All language subtitles for Bob.Newhart.A.Legacy.Of.Laughter.2024.720p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

CBS Presents Bob Newhart:
A Legacy of Laughter
An Entertainment Tonight Specil
Closed Captioned

Downloaded from
YTS.MX

-♪
-[cheering]

MAN:
Come on, y'all,
this is Bob Newhart!

[cheering and applause]

Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

Really didn't expect it
to last this long.

-Hello?
-H-hello?

-Hello?
-Hello?

NISCHELLE TURNER:
Bob Newhart.

His career spanned
seven decades,

from stand-up...

-Hiya. All right...
-[audience laughs]

TURNER:
...to sitcoms...

Honey, I'm home.

TURNER:
...and the big screen.

There's something
I-I probably should tell you.

TURNER:
How he went from
an accountant...

It's unusual for a good
accountant to become a comedian.

TURNER:
...to a Hollywood legend...

There were times
when I thought to myself,

"Boy, you really
screwed up your life."

TURNER:
...changing American culture
with comedy.

I'm never gonna see
another psychologist,

not even socially.

TURNER:
Stories you
never knew about Bob...

They were trying out hosts,

and I was a blithering idiot.

TURNER:
...and the blind date
turned love of his life.

I wanted to be, uh,
treated like a star,

but she wouldn't
have any of that.

TURNER:
His legacy in his own words...

What I get more and more now

is "Thank you for
all the years of laughter,"

and... and my answer
is-is the truth.

It was... it was my pleasure.

TURNER:
CBS presents

Bob Newhart:
A Legacy of Laughter.

TURNER:
Honoring the incomparable
Bob Newhart.

Welcome, everybody.
I'm Nischelle Turner.

He was a master of comedy,

a respected actor,
a trailblazer.

But the thing about Bob is

he never needed
a script to be funny.

He was just naturally brilliant
at getting a laugh,

especially when it was
off the cuff.

INTERVIEWER:
Do you believe in reincarnatio?

If I had a choice, I would...

I think I would
come back as my wife.

I mean, to be able
to spend every day with me.

How much better
can it get, you know?

INTERVIEWER 2:
What's the secret to
looking like you do

and being as talented

as you are at 88 years old?

Well, plastic surgery.

[interviewer laughs]

He just embodies the joy
of what we get to do.

He was just always

wonderful and always happy.

This is not a toy.

Testing one, two, three, four.
Testing one, two, three, four.

Pilot to Bombardier.
Pilot to Bombardier.

INTERVIEWER 3:
How do you account for
the fact that not just once,

but twice, you have had

long-running,
successful TV series?

America loves me.

Well, I mean,
I-I am a television personality.

It's-it's only natural
that I would attract

a certain number of fans.

TURNER:
With his deadpan delivery
and trademark stammer,

Bob Newhart turned the role of
the comedy straight man

into a bona fide art form.

How you doing?

Okay, except I throwed
my back out last week

crawling under a house.

Sounds like a tough job.

Wasn't a job, I just like
crawling under houses.

Bob Newhart came to do

an episode of NCIS.

-Who are you?
-[clears throat]

My name is, uh, is Magnus.

WEATHERLY:
You know, your heart
really is just

racing when that happens,
and you have to

remember to stay
in the scene because you're,

you know,
he needs an acting partner.

You can't just be a fanboy.

You know you're not going
to be a quarterback

and you're...
and you're not going to be

on the basketball team,

and... but you made guys laugh,

and-and you became somebody.

It was important
to become somebody.

Ladies and gentlemen,
we proudly welcome to

the Walk of Fame,
Mr. Bob Newhart.

Bobby, there it is.
What do you think?

[cheering and applause]

I'm, uh, reminded of a story.

I'm reminded...

[police siren wails distantly]

Oh. Uh...

Ah, they're on to me, I guess.

[laughter]

Have you always written
most of your stuff, Bob?

Yeah, I could--
when I first started out,

I-I couldn't afford anybody,

-you know?
-Right.

So I had to write it myself.

And, uh, I have written
95% of it.

That's-that's the real kick,

is-is getting
the germ of an idea

and then going with it

and then going out on stage
and trying it

and having it work.
That's-that's-that's the fun.

TURNER:
Stand-up, movies, television,

Bob did it all.

But before he was
an award-winning "A" lister,

Bob was a not so mild-mannered
accountant

with a dream.

People will say to me,
"Were you really an accountant?"

And I really was, because,

you know, why would...

why would you lie about
something like that?

I worked as
an accountant and, uh,

and just decided one day, I was
just going to give this a try.

And then, the-the...

for four years,
nothing happened.

And then, a disc jockey
friend of mine in Chicago,

Dan Sorkin, invited
the Warner Brothers people

to listen to some material
I had written.

And they said,
"Okay, we'll record it

at your next nightclub."

And I said, "Well, we-we got
kind of a problem there

'cause I've never
played a nightclub."

And they said,
"Well, we'll have to

book you into a nightclub."

So they booked me
into a club in, uh,

in Houston, Texas,
called the Tidelands.

MAN:
Right now, ladies and gentleme,

Bob Newhart.

[applause]

NEWHART:
Thank you. Thank you very much.

