Bob Newhart, Award-Winning Comedian, TV Legend and Army Veteran, Dies at 94

Few people shot to fame faster or remained famous longer than comedian Bob Newhart.

One day he was working a bookkeeping job in Chicago while making funny audiotapes with his friends; within a year, those funny tapes were part of his record "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart," which became the top-selling comedy album of 1960 and earned him the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It also led to film and television roles, and ultimately to a career in comedy and entertainment that lasted six decades.

Newhart died after a series of illnesses at his Los Angeles home on July 18, 2024. He was 94 years old.

The comedian was born George Robert Newhart in 1929 in Oak Park, Illinois. Since his father was also named George, the younger Newhart was known as Bob. He grew up watching the Chicago Cubs and working as a pin chaser at the local bowling alley. After graduating from a Catholic school, he studied business management and accounting at Loyola University, then tried his hand at law school. While his legal training didn't pan out, it provided some fodder for his future comedy career.