History Creator / BobNewhart

A native of UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} who started out as an accountant and advertising copywrighter before switching to show business in the late 1950s, Newhart has had a long and distinguished career in comedy, beginning as a stand-up comic and recording several albums before he broke into acting.

A native of UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} who started out as an accountant and advertising copywrighter before switching to show business, Newhart has had a long and distinguished career in comedy, beginning as a stand-up comic and recording several albums before he broke into acting.

-->'''Newhart:''' Well, I looked under "unauthorized personnel", and "people without passes", and "apes and apes' toes..." ''(beat)'' Apes and apes' toes, yes sir. ''(beat)'' Uh, there's an ape's toe sticking through the window, sir.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: A common feature of his one-sided "historical" phone conversation routines. Whatever he's being pitched sounds so ridiculous by phone that he laughs the other person off the line. Examples include baseball and tobacco.
* NewhartPhonecall: TropeNamer. A good number of Newhart's stand-up comedy routines feature imagined telephone calls in which the audience can only hear his side of the conversation. In his "King Kong" routine, for example, Newhart plays a security guard during the night that Franchise/KingKong climbs the Empire State Building. While the audience doesn't hear the boss on the other end of the phone, it's easy to imagine [[YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe the incredulous reactions from the boss]] based on what's heard.

* StraightMan: In most of his roles he plays what would technically be the Straight Man role while the other characters deliver the PunchLine, but he’s so good at it that he manages to get the best laughs anyway. In the telephone routines, he essentially gets laughs by being the Straight Man to ''nothing''.

George Robert "Bob" Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American comedian and actor, best known for his deadpan delivery and OnlySaneMan persona.

* NewhartPhonecall: TropeNamer. A good number of Newhart's stand-up comedy routines are phone calls in which the audience can only hear his side of the conversation. In his "King Kong" routine, Newhart plays a security guard during the night that Franchise/KingKong climbs the Empire State Building. While the audience doesn't hear the boss on the other end of the phone, it's easy to imagine [[YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe the incredulous reactions from the boss]] based on what's heard.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: A feature of his one-sided "historical" phone conversation routines. Whatever he's being pitched sounds so ridiculous by phone that he laughs the other person off the line. Examples include baseball and tobacco.

!!Filmography on TV Tropes:

!!Some highlights of his career include:

[[AC:Film]]

[[AC:Television]]

* ''Series/{{Bob}}'' (1992–93): as comic book (and greeting card) artist Bob [=McKay=]
* ''Series/MurphyBrown'' (1994): as Bob Hartley

* ''Series/{{ER}}'' (2003): as sight-impaired architect Ben Hollander
* ''Series/DesperateHousewives'' (2005): as Morty Flickman, Sophie's fourth husband and Susan's stepfather
* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' (2011): as Doctor Walter Magnus, Ducky's predecessor now dealing with Alzheimer's disease
* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' (2013–18): as children's science show host Professor Proton, a recurring guest role which introduced a new generation to his brand of dry comedy and earned him his first Emmy Award
* ''Series/{{The Librarians|2014}}'' (2014–18): as Judson (recurring)

George Robert "Bob" Newhart (born September 5, 1929 in Oak Park, Illinois) is an American comedian and actor, best known for his deadpan delivery and OnlySaneMan persona.

-->'''Newhart:''' Well, I looked under "people without passes", and I looked under "apes and apes' toes," and... ''(beat)'' Apes and apes' toes. ''(beat)'' Uh, there's an ape's toe sticking through the window, sir.

** His given first name is George, so his role on ''[[Series/GeorgeAndLeo George & Leo]]'' counts as well.

* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Newhart attended law school but withdrew when he was asked to behave unethically during a law internship.

* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Newhart attended law school but withdrew when he was asked to behave unethically during a law internship.
* TropeNamer: NewhartPhonecall

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bob_newhart.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:280:Hi, Bob!]]

George Robert "Bob" Newhart (born September 5, 1929 in Oak Park, Illinois) is an American comedic actor, best known for his deadpan delivery and OnlySaneMan persona.

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: A feature of his one-sided phone conversation routines. Whatever he's being pitched sounds so ridiculous by phone that he laughs the other person off the line. Examples include baseball and tobacco.

* ''The Bob Newhart Show'' (1961-62): a {{variety show}} that aired on NBC from October 1961 to June 1962 for one season
* ''The Entertainers'' (1964-65): another variety show, which he co-hosted for one season with Creator/CarolBurnett and French-Italian singer Caterina Valente
* ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow'' (1972-78): as psychologist Bob Hartley
* ''Series/{{Newhart}}'' (1982-90): as innkeeper, author, and TV host Dick Loudon
* ''Series/{{Bob}}'' (1992-93): as comic book (and greeting card) artist Bob [=McKay=]

* ''Series/GeorgeAndLeo'' (1997-98): as bookstore owner George Stoody

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' (2013-2018): as children's science show host Professor Proton, a recurring guest role which introduced a new generation to his brand of dry comedy and earned him his first Emmy Award
* ''Series/{{The Librarians|2014}}'' (2014-18): as Judson (recurring)

* ''Film/HellIsForHeroes'' (1962): as PFC James Driscoll.
* ''Theatre/OnAClearDayYouCanSeeForever'' (1970): as Dr. Mason Hume.
* ''Film/CatchTwentyTwo'' (1970): as Major Major Major.
* ''Film/ColdTurkey'' (1971): as Merwin Wren.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'' (1977): as the voice of Bernard, a role he would reprise for ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'' (1990).
* ''Film/InAndOut'' (1997): as Principal Tom Halliwell.
* ''[[Film/LegallyBlonde Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde]]'' (2003): as Sid Post.
* ''Film/{{Elf}}'' (2003): as Papa Elf.
* ''Film/TheLibrarian'' series (2004-08): as Judson.
* ''Film/HorribleBosses'' (2011): as Lou Sherman.

* ''The Bob Newhart Show'' (1961-62): a {{variety show}} that aired on NBC from October 1961 to June 1962 for one season.
* ''The Entertainers'' (1964-65): another variety show, which he co-hosted for one season with Creator/CarolBurnett and French-Italian singer Caterina Valente.
* ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow'' (1972-78): as psychologist Bob Hartley.
* ''Series/{{Newhart}}'' (1982-90): as innkeeper, author, and TV host Dick Loudon.
* ''Series/{{Bob}}'' (1992-93): as comic book (and greeting card) artist Bob [=McKay=].

* ''Series/GeorgeAndLeo'' (1997-98): as bookstore owner George Stoody.
* ''Series/{{ER}}'' (2003): as sight-impaired architect Ben Hollander.
* ''Series/DesperateHousewives'' (2005): as Morty Flickman, Sophie's fourth husband and Susan's stepfather.
* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' (2011): as Doctor Walter Magnus, Ducky's predecessor now dealing with Alzheimer's disease.
* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' (2013-2018): as children's science show host Professor Proton, a recurring guest role which introduced a new generation to his brand of dry comedy and earned him his first Emmy Award.
* ''Series/{{The Librarians|2014}}'' (2014-18): as Judson (recurring).

* ItWillNeverCatchOn: A feature of his one-sided phone conversation routines. Whatever he's being pitched sounds so ridiculous by phone that he laughs the other person off the line. Examples include baseball and tobacco.
* TheDanza : In ''The Bob Newhart Show'' and ''Bob''.

* DeadpanSnarker : In every role.
* TheEponymousShow : Three of his sitcoms were titled after all or part of his name. He also had a short-lived VarietyShow in the early '60s called ''The Bob Newhart Show''.
* OnlySaneMan : He's often surrounded by wackier performers. His trademark on ''The Bob Newhart Show'' was to have him stand there with a blank stare at whatever hijinks his colleagues, patients, or neighbors were enacting.

* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules : Newhart attended law school but withdrew when he was asked to behave unethically during a law internship.

George Robert "Bob" Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American comedic actor, best known for his deadpan delivery and OnlySaneMan persona.