I went down there for two week,

worked on a nightclub floor

for the first time in my life,

terrified out of my mind,

but realized that
if you show fear of any kind,

you're... you're dead.

So, with much bravado and fear,

I walked out
and recorded the album,

which, uh, then

proceeded to go to number one.

Uh, Listen, Abe, I got the not.
What-what's the problem?

You're-you're thinking
of shaving it off.

[audience laughs]

Uh, Abe, uh, don't you see
that's part of the image?

Right, with the shawl
and the stovepipe hat,

-the string tie.
-[audience laughs]

TURNER:
Yes, Bob was a pioneer of

the stand-up comedy special.

His first two records
won him three Grammys.

In 1961, it was the first time

a comedy album won
album of the year,

beating out Nat King Cole
and Frank Sinatra,

and the only time a comedian
has ever won best new artist.

NEWHART: My first album
went to number one.

Then my second album
went to number two.

Then the second album
went to number one,

and the first album
went to number two.

And that record was
broken by Guns N' Roses.

TURNE:
That success led to Bob's
first steady television gig,

The Bob Newhart Show.

No, not this one.

[ringing]

Hello.

♪

TURNER:
This one.

NEWHART:
Yeah, I'm kind of surprised
to have my own show, too.

TURNER:
The 1961 variety show
only lasted for a season.

It would be another decade

before Bob's groundbreaking
sitcom of the same name

brought his brand of comedy
to a wider audience.

This is Dr. Robert Hartley.

Yeah, could you tell me
the, uh, the balance

in-in my checking account?

Four--

$47?

Could, uh, could you tell me

how I'd go about
stopping payment on about...

16 checks?

INTERVIEWER:
What do you think, uh, was

really made this show work
for six seasons?

I think-- I think it was
respect for our audience.

I think we respected
their intelligence.

TURNER:
The series featured
Bob as a psychologist

living in his own
hometown of Chicago,

with Suzanne Pleshette being

the perfect counterpoint
as his wife Emily.

Gee, you know, Bob,
all of a sudden,

you're so strong and impulsive.

Is that right, Emily?

Yeah, I think I liked you
better the other way.

NEWHART:
I was a psychologist,
not a psychiatrist,

'cause I think a psychiatrist
deals with much more

uh, serious problems.

And-and I said, I don't want
any schizophrenic jokes,

I don't want any
split-personality jokes.

And we tried
to stay away from that.

We worked with groups, you kno,

that were people
that were paranoid

or maybe neurotic at the most.

'Cause I didn't want
to get our humor from that,

and I-I don't think we did.

When I gave him
his college graduation present,

he hit me with it.

-What-what'd you give him?
-A Pontiac.

INTERVIEWER:
Why does it have
such enduring appeal?

NEWHART:
A great cast, to begin with.

The chemistry of the cast
and-and great writing.

-Right.
-And, um,

and then a star who takes
all the credit for it.

[laughing]

INTERVIEWER: Did he take
the credit for everything?

You are so [bleep] cute.

You're so cute.

-Never did. He never did.
-No.

-Never, never, never.
-It was a true ensemble.

TURNER:
Ranked one of the greatest
sitcoms of all time,

The Bob Newhart Show has been
called quietly revolutionary.

The show helped
legitimize therapy

as a practice in the 1970s,

and featured a couple
who slept in the same bed,

but didn't have children.

Bob, until we have
a family of our own,

substitute teaching is
a good way for me to keep busy.

If you get any busier,
we won't have time for a family.

TURNER:
One of the secrets behind
the show's long-term success:

Bob had the foresight

to make sure
the humor was timeless.

I'll have this finished
by the time I get through

the checker counter.

Howard, that's stealing.

No, stealing is when
you walk out with it.

When eat it here,
it's called snacking.

NEWHART:
I said to the writers,
I said, you know,

this show's gonna be syndicated.

All shows are syndicated,

so let's not
do any topical jokes.

You know, uh,

we're going to look
pretty silly in 15 years

doing, uh,
President Ford tripping jokes.

And, uh, and we avoided that.

And I see it on some shows,

that it becomes very dated.

Hi, honey.

Well, of course,
it's every Monday.

That's why it's called
Monday Night Football.

TURNER:
Bob also employed a bit

he perfected during
his stand-up days,

his famous
one-sided phone conversation.

It's how the first episode
of the series began.

Mrs. Harrell, we've been
over this before.

As you said yourself,
you overeat because, uh,

having a beautiful body,
you feel, threatens you.

Well, I'm happy to hear you

that you've
been able to control it.

Mrs. Harrell? Yeah,
I-I can't understand you

with your mouth full.

[audience laughs]

TURNER:
One of the show's
greatest assets,

according to Bob:
the live studio audience.

Bob hated laugh tracks.

Well, the problem...
I found the problem today,

and not to put
down the programs today,

but they don't do them
in front of a live audience.

And we always did it in front
of a live audience where

the material was judged,
so the writing was better,

and the actors

reacted more
to the live audience.

TURNER:
At the height of its popularit,

the Bob Newhart show

even spawned a drinking game.

The rules are simple.
You take a sip every time

you hear someone say, "Bob."

Take a shot when you hear,
"Hi, Bob."

-Hey, Bob.
-Hello, Bob.

-Bob.
-Bob.

