Desert Local News - Index

Desert Local News - dlnews - Index

10 Bob Newhart at the Annenburg Center
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By Leslie Andrews
Bob Newhart, star of two self-titled TV series, came
to Rancho Mirage to speak at the Annenburg Center
Wednesday night to a packed audience.
The legendary comic spoke of many things, which
included his past and present. He talked about his early
days starting off as an accountant, then making his way
into stand-up comedy back in the early 1950’s. His first
album, “The Button-down Mind of Bob Newhart” sold
more than Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra and received a
Grammy award in 1960. “I didn’t realise how significant
those awards were,” he said.
Three times he has had a sitcom on CBS, which included
“The Bob Newhart Show” in the early 1970’s,
“Newhart” which lasted throughout the 1980’s and the
short lived “Bob” in the 1990’s.
Speaking of music artists, pop singer Andy Williams
happened to be in the audience that evening, and Newhart
recognized him.
Newhart spoke for thirty minutes about the history of
his life and for the next thirty minutes, he took questions
and answers from the audience.
“I loved the Bob Newhart Show and I loved Newhart,”
he said, when asked about what was his favorite
show to do.
When asked about who some of his favorite comedians
were, Newhart mentioned Richard Pryor and Don
Rickles, who is one of his best friends.
It was brought up that a lot of comedians were jewish
and lived long lives. “A higher percentage of comedians
are jewish,” he said. “Comedy comes with a lot of pain
and us Irish comedians have had our share.”
When the late Tom Poston and Suzanne Plachette
were brought up, Newhart stated out of respect, “We
were family. We had great times and good chemistry.”
Finally, the subject of profanity was brought up when
it comes to the usage of it amongst comedians today. “I
never felt comfortable using it myself,” said Newhart.
“I don’t object to it, as I mentioned that I had a lot of
respect for Richard Pryor. In fact, I would feel offended
if he didn’t use profanity.”