Bob Newhart Played the Straight Man and the Comic

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( remembrance [The Comedy Team of Bob Newhart]( He played straight man and comic, both with a quiet ear. Photo: CBS via Getty Images Bob Newhart, who [died yesterday at 94](, was known as the star of The Bob Newhart Show (the one where he played a psychiatrist) and its equally popular follow-up Newhart (where he ran a Vermont bed-and-breakfast) as well as guest appearances stretching from The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show (he filled in for Johnny Carson 87 times) through The Rescuers, The Simpsons, In & Out, Elf, Murphy Brown, and NCIS. He almost always played a variation on the established Bob Newhart persona: a mild-mannered, mild-looking, dryly funny guy surrounded by, and reacting to, people far weirder than himself. None of this would’ve happened without Newhart’s foundational skill: an impeccable ability to be the funny one and the straight man at the same time, often while performing a phone conversation. The Newhart character onstage and onscreen was by turns befuddled, lightly annoyed, and (especially) a sane man required to deal with a ridiculous situation, trying to keep it together and mostly, but not completely, succeeding. [Shelley Berman specialized in the half-heard phone call]( and [got to the idea before Newhart](, but his manner was spikier and more irritable, both onstage and off, and his career soon plateaued; Newhart’s hesitant, deadpan approach was easier to like and more durable and (it eventually turned out) adaptable. The laughter often came as the audience mentally filled in the other half of the dialogue, which was sometimes obvious and unsaid but usually redelivered by Newhart’s character, as if for emphasis. [read more]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now]( to save over 40% on unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • The Real Housewives of Orange County: [Realer or Realtor]( • Lady in the Lake: [Gotta Move, Gotta Get Out]( • RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars: [Well, That Stank!]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Manny Jacinto Was, In Fact, Trying to Seduce You As The Acolyte’s Tyler Durden figure, he wanted the Stranger’s appeal to go beyond just “arms.”]( [#Breaking: Twitter Adds Unserious Emoji to Serious Hashtag Now it looks like world news is something to dance about.]( By Zoe Guy [I Have One Gripe About the Ending of Twisters Show us the kiss. We know it was filmed!]( By Fran Hoepfner [They Don’t Make Disaster Movies Like Twister Anymore I saw the original Twister on opening night in 1996 and hated it. Then, over the years, it grew on me.]( By Bilge Ebiri [‘They Really Fell From the Sky’: Jan de Bont Defends Twister’s Practical Effects The director explains why, after getting scalped by a lion while making Roar, he had uniquely high expectations for his ’90s action movies.]( By Bilge Ebiri [The 10 Best Movies and TV Shows to Watch This Weekend From the comfort of your storm cellar, maybe.]( By Savannah Salazar [Still More Great Moments in Real Housewifery Because 100 seasons can’t be confined to a list of just 100.]( By Brian Moylan [10 Essential Shelley Duvall Performances This body of work paints a picture of an artist paving her own zigzagging path across showbusiness.]( By A.A. Dowd [All the Twisters in Twisters, Ranked Prepare for destruction, beauty, and movie theaters in ruins.]( By Savannah Salazar [The Bene Gesserit Are Girlbossing to Power Dune: Prophecy, HBO’s prequel series, has a trailer.]( By Zoe Guy [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Vulture Games [Today’s Crossword]( 13-Across, Four Letters: Marlin, of “Finding Nemo” … or any marlin Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Theo Wargo/Getty Images, Charley Gallay/Getty Images, Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images [Today’s Cinematrix]( Can you name a Bill Paxton movie released from 1995–2004? Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Leon Bennett/Getty Images, Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images, Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic A newsletter about the perpetual Hollywood awards race, for subscribers only. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1701 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved