acts the straight man in at least some of them. (Berman got the first grammy for a comedy album, which was also the first comedy album to go gold. At least one website suggests that Berman's album is the reason record companies were hunting for comedy talent at the time and signed Newhart.) And it's very possible that someone came before Berman... Maybe the intention is to say that Newhart was the first to adopt it as his entire comedy persona? I'm not knowledgable enough to judge that, but it still needs to be supported.. I'd consider removing the statement instead. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.12.30.65 (talk) 20:48, 8 August 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Missing early information on Newhart: During his appearance on What's my line 4 Feb 1962, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DFOw4Rd714 at the 23:13 min mark Bob Newhart and Mr Daly talk about his show on Wednesday nights at 10 o'clock on NBC but it is not listed in the wiki. Also his early work in TV. Watch the clip.24.17.51.90 (talk) 03:42, 5 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

the telephone routine[edit]

I wonder whether Newhart borrowed the telephone routine from Hell is for Heroes; that scene is the only time I've seen him not speaking most of the "other" side of the conversation. "What's that, Walt [Raleigh]? They grind up the leaf and snort it up their nose? And it makes you sneeze? Well I guess it would, Walt." —Tamfang 05:40, 6 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Some people think Newhart took the phone routine from Shelley Berman. Shelley Berman is one of these people, at least according to his recent interview on WTF with Marc Maron. -- some guy — Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.111.162.65 (talk) 21:36, 12 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

On the telephone issue Mr Newhart has mentioned it in an interview here:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/bob-newhart-talks-about-standup-sitcoms-and-why-he,75185/
Where he says in answer to this :"AVC:The Button-Down Mind Of Bob Newhart was the first huge, smash-hit comedy album, which had this very sort of classic solo comedy form, the one-sided telephone call."
the following:
BN: See that’s interesting, because people identify me with the telephone, and it’s a classic form. Shelley Berman did it before I did it. Mike (Nichols) and Elaine (May) did a version of it. There was a thing called “Cohen on the Telephone,” which was a very, very early recording by Edison [Records] of a guy on the phone. There was a comedian named George Jessel—I told this story on Letterman—but George Jessel, at the end of his radio program, he’d call his mother and describe what happened with the show.
And this:http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/12/arts/television/12bob.html?_r=0
"I get a lot of credit for it, but I really wasn't the innovator of the telephone," he said, by phone, a few weeks after the awards show. Lily Tomlin, he noted, mastered a similar routine, as did Shelley Berman, Mike Nichols and Elaine May. "George Jessel had a radio show," Mr. Newhart recalled. "At the end, he would call up his mother and tell her how the show had gone. As a kid growing up, I remember listening to him and he would call his mother up and say, 'Mama, this is Georgie' " - he paused, skillfully - " 'from the money.' "


I am not sure whether or how to include this but the accusation of stealing his "act" seems a bit strong if it is just the oneside of the phone and that had been done by others... The style and content seems different to me. Any thoughts? (Msrasnw (talk) 15:47, 24 January 2013 (UTC))[reply]

As far as prior acts with one sided telephone conversations, Arlene Harris had a routine where she would talk on the phone with an unheard neighbor Mazie. This clipping from 1947 mentions the routine: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=407&dat=19470207&id=ftAuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8y0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=1837,4639269 184.76.100.86 (talk) 22:53, 6 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The Driving Instructor[edit]

A recent radio programme on BBC7 said that Bob Newhart got the idea for the "The Driving Instructor" from a very similar earlier item about a driving instructor on the Al Read Show. A recording of that programme was played and there certainly were a lot of similarities. I wonder if there is any confirmation of this? --jmb 13:46, 20 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The Emmys???[edit]

I only saw pictures of him from The Emmys. I don't get it??? Could somebody maybe edit in what he did? I'm so confused. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.80.232.45 (talk) 04:54, 28 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Smoking?[edit]

Nothing here about Mr. Newhart's smoking habit. I think seeing a special on PBS, he used to smoke about a pack a day, but stopped in the mid 80s/early 90s after being diagnosed with high red blood sell count anemia, or something. Any info on this? -65.122.209.157 05:42, 13 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Book[edit]

Can someone put information on his new book "I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This"? (unsigned comment)

I will try to add something to the article. Please be sure when commenting on a talk page that you (a) sign your comment and (b) put your comment at the bottom of the page. See directions in the Talk header at the top of the page. Thanks. NickBurns 19:15, 20 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Henry Fonda[edit]

I haven't seen any pictures of Bob Newhart other than what is available on the article page. Does he resemble Henry Fonda in any way? Bob Newhart played the role of Major Major Major Major in the movie Catch-22, and one of the main points of the character is that he is supposed to resemble Henry Fonda. Jay 19:47, 12 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

If the resemblance in any way influenced his getting the role, that would be interesting and can be mentioned in the article. Jay (talk) 02:50, 8 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Religion? Education?[edit]

What religion were his parents? Bob? Where did he go to high school, and college? What did he study? Did he have siblings? Etc.

He's Catholic, which is something he's mentioned on occasion but rarely put in his act. I think one of his sisters or brothers is in a religious order.--T. Anthony (talk) 06:26, 25 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

—Mr. Newhart is very old school and devotedly Catholic. He used to joke about living in Las Vegas and his family attending Mass every Sunday together. (He apparently thought that incongruous.) His sister is a longtime nun, I believe a superior in her order. The word “scandal” and he remain mutually exclusive.HistoryBuff14 (talk) 21:07, 17 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Quotations section[edit]

I am curious, should his quotations be moved to Wikiquote, since Wikipedia discourages a listing of quotes? I understand that some reasonably well-written Wikipedia articles have one or two quotes, but oftentimes those are there to give greater context that a brief summary won't always provide. Unfortunately, in this article, the quotes are stacked one above the other--which makes the quotes more suitable for Wikiquote IMHO. Thanks. 67.182.237.57 (talk) 08:22, 17 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. Span (talk) 14:20, 17 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Dudes, there have to be better quotes than those. I think you should keep it to JOKES ONLY. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.14.36.165 (talk) 20:57, 13 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]

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Silliness[edit]

People, people: do NOT insert trivial 'citation needed' tags for uncontroversial statements. If, and ONLY if, you have good reason to believe that something is NOT the case do you insert the tag. Among other foolishness this article had a tag for Newhart 'famously' joking something-or-other: if it really bothers you, delete 'famously', but do not litter. Sartoresartus (talk) 12:13, 1 June 2017 (UTC)[reply]

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Filmography[edit]

The Selected filmography section includes only some films and shows in which he's appeared, as the name implies, and there doesn't seem to be a separate, complete filmog article. Is there a reason we should not add the rest of his appearances to this table (especially those that are already mentioned and cited in prose)? —[AlanM1(talk)]— 00:01, 6 November 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Ancestry versus descent[edit]

"His mother was of Irish descent and his father was of Irish ancestry."

Either explain the difference between ancestry and descent or, if there is none, rewrite as "Both his parents were of Irish [and pick ONE of those two words as the last one here]/S. Valkemirer (talk) 02:31, 3 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

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