OK this one’s a TV item but we had to share. Attendees of the upcoming NAB Show in Las Vegas will have a special treat, the induction of Bob Newhart into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
Newhart, a former accountant and ad copy writer, had a meteoric rise in the early 1960s with a series of comedic albums, all playing off of his “Button Down Mind” persona: boring, conservative, cautious. He won several Grammy Awards including Best Album and Best New Artist.
In 1972 Newhart signed onto “The Bob Newhart Show,” a sitcom about a boring, conservative, cautious psychotherapist and his nutty patients, colleagues and neighbors. It was a big hit and aired in CBS’ legendary “Murderers’ Row” Saturday night prime time lineup (“All In the Family,” “M*A*S*H” for a year, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Bob Newhart Show” and “The Carol Burnett Show”).
The show ended in 1978.
In 1982 Newhart returned to TV with “Newhart,” a show about a slightly cantankerous innkeeper/how-to book author/TV show host in Vermont. It had a successful run into 1990, with its final episode sometimes described as the greatest final episode ever, tying in with his earlier TV show.
Newhart substitute hosted “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson” many times.
He joins inductees such as Bob Barker, Regis Philbin and Ted Koppel.