-Hi, Bob.
-Bob.

Hi, Bob.

NEWHART:
Oh, I've never played it. No.

But I've heard various rules,
various rules for it.

But if-if you play it,

don't-don't go out driving
after you played "Hi, Bob."

TURNER:
The cast remained close
throughout their lives

and reunited to celebrate the
show's 19th anniversary in

1991.
Bob had this...this sillydream.

It wasn't silly.
It was very real. It was...

almost like I... I lived it.

It isn't just a cast
getting together. It's friends.

And we've-we've stayed friends
over the years, so...

Uh, we were portraying
real people.

We weren't cartoons. And I thik
people could identify with.

And...

I think people like
to watch real people.

["Home to Emily" playing]

When I look back,

I remember those people

and how much fun we had,
and, uh...

...and they're gone.

TURNER:
Up next, how Bob created

one of the most memorable
moments in TV history

with the help of his wife
Ginnie.

[cheering, applause]

Plus, Lisa Kudrow, Betty White
and Jason Bateman...

Yeah, buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-bye,
buh-bye, now.

[laughter, applause]

That's, uh... that's, uh...
It's not bad.

TURNER:
...behind the scenes with Bob
and his famous costars.

WHITE:
Do you wear makeup
all the time at home?

Yeah. Yeah.

-Good for you.
-[chuckles]

-I'll see you later.
-Cannot stand her.

♪

♪

My favorite story
is the one that--

of the-the man who wanted you--

You were running a little long
on the fir--

-the old Bob Newhart Show.
-Oh.

The-the very first year
of, uh...

of The Bob Newhart Show
with Suzie,

the show was running
a little long,

and, uh...

we-we needed about--
take two minutes out of the--

out of the script. And, uh...

they came up to me and they
said, "Could you kind of...

"Would you mind running
your speeches together?

-'Cause it would, you know,
really help us."
-[giggling]

And I said,
"Well, this-this stammer

"has gotten me a home
in Beverly Hills,

-and I'm not-not about
to change it now."
-No.

TURNER:
Bob Newhart never expected

to hit it big in television,

but four years
after saying goodbye

to psychologist Bob Hartley,

he was ready for a comeback
as Dick Loudon onNewhart.

[theme music playing]

I've heard from every crackpot
and loose screw in the county.

Oh, your mother called.

[laughter]

I'm about 85%, um,

uh, Bob Hartley,

uh, Dick Loudon.

Uh, and as my kids will testif,
and my wife,

the other 15%

is a very...

extremely sick man...

...who should be put away

but is making too much money
doing what he's doing.

So they're not about--

The family's not about
to commit him.

-REPORTER: [chuckles] No.
-[laughing]

TURNER:
The series
about a Vermont innkeeper

surrounded by a group
of eccentric locals

was a natural fit for Bob.

He just had to get used
to having a different TV wife.

I remember o-one time I called,

uh, Mary Frann,
I called her "Emily."

-DUFFY: Yeah. [laughs]
-[Voldstad laughs]
-NEWHART: Instead of Joanna.

And the audience...

the audience just broke up.

TURNER:
But once again,
Bob was the straight man,

with plenty of opportunities
for his signature

one-sided phone conversations.

No, I-I'm sorry,
we don't accept pets.

We do accept children, yes.

NEWHART:
Going into this series,

um...

I sat down and tried to find

what I thought were the reasons
that the first series worked.

And so I tried to take
those same things

that made that show successful

and-and apply them to this,
which was

in the case of an inn.

And the owner of an inn
obviously

can't say to a-a guest,

"You're a nut.
Get out of my hotel."

I'll tell you what, there's a--

there's a very nice kennel
in town.

Well...

Well, you-you can call 'em,

but I-I don't think
they take people.

REPORTER:
Who was the biggest prankster?

-That would be...
-[laughing]

We just, um...

We just laughed.
I mean, we-we just--

It was eight-eight years
of laughing.

We had a show last week
where I was very mad at him

and I storm to the bedroom
closet to put my clothes away,

and he had arranged

for all this paraphernalia
to fall out of the closet--

handcuffs, whips, chains,
everything.

And I turned to the audience
and said,

"And you're not getting
any of that tonight, either."

Is that "700"?

[laughing]

-No. No.
-No.

TURNER:
In spite of
its 25 Emmy nominations,

the show never took home
a trophy.

But it was a hit with critics
and audiences alike,

running for eight seasons
and consistently charting

among the top 25 shows
on the air.

I think the women watch
and they say,

"Oh, my God, that's exactly what
Norm or Ted or Fred would do."

And the men watch and they say,

"Oh, God, I would have done
exactly the same thing.

"And thank God I'm watching it

instead of being the person
that's doing it."

Okay, that's it.

[man laughing]

I've heard enough out
of you guys.

Oh, yeah?

Pretty much, yeah.

TURNER:
But it's the series finale
in 1990,

with a then unknown Lisa Kudrow
guesting,

that's considered one of the
most memorable in TV history.

-Honey.
-[laughter, applause]

Honey.
[clears throat]

Honey, wake up. You...

you won't believe
the dream I just had.

[Emily groans]

In the sixth year--

this is-- the show went eight
years-- in the sixth year,

we were at a Christmas party,
and my--

I said to my wife Ginnie,
I said, uh...

