Comedy legend Bob Newhart, who passed away at the age of 94, leaves behind a legacy of timeless humor and unforgettable performances. His work in comedy would lead him to become the fifth recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2002.

During a guest-hosting stint on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, close friend Don Rickles just happened to break Johnny’s cigarette box. The reaction from Carson is a priceless moment.

Most recently, Newhart was introduced to younger fans through his role as Arthur Jeffries/Professor Proton on The Big Bang Theory. Chuck Lorre was determined to land a guest role for Newhart on the series. Lo and behold, Professor Proton recurred on the series during its 2013-2018 seasons. Newhart told Jessica Radloff about the conditions he had for taking on the role. One was that it had to be done in front of a live audience. The other was that the role had to be a recurring character.

I loved the character, I loved the script, I loved the writing. And what a wonderful cast. Jim Parsons was so great to work with and so generous.

Nobody could ever doubt Newhart being such an expert of comedy. Lorre and the writing staff knew a joke was not working but nobody had the nerve to approach the comedy legend. The job would ultimately fall to a nervous Lorre to approach Newhart about the joke. Before Lorre could even get a word out of his mouth, Newhart had the answer: giving the joke to Kaley Cuoco’s Penny and he would react to it. This certainly speaks to the genius of Bob Newhart and why he is a comedy legend. After seven previous Emmy nominations, Newhart would receive another Emmy nomination, finally winning for his guest performance in 2013. He would ultimately appear in six episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Newhart would als0 reprise his character in three episodes of the prequel spinoff series, Young Sheldon.

His third appearance on the series is the one where Arthur Jeffries passes away. Because of The Big Bang Theory being The Big Theory, Professor Proton would come back in the form of a Jedi ghost. Future appearances would require him to dress like Obi-Wan Kenobi, including a scene on Dagobah. Newhart told Radloff that he “hated putting that robe on!” While Newhart had not been a Star Wars fan going into his appearance, he “became a Star Wars fan just from being on the show.”

But of course, we cannot discuss Bob Newhart without discussing the series finale of Newhart in 1990. It is a classic episode because of how they bring back his TV wife from The Bob New Hart Show, Suzanne Pleshette, for an appearance in the series finale. The scene is just iconic as they appear in the classic set from the 1972-78 series.

Robert Hartley: Honey. Honey, wake up. You… you won’t believe the dream I just had. Don’t you want to hear about it?
Emily Hartley: All right, Bob. What is it?
Robert Hartley: Well, I was an innkeeper in this crazy little town in Vermont. Nothing made sense in this place. I mean, the maid was an heiress. Her husband talked in alliteration. The handyman kept missing the point of things. And then there were these three woodsmen, but only one of them talked.
Emily Hartley: That settles it, no more Japanese food before you go to bed. [turns light off]
Robert Hartley: And I was married to this beautiful blonde.
Emily Hartley: Go back to sleep. [turns light back on, jealous] What do you mean, beautiful blonde?

Mind you, this is before the age of social media but they still went through precautions of protecting their secret. How it did not manage to leak out is beyond me. Again, the Newhart just speaks to Bob Newhart being a genius. It is so iconic that Jimmy Kimmel Live would also spoof it as one of the alternate endings to LOST. “This may be one of the most famous final shows in all of television and you think you’ve seen it.”

There are many credits in his 62-year career. Newhart costarred with Steve McQueen in his first feature film in 1962, Hell is for Heroes. He reunited with his Bob co-star, Betty White, during the Hot in Cleveland series finale. Newhart starred alongside Eva Gabor in Disney’s The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under. Other credits include appearances in Elf, The Librarian films and The Librarians TV series. Amongst many more.

The comedian will be missed. Fans can always visit their favorite psychologist, Dr. Robert Hartley, at the end of Navy Pier in Chicago. TV Land installed a statue of Newhart at 430 N. Michigan back in 2004 because of its role as his office in The Bob Newhart Show.

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