Line #44 Creator/BobNewhart


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bob_newhart.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:Hi, Bob!]]
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4	George Robert Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American comedian and actor, best known for his deadpan delivery and OnlySaneMan persona.
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6	A native of UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} who started out as an accountant and advertising copywriter 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.
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9	!!Partial filmography:
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11	[[folder:Film roles]]
12	* ''Film/HellIsForHeroes'' (1962): as PFC James Driscoll
13	* ''Hot Millions'' (1968): as Willard C. Gnatpole
14	* ''Theatre/OnAClearDayYouCanSeeForever'' (1970): as Dr. Mason Hume
15	* ''Film/CatchTwentyTwo'' (1970): as Major Major Major
16	* ''Film/ColdTurkey'' (1971): as Merwin Wren
17	* ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'' (1977): as the voice of Bernard, a role he would reprise for ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'' (1990)
18	* ''Film/InAndOut'' (1997): as Principal Tom Halliwell
19	* ''[[Film/LegallyBlonde Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde]]'' (2003): as Sid Post
20	* ''Film/{{Elf}}'' (2003): as Papa Elf
21	* ''Film/TheLibrarian'' series (2004-08): as Judson
22	* ''Film/HorribleBosses'' (2011): as Lou Sherman
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25	[[folder:Television roles]]
26	* ''The Bob Newhart Show'' (1961–62): a {{variety show}} that aired on NBC from October 1961 to June 1962 for one season
27	* ''[[Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents The Alfred Hitchcock Hour]]'' (1963): as Gerald Swinney (1 episode)
28	* ''The Entertainers'' (1964–65): another variety show, which he co-hosted for one season with Creator/CarolBurnett and French-Italian singer Caterina Valente
29	* ''Series/CaptainNice'' (1967): as Lloyd Larchmont (1 episode)
30	* ''Series/RowanAndMartinsLaughIn'' (1968–70): as guest performer (3 episodes)
31	* ''Series/TheBobNewhartShow'' (1972–78): as psychologist Bob Hartley
32	* ''Series/{{Newhart}}'' (1982–90): as innkeeper, author, and TV host Dick Loudon
33	* ''Series/ItsGarryShandlingsShow'' (1990): {{as himself}} (1 episode)
34	* ''Series/{{Bob\|1992}}'' (1992–93): as comic book (and greeting card) artist Bob [=McKay=]
35	* ''Series/MurphyBrown'' (1994): as Bob Hartley (1 episode)
36	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' (1996): as himself (voice, 1 episode)
37	* ''Series/GeorgeAndLeo'' (1997–98): as bookstore owner George Stoody
38	* ''Series/{{ER}}'' (2003): as sight-impaired architect Ben Hollander (3 episodes)
39	* ''Series/DesperateHousewives'' (2005): as Morty Flickman, Sophie's fourth husband and Susan's stepfather (3 episodes)
40	* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' (2011): as Doctor Walter Magnus, Ducky's predecessor now dealing with Alzheimer's disease (1 episode)
41	* ''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 (6 episodes)
42	* ''Series/{{The Librarians\|2014}}'' (2014–18): as Judson (3 episodes)
43	* ''Series/HotInCleveland'' (2015): as Bob Sr. (1 episode)
44	* ''Series/YoungSheldon'' (2017–20): as Professor Proton (voice, 3 episodes)
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48	!!Tropes associated with Bob Newhart:
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50	* AsHimself: On ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', in the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E15BartTheFink Bart the Fink]]".
51	* TheComicallySerious: He often takes on this persona.
52	* TheDanza: In ''The Bob Newhart Show'' and ''Bob''.
53	** His given first name is George, so his role on ''George & Leo'' counts as well.
54	* DeadpanSnarker: In every role.
55	* 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''.
56	* ItWillNeverCatchOn: A common feature of his one-sided "historical" phone conversation routines. Whatever product or idea he's being pitched sounds so ridiculous by phone that he laughs the other person off the line. Examples include baseball and tobacco.
57	* 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 at the Empire State Building on the night that Franchise/KingKong climbs the edifice. While the audience doesn't hear his boss talking on the other end of the phone, it's easy to imagine [[YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe the incredulous reactions from the boss]] based on what's heard.
58	-->'''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.
59	* 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.
60	* RealisticDictionIsUnrealistic: His characters often speak with stilted pauses throughout their dialogue, emphasizing just how awkward they feel among the more inane characters.
61	* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Newhart attended law school but withdrew when he was asked to behave unethically during a law internship.
62	* 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, as mentioned above, he essentially gets laughs by being the Straight Man to ''nothing''.
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Context Creator / BobNewhart