I said, "I think this is
the last year of the show."

And right away, she said, "Well,

"if this is the last year,
you ought to end it in a--

in a dream sequence and wake up
in bed with Suzanne."

[cheering, applause]

All right, Bob.

What is it?

Well, I-I was an innkeeper
in this...

crazy little town in Vermont.

-[laughter]
-TURNER: Yes,
that's Suzanne Pleshette,

Bob's TV wife
from his first sitcom,

revealing the whole series
was just a dream.

That final shot was
a closely guarded secret.

NEWHART:
Even the crew,
they-they-they went to dinner

and we said,
"Oh, we've added a...

we've added a scene." So...
[stammers]

You know, camera,

you-you shoot this way,
you shoot that way.

-VOLDSTAD: Wow.
-So they-they didn't even know
about it.

TURNER:
Bob continued to do
stand-up shows

and even did a couple of movies
during his time away from TV.

But it didn't take long for him

to find
a live studio audience again.

In 1992,
he made his return withBob.

[theme music playing]

I've always had a gift

for titling shows.

-[laughter]
-I did a... I...

I did a show in '61

calledThe Bob Newhart Show.

It was a variety show.
ThenBob Newhart Show,

thenNewhart, thenBob.

And the next series,

which I'll be doing
in my 90s, uh...

will be called The.

[laughter]

TURNER:
But this show was different frm
anything Bob had done before.

For starters,

he was a cartoonist
with a family.

Dad, you created a comic book?

I didn't know
you used to be interesting.

NEWHART:
I actually have a daughter.

I actually, uh, apparently...

...after the success
of the other two shows...

...finally learned
how to have children,

um, late in life.

You know, when I say, "Well,
honey, here's what I would do,"

I've never said that
in a series before.

So it-it really is-is...

I mean, I've said it
in real life a lot of times,

but, uh, it's the first time
in a series I've ever done it.

TURNER:
Bob also cast longtime friends
in cameos on the show,

likeThe Bob Newhart Show's
Bill Daily

andNewhart alum Tom Poston.

Betty White signed on
as Bob's boss in season two.

I'm a newborn baby, Bob.

Spank my little rear
and watch me go.

[laughter]

Me-Metaphorically, of course.

WHITE:
I'm trying to remember
this man's last name.

-[laughing]
-I know his first name because,

you know, it's on the front
of all the books.

-Newhart. That's right.
That's what it is.
-Newhart. Right, right. Yeah.

TURNER:
Bob the series was canceled
after two seasons,

but Bob the comedian was almost
philosophical about its demise.

A decision was made to, um...

...to show the American public

a Bob they had never seen.

And, uh, uh, actors,
we call it stretching.

And I found
that actors should only stretch

in exercise videos.

-They shouldn't...
-[laughter]

They shouldn't stretch
in front of anybody else.

Uh, because, the public,

they don't care whether
you're stretching or not.

So we gave 'em a-a Bob
they had never seen,

and they came back
with a very resounding

"We don't want to see a Bob
we've never seen.

Bring that other guy back,
the one we like."

So... so I learned my lesson
and I'm not stretching.

TURNER: Well, actually,
Bob stretched one more time--

in 1997, with the sitcom
George & Leo.

And if you're thinking
Bob finally moved away

from using his own name
to title his shows, think agai.

George is his real first name.

ANNOUNCER:
The one and only
Mr. Bob Newhart!

-[cheering, whistling]
-NEWHART: We do this in front

of a-a live audience.

Uh, Judd did all of his.

I've done all of mine
in front of a live audience.

Just, uh... That's the way
you do it. I don't, uh...

-Laugh track is stupid. Um...
-[laughter]

I mean, I-I r--
I-I'm offended by it.

You know, I mean, a-a guy walks
in the door and says hello

and it's...
[laughing loudly]

TURNER:
Bob starred as George,

Judd Hirsch was Leo

in this comedy of opposites.

The two become in-laws
when their kids get married.

And, yes, that's Jason Bateman
as Bob's son.

Oh, that's a...

perfect version
of-of my signature.

Yeah. I mastered it
back in high school.

[laughter]

I-I-I can also do you
on the phone.

Uh...

Yeah, yeah, Ted...

Ted is sick today.

[laughter]

Yeah, buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-bye,
buh-bye, now.

[laughter]

That's, uh... that's, uh...
It's not bad.

The idea of-of Bob Newhart
and Judd Hirsch

handling a grandchild is,
you know...

puts a smile on anybody's face.

L-Look at her again.

-[baby crying]
-[laughter]

Uh, I-I had the same reaction

-when I first met him.
-Come on.

TURNER:
The show only ran
for 22 episodes.

But once again, Bob made sure o
reunite with some old friends,

bringing some
ofThe Bob Newhart Show cast

together one more time

on the last series
he ever starred in.

Well, good for you, Bob.

Not easy to admit
you have a problem.

He called me "Bob." Didn't
even realize he called me "Bob."

But the man's getting along
in years, and...

it's to be excused.

We're shooting here!

BONERZ:
Don't excuse me, Bob.

-That's okay. I can take it.
-[laughing]

That's okay. If that's the way
he has to work

to get laughs these days,
it's okay. I-I'll...

