Saturday, March 4, 2017
BIG BOB NEWHART COLLECTION CURRENTLY ON eBAY
Should be of total interest to readers of this blog:
...plus more.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/132160371519?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
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Friday, May 10, 2013
New Bob -- THE BIG BANG THEORY ep. "The Proton Resurgence"
To confess: Despite my nearly unswerving appreciation of Bob Newhart's comedy, I didn't watch his recent appearance on THE BIG BANG THEORY because (a) I think we've progressed, as a culture, beyond laugh-track sitcoms at this point, and (b) Bob's already stammer-filled delivery has slowed way down with age (if the episode's preview clip is any indication), and I prefer to remember his sharper performances.
Still, it's great that he continues to get cast in relevant programming, as it will, with any luck, introduce the kiddies to Newhart and cause them to seek out his earlier work.
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER preview on the appearance (complete with video clip) here:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/big-bang-theorys-bob-newhart-445909
Anyone see it? Reactions?
--Mike Malloy
Monday, May 7, 2012
Further reading: The four main Newhart books
For the serious Newhart fan, there are four main resources -- in book form, at least -- for learning about the comedian's career:
BOB NEWHART by David Paige (1977)
From the "Stars of Stage and Screen" series, likely aimed at children and school libraries, this book at least features plenty of nice, full-page b&w photos. Written after Newhart had become a household name thanks to THE BOB NEWHART SHOW.
BOB NEWHART by Jeff Sorensen (1988)
The first serious attempt to pen a Newhart biography, this was written after the star had had a second sitcom success with NEWHART. The book seems to have been written under slightly rushed circumstances (although better than the quickie paperbacks that cash in on some young hottie's sudden fame), as Sorensen includes surprising lack of information about the Las Vegas period that fell between Bob's two hit television shows.
HI BOB! by Joey Green (1996)
A light pop-culture book (replete with little sidebars and quizzes), this features exclusive interviews with just about everyone except Bob himself (and he's represented by quotes from previous interviews in ROLLING STONE and other publications). But again, the gang's all there: Suzie Pleshette, Bill Daly, Marcia Wallace, Peter Bonerz, Jack Riley, Howard Hesseman, Lorenzo Music and the actors playing all Bob's semi-regular patients.
I SHOULDN'T EVEN BE DOING THIS! by Bob Newhart (2006)
This bounces around a lot and can't be considered a comprehensive memoir; it is meant as a collection of anecdotes that have struck its author as funny (it derives its title from a joke that has always cracked Bob up). Nonetheless, there is some info here that won't be found anywhere else -- like Bob's first TV job, for a local Chicago program (I've tried looking up more info on such but have come up utterly empty).
--Mike Malloy
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Quick Q's for a Newhart co-star #3 -- Jeff Doucette
Saturday, January 22, 2011
New Bob -- NCIS guest appearance (review)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
New Bob -- NCIS guest appearance
In his first major television appearance since Blogging 'Bout Bob launched, Mr. Newhart will be making a guest appearance on CBS' military crime drama NCIS this month, in the role of retired medical examiner Walter Magnus.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Quick Q's for a Newhart co-star #2 -- John Voldstad
Above is a photo that actor John Voldstad personalized to me on April 6, 2003, and below is the interview from that same meeting.
Mr. Voldstad was nice as could be (really and truly), so I feel sheepish writing my opinion here that NEWHART's famous trio of backwoodsmen (of which Voldstad played "Darryl #2") unfortunately evolved into a cartoon version of their earlier selves. In their few First Season appearances, these three brothers didn't ham it up. They were still relatively realistic, vaguely menacing (even if slack-jawed) hillbilly characters, and they came off so much funnier that way. In later seasons, the two basic types of jokes involving LD&D had them doing cartoonishly primitive backwoods activities (usually involving roadkill in a greasy burlap sack) or trying to surprise the audience with throwaway gags about some bit of uncharacteristic behavior (e.g. them watching the BRADY BUNCH: BRADY BRIDES tv special).
So let's not forget what great tv characters these three were in their earlier appearances. And regardless of my feelings, they were popular throughout the series' entire run, and they are -- next to NEWHART's series finale -- one of the best-remembered elements of the show.
Larry, Darryl and Darryl were, for a time, the breakout characters of NEWHART. There was audience applause every time you made an appearance.
Yeah, it was funny how that happened. Bob liked us, so he decided to keep us around.
You made your first appearance on NEWHART's second episode….
Right. Yeah.
Was there ever any worry that the brothers were a one-joke character -- that you would eventually run out of gags or become stale?
We weren't worried about that, because the guys -- they were all good writers. [The cast] all worked as an ensemble. It was a whole ensemble. So they weren't worried about coming up with bits for us that often.
What about William Sanderson's famous introduction every time the brothers made an entrance? How did you keep that fresh?
I don't know. Every time we came in, it seemed like the audience reacted that way to, "Hi, my name's Larry. This is my brother…" It's not like we did anything [different]. People just laughed. I don't understand it, really; [I guess] they liked the characters. We were backwoods guys.
I've heard you mention in interviews that you show up now for auditions and casting people are surprised you can speak.
No, they're not surprised. They look forward to hearing you talk. They actually call you in to see … what you sound like. It's like the silent movies, you know.
Is there a "Darryl curse" on your acting career?
No, no curse. Not really. I'm … I'm…. No, no curse. [laughs]
What about cameoing in some of Newhart's later stuff? I know they did that BOB NEWHART SHOW tv special where the brothers were elevator repairmen.
Oh yeah! And then on GEORGE & LEO, when he had that show, he had everyone come back on (ed note--for the GEORGE & LEO episode entitled "The Cameo Show").
Have you maintained friendships with--?
Yeah, all the time. Still call. We're still like brothers. And I call Bob and those guys. Send Christmas cards. We're still like one big family. I took Kristen (sp.?) to see Bob in Cerritos just last year, performing his stand-up. {The show] was like a big family, so it was kind of sad when the show ended, because you felt like you were leaving your family.
But near the end of NEWHART, there were so many changes to the show: Michael and Stephanie got married, had a kid, etc. Did that signal that the end was obviously near?
Not at all, because Bob had intended for the show to go on for another year (ed note--there are many reports to the contrary). So things look like that, and then everything ended up not working out that way.
It was a great show.
Thanks. It was a good group of people. Hard to find anything like that since. Haven't really.
--Mike Malloy