(ProsperNews.net) – Actor and TV host Bob Newhart has died at age 94. His publicist, Jerry Digney, confirmed his death, saying he died at his Los Angeles home after a series of illnesses. The deadpan comedian was best known for “The Bob Newhart Show,” which ran through the 1970s, and “Newhart,” which debuted in 1982 and ran until 1990.
Born in Illinois in 1929 to an Irish mother and German father, Newhart was educated in Catholic schools in Chicago before enrolling at Loyola University and graduating with a business degree in 1952. He served with the US Army during the Korean War and was discharged in 1954. After a series of finance-based jobs, a radio DJ, Dan Sorkin, introduced Newhart to a talent scout at Warner Bros. who offered him an opportunity to record stand-up comedy, and his entertainment career got underway. This eventually led to an Emmy Award nomination in the early 1960s and the “The Bob Newhart Show” in the 1970s.
In later life, Mr. Newhart became a regular on the popular comedy “The Big Bang Theory,” and his film credits expanded to include “Legally Blonde 2” with Reese Witherspoon and his role as Papa Elf in the Christmas comedy “Elf.”
The comedian married actress Virginia Quinn in 1963, and they had four children, whom they raised as Catholics in Beverly Hills. In 1985, Newhart was hospitalized for polycythemia, a kind of blood cancer, which was attributed to several years of heavy smoking. He gave up the habit immediately.
Co-stars made warm tributes to the comedian after his death, including “Elf” star Zooey Deschanel, who called him “kind and generous.” Reese Witherspoon said she had laughed at Newhart’s jokes since childhood, adding, “Even his silence was funny.”
On Twitter, President Biden described the Chicago native as a “comedy legend and beloved performer who kept Americans laughing for decades.” The President remarked that Newhart would reunite with his wife, who died in 2023 at age 82.
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