I'll suffer.

♪

NEWHART:
The art in making is

making it appear to be yourself.

And the art is in...

in making it not appear
to be acting.

Um...

But when they're not your words

and three cameras
are aimed at you

and you try not to bump
into furniture,

then-then it's acting.

TURNER:
But Bob wasn't just
a TV comedy pioneer.

Yes, yes, I-I raised Buddy.

TURNER:
Coming up,

from Papa Elf
to Professor Proton,

how Bob became
a pop culture icon.

Thank you, Sid.

[chuckles]

He's such
a-a national treasure.

♪

♪

And action.

[knocking]

PAPA ELF:
Buddy, are you okay?

I'm sorry, Papa.

Just need some alone time.

TURNER: Bob Newhart brought his
wit and charm to the big scree,

winning over
a whole new generation of fans

with movies like Elf.

The 2003 film became
an instant Christmas classic,

and is still one of the
highest-grossing holiday movies

of all time.

[gasps]
Santa's sleigh.

You're gonna help me
make it fly.

NEWHART:
I have two boys, and, um,

Will was my son.
I just treated him as I...

as I would a son.

WILL FERRELL:
Yeah, Bob-- I just tried to,

you know, take advantage
of all my time with... with Bob.

Buddy, I-I think
there is something

I-I probably should tell you.

I didn't put in for the tights.

You know, at the end of a movi,

you can always put in

for wardrobe, but I...

I didn't care
if I ever wore them again.

TURNER:
That same year,
Bob got a crash course

in designer fashion,
as Elle Woods' doorman

inLegally Blonde 2.

[scoffs]
All day long,

I've felt like white,
open-toed shoes after Labor Day.

I hate that feeling.

What, uh, what...
whatever that means.

I read the script,
I liked the script, and, uh,

it was chance to work
with, uh... with Reese.

Thank you, Sid.

[laughs softly]

REESE WITHERSPOON:
Bob Newhart--

he's such a...
a national treasure.

I found myself
just listening to him.

Uh, uh, c-coming through.
Uh, pardon me.

TURNER:
Back in the '70s,
Bob lent his iconic voice

to the Disney animated film
The Rescuers,

and its sequel in the '90s.

-Bianca?
-Bernard!

FEMALE REPORTER:
Have your grandchildren--

have they seenThe Rescuers?

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
That's required,

-whether they like it
or not, yeah.
-Yeah.

Bob Newhart, everybody!

[applause]

Archie, it's time to start
the show. Now stop that!

[laughter]

You hear that?

-[knocking]
-No.

TURNER:
Between movies and guest roles,

Bob kept busy
in his seventies and eighties,

appearing on shows likeER,
which earned him an Emmy nod.

I'm a 71-year-old man
who's going blind.

It's the first
intentionally dramatic role

[laughing]:
that I've... that I've done.

TURNER:
There was also
a three-episode arc

onDesperate Housewives.

Why was she hitting you?

I threw a...
threw a book at her.

Morty!

It came totally out of the blue.

And my manager came to me
and said,

um, "They want you on

Desperate Housewives."

-[grunts]
-Stop it! [groaning]

TURNER:
But it was Bob's recurring role

onThe Big Bang Theory

that would lead
to a big career first.

It's really you.

[audience laughter,
applause and cheering]

PARSONS:
It was the first person

we've I ever had
that I really thought,

"Oh, my God, you exist."

You know, he's like an icon.

Literally, he is an icon to me.

Professor Proton,
it's an honor to meet you.

Is, uh... is he dangerous?

[audience laughter]

I love him so much.
I love him so much.

-I love him so much.
-I do, too.

NEWHART:
When I walked on that set,

it was... uh, it was home.

TURNER:
In 2013, Bob guest starred

as Sheldon's TV idol,
Professor Proton.

Chuck Lorre and I--
we'd been talking about...

about doing various shows.

I said, "Chuck, uh, number one,
Big Ban-- Big Bang Theory,

because it's so well-written."

And so, Chuck said,
"Okay. Okay, you got it."

CHUCK LORRE:
I remember when we shot

your first scene on Bang,and...

...we had to stop, uh,
the scene.

The-the audience just stood up
and went crazy

when they realized that was yo.

You couldn't get a word out
'cause they all just kept

applauding and applauding,

and he was crying. [laughs]

I am-- I'm awake, right?

[audience laughter]

MARGO MARTINDALE:
And the Emmy

for Outstanding Guest Actor

in a Comedy Series goes to...

[squeaks]

[screams]
...Bob Newhart.

[cheering, applause]

Uh, first of all,
my wife of 50 years...

-[applause]
-[Newhart clears throat]

...which just proves
that, uh, there-there are

long marriages in, uh,
in show business.

-REPORTER: It's heavier
than it looks?
-Yes. [laughs]

-Yeah, you never
got to hold one.
-No, I never got to hold one.

-[cheering]
-NEWHART: Standing ovation,

that really threw me.

That was like, uh,

I wasn't, I wasn't
prepared for that.

It was emotional.
It was emotional.

TURNER:
Hard to believe that despite
all of Bob's sitcom success

and after six
previous nominations,

this was his first
and only Emmy win.

When I saw the... the Emmy,

um, and it was about to be
handed to me,

-uh, it was like...
-[cheering, applause]

"Oh, my God, I'm-I'm gonna have
one of those things."

TURNER:
Bob would return
toThe Big Bang Theory

several more times and even
earned two more Emmy nods.

[audience cheering]

Oh, great, this again.

[audience laughter]

Is this heavy?

Um, oh, this is my own.

-Oh!
-I have to get into wardrobe
in a few minutes.

[laughter]

-If we could kind of
speed it up, that would be...
-Yeah, definitely.

TURNER:
His final appearance
was in 2018,

marking one of the last times

we would see Bob
on prime-time TV.

Whatever you do,

don't order the Reuben.

I missed the live audience.

It-it's, uh...

-I can't describe the feeling.
-[audience laughter]

People are laughing,
and-and you're enjoying it

and they're enjoying it and...

A-And you're ju-- in your mind,
you just say,

"This is great.

This is just great."

-TURNER: Still ahead...
-FRAZIER: How did you meet
your wife?

Uh, fixed up on a blind date
by Buddy Hackett.

TURNER:
...Bob's romance with
the love of his life Ginnie,

and why he almost gave up
on following his dream.

There were times
when I thought to myself,

uh, "Boy, you really
screwed up your life."

♪

TURNER:
Bob Newhart: A Legacy
of Laughter will continue.

This is CBS.

♪

-[audience laughter]
-I'd love to stay,

but I think I'd better
walk over to the motel.

Okay, see you later, Mom.

[audience laughter]

FRAZIER:
What do you remember
about your mom and dad?

NEWHART:
Uh, Dad and I, we're not,
we're not really close,

and that's not...

unusual among comics.

It becomes, "Well, now-now
maybe Dad will notice me."

Herb, say something to your boy.

Where's my pie, boy?

Was there a point
where you think

you finally pleased him?

I think so, yeah.

I think there was a time
in Chicago.

The-The Bob Newhart Show

was in syndication,
and, uh, it hadn't

come to Chicago yet.

And he kept calling up
the station saying,

"When'sThe Bob Newhart Show
gonna be on?"

[laughs]: So I finally, I
finally broke through with Dad.

-Dad.
-You win.

TURNER:
Bob was born in 1929

in a suburb of Chicago
as George Robert Newhart.

Were you the funny
kid in school?

I was the guy in a group,

and I would turn to the next guy
and I'd say something funny,

and he'd start laughing.

I'm still doing it.
I think that's what I still do.

TURNER: Bob would go on
to get a college degree

in business management
before enlisting in the Army.

He served as a clerk
during the Korean War

and, afterwards,
attended law school

but left without a degree.

There were times
when I thought to myself,

uh, "Boy, you really
screwed up your life."

I mean, 'cause, uh,
my friends were all...

they were attorneys
and accountants and doctors,

and they were all getting
married and-and buying homes,

and-and I was, I was taking
these part-time jobs,

you know, and, uh...

But it worked out.
It worked out.

Some people wonder
if it isn't unusual, uh,

for an accountant
to become a comedian.

Uh, it's unusual
for a good accountant

-to become a comedian. Uh...
-[audience laughter]

I was a very poor accountant.

TURNER:
Yes, everything changed in 1960

when he recorded
that now-famous set.

Mr. Bob Newhart.

TURNER:
The success was instant,

and Bob didn't just book
stand-up gigs.

His first film was the 1962
war movieHell Is for Heroes.

S-Sergeant,
y-you don't understand.

I was sent
to clerk typist school.

That's all I've ever done
in the Army, was-was type.

TURNER:
It was that same year
that Bob first met

his lifelong love Ginnie.

♪

NEWHART:
Ginnie is...

she's a very funny person.

In the 42 years, we have,

we have never had a fight.

-INTERVIEWER: What's wrong
with you?
-[laughs]: I know.

I tried to do that
with a straight face.

[interviewer laughs]

FRAZIER:
How did you meet your wife?

Uh, fixed up on a blind date
by Buddy Hackett.

Buddy Hackett said, uh...

[Buddy Hackett impression]:
He said, "Bob, Bobby,"

he said,
"you're Catholic, right?"

[regular voice]: I said, "Yeah,
yeah, Buddy, I'm Catholic."

[Buddy Hackett impression]:
"Okay, I got a girl for you."

GINNIE: And I really didn't
know who he was.

I'd heard the name,
but I didn't have his albums.

And I didn't really know
what he did until...

I-- he was doing
the-the television show.

TURNER:
Ginnie shared that
onAmerican Masters in 2005.

And you may not know this,

but she was actually born
into showbiz.

Her father was actor Bill Quin,

who appeared in films
likeThe Birds

andTwilight Zone: The Movie,

and even guest-starred
onNewhart.

What's going on?

They're finally getting married.
That's what's going on.

TURNER: Ginnie and Bob
would get married in 1963,

one year after they met.

Ginnie, she said to me,
like, um...

"Bob, would you go clean out
the dog run?"

and-and I'll say...

"Do you think
Clark Gable was asked

to clean out the dog run?"

And-and she will say,

-"You're no Clark Gable."
-[laughter]

NEWHART:
She insisted we try to live

as normal a life as we could
under the circumstances,

and-and we did.

You know, I mean, I was dragged
along kicking and screaming

'cause I wanted to be, uh...
uh, treated like a star,

but s-she wouldn't have
any of that.

TURNER:
Yeah, Ginnie had no problem
keeping Bob grounded,

but she was also
his biggest supporter.

NEWHART:
She always reads everything

that I, that I'm gonna do.

'Cause I-- really,
her advice has been...

uh, very helpful, I mean, she..

she knows me better
than anybody.

She cuts right to, to the bone,

and... and, uh,

she's been right
time and time again.

Oh, she--
God, if she sees this...

[sighs]
That-that...

we don't have to make that
part of it, do we?

[laughter]

Ginnie was also there
for the tough times.

In 1985,
Bob was rushed to the ER

after developing
a nosebleed that wouldn't stop.

The years of smoking
had caught up with him.

He was diagnosed
with secondary polycythemia--

an overproduction of red cells.

Doctors ordered him
to quit smoking.

Another challenge
for the couple--

early on in his career,
Bob struggled to pay the bills.

It frightened him.
It frightened him a lot.

He used to run
to the mailbox all the time,

waiting for that check

for the last thing, 'cause we
were always up against the gun.

What's a perfect day
for you nowadays?

Uh, see my kids, the grandkids.

And Ginnie and I-- we sit and..

we watch movies at night.

Comedians in marriages...

...tend to laugh.

There's something about laughter

and the length of a marriage.

TURNER:
Together, the couple had
four children

and ten grandchildren,

and you can bet
the proud grandpa was excited

to share his Christmas classic.

To see their grandfather
as an elf has got to...

It's gonna be very interesting
to see their-their reaction.

You want to give me
a hand with that?

You want me to help?

GINNIE:
Oh, he was wonderful.

He was so fuzzy and warm

and just like he is
a grandfather.

NEWHART:
"Nothing like he really is"

-is what she's trying to say.
-Yeah, well...

Poppy wants to see you.

NEWHART:
A great part

of being a grandfather

and a grandmother is,

you-you can just leave,
you know.

It-It's like,
"Oh, look at the time."

TURNER:
In 2023,
Bob and Ginnie celebrated

their 60th wedding anniversary,

just three months
before she passed away

after battling a long illness.

NEWHART:
The one thing I regret,

um... was,
when I first enjoyed the success

of the, of the record album

and theSullivan Shows,

that-that Ginnie
and I weren't married

so that we could have, um,
enjoyed that together,

but I can't change that.

But that's one thing I,
I feel sorry about.

-TURNER: Coming up...
-NEWHART: My daughter called.

She said,
"Well, people are calling in.

"They're going crazy on the,
on the Internet that, uh,

the guy looks like you."

TURNER: Bob's doppelganger
on the football field,

plus the late-night gig
that got away.

Well, they were
trying out hosts--

I didn't know it at the time--
and I was a blithering idiot.

♪

♪

NEWHART:
Somebody called me up
and they said, "Look,

Don Rickles is looking
for a best friend."

[laughter]

"And..."

"And none of us want to do it.
Would you?"

DON RICKLES:
Look what America did.

Made him the biggest thing
in the world.

And now I just carry his books.

TURNER:
Fellow comedian Don Rickles was
one of Bob's closest friends,

and many considered the pair

Hollywood's real-life
Odd Couple.

We have a great chemistry
together.

We are completely different

and yet we're very much alike.

Both wives want
to do the same thing--

-spend, spend, spend.
-[laughs]

I didn't start out in stand-up.

I started out
as a ventriloquist,

and my very first dummy was
a dummy named...

-Don.
-[laughter]

[applause]

REPORTER:
What's the worst thing
you can say about Bob?

He's a wonderful guy.
What am I gonna tell you?

Thank you very much.
I love you, Donald, I love you.

We were opposites, you know,
but we had a great time togethr

and, um, traveled together,
laughed together.

That statue of Don Rickles--

it-it was almost lifelike.

That was Don Rickles.

TURNER:
Bob's kids called Don
"Uncle Don,"

and Bob was "Uncle Bob."

With their wives,
they traveled the world,

sharing some
of their personal videos

in the 2023 documentary
Bob & Don: A Love Story.

♪ On the sea of time♪

♪ We will sing along Broadway♪

♪ And we'll dance.♪

You said the two of you were
brothers of the heart.

What did that mean?

We, we both had the same values.

I'm Catholic, Don was religiou.

We-We'd celebrate

the Jewish holidays, they'd
celebrate Catholic holidays,

Christmas,
and we'd do caroling here.

TURNER:
In 2017, at the age of 90,
Don passed away.

For Bob,
things would never be the same.

I still think about him.

Up until, um, Don passed,
he-he lived about a block away.

I could walk over
and get insulted and then...

[both laugh]

That's a nice suit, Dick.
You wear that,

and in eight years it'll come
back in style. [laughs]

TURNER:
Don once guest-starred

as a late-night talk show host
onNewhart.

But did you know that Bob
almost became one in real life?

Yeah, he filled in
onThe Tonight Show

when Johnny Carson was
in contract negotiations.

I did three weeks in New York.

They were trying out hosts--
I didn't know it at the time--

and I was a blithering idiot.

I mean, that was
after three weeks,

and the man did...

50 years?

TURNER:
Over his career, Bob filled in

onThe Tonight Show 87 times.

He also hostedSNL twice.

I hosted, uh,
15 years ago in 1980

and apparently made
such an impression on them...

-[laughter]
-...they, they said,

"Boy, we got to have this guy
back as soon as possible."

TURNER:
And back in the '60s,
he even performed

for Queen Elizabeth
at theRoyal Variety show.

But all the notoriety
never went to his head.

In fact,
he was always just a guy

from the Midwest
and a lifelong Cubs fan.

SPORTSCASTER:
Washburn strikes out,
and the game is over.

-You bum!
-TURNER: In 2015,

Bob's love for sports took
an unexpected turn

during the national college
championship football game,

thanks to a ref
that was his doppelganger.

NEWHART:
I was watching the game.

My daughter called

and she said,
"Dad, uh, turn on the game."

I said, "Well, I got it on."

She said,
"Well, people are calling in.

"They're going crazy on the,
on the Internet

that, uh, the guy looks
like you."

I woke up this morning, and
my wife had run off with him.

-TURNER: Still ahead...
-INTERVIEWER: What do you think

is the most important decision
you've made in your career?

TURNER:
...Bob Newhart in his own words

and the legacy he leaves behin.

What I get more and more now is,

"Thank you
for all the years of laughter,"

and-and my answer is-is
the truth--

"It was, it was my pleasure."

♪

♪

NEWHART: I had to flip a coin
one day whether--

and decide whether I wanted to
go into comedy or bank-robbing,

and, uh, came up tails,
and tails was comedy, so...

...so that's what I did.

Son of a gun,
we're gonna have big fun, Emily.

BROOKE ANDERSON:
Here we are.

This is Newhart Street.

This was your stage.

That's right, that's right.
This is Stage 17.

I did, uh, I spent six years

here doingThe Bob Newhart Show

and then eight years doing
Newhart.

So I-I spent 14 years on this,
on this lot,

on-on this very stage.

He is undoubtedly a TV legend,

but deep down Bob Newhart
always thought of himself

as a stand-up comic first,

a job he was still doing
in his 90s

that he started doing
in his 30s.

NEWHART:
Now, how fast were you going

when Mr. Adams jumped
from the car?

[audience laughing]

S-Seven-Seventy-five?

[laughter]

That's where I started.

Well, I can't ever imagine
not doing stand-up.

But I loved the TV shows.

I mean, the-the T...

We had it down, um...

You know, it was a normal life.

I-I could-- I wasn't
on the road all the time

and I would drive the kids
to school in the morning

and my wife would pick 'em up
at night-- in-in the afternoon.

Uh, it was a normal life,
so I loved that about it.

I loved...

It was great writing,
and I loved the cast.

It was a, it was a fun time.

I feel so good, I'm gonna take
the afternoon off.

[laughter]

TURNER:
With his unique observational
humor, inherent sense of timin,

and uncanny ability to get
a laugh by doing almost nothin,

Bob inspired
a generation of comics

and leaves behind
an unmatched legacy of laughte.

Tonight I have placed
beloved TV icon Bob Newhart...

[laughter]

...in an airtight container

with exactly
three hours' worth of air.

[laughter]

REPORTER:
So, what is the secret of your,
your 50 years in show business?

I don't, I don't know.

I-I really, uh,
I really didn't expect it

to last this long.

It-it happened so suddenly,
and I-I just assumed

five, six years,
it was going to be over.

I-I never thought it was going
to go this far.

Career-wise,
the high would be, um,

PBS-- they designated me
a-an American Master.

Now, that-that's something
that I never thought.

I don't think of myself
as an American Master.

I was inducted into
the Television Hall of Fame,

and that was very special.

This is a-- it's a great treat.

I've, uh-- the only other time I
was ever inducted into anything,

I had to take off
all my clothes.

[laughter]

Of course, the, uh,

the Mark Twain award
for comedians.

Uh, we have a saying, um...

"You, uh, you can take the boy
out of accounting,

but you can't take
accounting out of the boy."

[laughter]

It's not a very funny saying,
but it's...

It's been a great life.

TURNER:
But it's Bob's humility

and deep love of family

that truly defined
his character.

INTERVIEWER:
What do you think is
the most important decision

you've made in your career?

Uh, the woman I married.

That was easy.
[chuckles]

INTERVIEWER 2:
When you look back
on your illustrious career,

what moment do you think
will resonate the most with you?

Oh, well, there's so many.

Um, well, my marriage, the kid,

things outside the business,
really.

Wh-When it's all done, uh,

it's all about family
and friends.

Uh... it's been a great life.

It's just, you know,
making people laugh is...

...it-it's wonderful.

I-I'm hoping that when,
you know,

it's time to go upstairs--
hopefully go upstairs...

[Bob and Brooke laugh]

...uh, that, you know,

that St. Peter will say,
"What did you do?"

And I said-- and I'll answer,
"I made, uh, people laugh."

And, uh, he'll say,

"Get... get in that real
short line over there."

How do you want yourself
to be remembered?

As a good person.

I can't ask
for much better than that.

And who gave us all
so many laughs.

Well, it was my pleasure.

♪

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CBS

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