The Bob Newhart Show

This article is about the 1970s TV show. For the 1960s variety show, seeThe Bob Newhart Show (1961 TV series).

The Bob Newhart Show
Created by	David Davis Lorenzo Music
Starring	Bob Newhart Suzanne Pleshette Peter Bonerz Bill Daily Marcia Wallace
Theme music composer	Lorenzo Music Henrietta Music
Opening theme	"Home to Emily"
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No.of seasons	6
No.of episodes	142(list of episodes)
Production
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production company	MTM Enterprises
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 16, 1972(1972-09-16)– April 1, 1978(1978-04-01)
Related
Newhart

The Bob Newhart Showis an Americansitcomtelevision series produced byMTM Enterprisesthat aired onCBSfrom September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. ComedianBob Newhartportrays apsychologistwhose interactions with his wife, friends, patients, and colleagues lead to humorous situations and dialogue. The show was filmed before a live audience.

The credits feature theCooper Blacktypeface, after it was made famous in 1966 by its use in the artwork for the Beach Boys'Pet Soundsalbum.

Premise

Standing, from left: Howard Borden, Carol Kester, Jerry Robinson; seated: Bob and Emily Hartley

The show centers on Robert "Bob" Hartley (Newhart), a Chicagopsychologist,his work and home life, with his supportive, though occasionally sarcastic, wife Emily (Suzanne Pleshette), and their friendly but mildly pesky neighbor, airline navigator Howard Borden (Bill Daily). The medical building where Bob's practice is located also houses Jerry Robinson (Peter Bonerz), anorthodontistwhose office is on the same floor, and their receptionist, Carol Kester (Marcia Wallace), as well as a number of other doctors who appear on the show occasionally.

Bob's three most frequently seen regular patients are cynical, mean-spirited and neurotic Elliot Carlin (Jack Riley), milquetoast former US Marine cook Emil Peterson (John Fiedler), and quiet, reserved Lillian Bakerman (Florida Friebus), an older woman who spends most of her sessions knitting. Carlin was ranked 49th inTV Guide's List of the 50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time, and Riley reprised the character in guest appearances on bothSt. ElsewhereandNewhart.

Most of the situations involve Newhart's character playingstraight manto his wife, colleagues, friends, and patients. A frequent running gag on the show is an extension of Newhart'sstand-up comedyroutines, where he played one side of a telephone conversation, the other side of which is not heard. In a nod to this,for the first two seasons, the episodes opened with Bob answering the telephone by saying "Hello?"

Cast

Emily listens to Howard in the Hartleys' apartment.

Bob (right) congratulates Carol and Larry Bondurant on their marriage.

Stars

• Bob Newhartas Dr. Robert Hartley, psychologist
• Suzanne Pleshetteas Emily (née Harrison) Hartley, his wife, a school teacher and later, assistant principal
• Peter Bonerzas Dr. Jerry Robinson, Bob's friend, an orthodontist
• Bill Dailyas Howard Borden, Bob and Emily's next-door neighbor and friend, an airline navigator and later co-pilot
• Marcia Wallaceas Carol Kester, Bob and Jerry's receptionist

Bob's patients

Seen on a recurring basis in group therapy sessions. Mr. Carlin, Mrs. Bakerman and Mr. Peterson were by far the most frequently seen patients.

• Jack Rileyas Elliot F. Carlin
• Florida Friebusas Mrs. Lillian Bakerman
• John Fiedleras Emil Peterson
• Renée Lippinas Michelle Nardo (seasons 1–5)
• Oliver Clarkas Ed Herd (seasons 2–6)
• Noam Pitlikas Victor Gianelli (seasons 1–2)
• Daniel J. Travantias Victor Gianelli (season 3)
• Howard Hessemanas Craig Plager (seasons 2–6)
• Lucien Scott as Edgar T. Vickers (seasons 2–3)
• Merie Earleas Mrs. Loomis (seasons 2–3)
• Rhoda Gemignanias Joan Rossi (seasons 2–3)
• Michael Conradas Mr. Trevesco (season 2)

Henry Winklerplayed patient Miles Lascoe in one season 2 episode.

Bob and Emily's relatives

Seen very occasionally, except for Bob's sister in seasons 2–4.

• Pat Finleyas Ellen Hartley, Bob's sister (introduced near the end of season 2, and featured in nearly half of the episodes in season 3, the character was eventually dropped midway through season 4)
• Martha Scottas Martha Hartley, Bob and Ellen's mother
• Barnard Hughesas Herb Hartley, Bob and Ellen's father
• John Randolphas Cornelius "Junior" Harrison Jr., Emily's father
• Ann Rutherfordas Aggie Harrison, Emily's mother

Neighbors, friends and others

Most of these were occasional or even one-shot characters.

• Patricia Smithas Margaret Hoover, Emily's friend (seen only in the first part of season 1, then dropped)
• Tom Postonas Cliff "The Peeper" Murdock, Bob's college friend from Vermont
• Jean Palmerton as Corrine Murdock, "The Peeper's" wife
• Moosie Drieras Howie Borden, Howard's son
• Will Mackenzieas Larry Bondurant, Carol's boyfriend and later husband
• Richard Schaalas Don Livingston (later Don Fesler), boyfriend/short-lived fiancé of Carol's; in the 1st season played Chuck Brock, husband of Nancy, who had previously been briefly engaged to Bob
• Mariette Hartleyas Marilyn Dietz, downstairs neighbor and friend of Emily's
• Gail Stricklandas Courtney Simpson, a girlfriend of Jerry's
• Raul Juliaas Dr. Greg Robinson, Jerry's brother
• Heather Menziesas Debbie Borden, Howard's younger sister
• William Redfieldas Howard's brother, Gordon Borden, the game warden; the actor also appeared in the pilot episode as Margaret's husband Arthur Hoover

Rimpau Medical Arts Center

Doctors Tupperman and Newman were recurring characters; the others were mostly one-shots.

• Larry Gelmanas Dr. Bernie Tupperman, urologist
• Howard Plattas Dr. Phil Newman, cosmetic surgeon
• Shirley O'Haraas Debbie Flett, older, scatterbrained temp receptionist who constantly calls Bob "Dr. Ryan"
• Gene Blakely as Dr. Ralph Tetzi, Ear/Nose/Throat specialist
• Julie Payne as Dr. Sharon Rudell, who prefers "scream therapy" as a therapeutic device whenever she feels stressed
• Tom Lacy as Dr. Stan Whelan
• Paula Shaw as Dr. Tammy Ziegler
• Ellen Westonas Dr. Sarah Harris
• Kristina Hollandas Gail Bronson, Carol's vacation replacement
• Phillip R. Allen as Dr. Frank Walburn, another psychologist
• Teri Garras Miss Brennan, Dr. Walburn's receptionist

Episodes

The Thorndale Beach North condominium, at 5901 N. Sheridan Road in Chicago'sEdgewatercommunity, was used for exteriorestablishing shotsof the Hartleys' apartment building.

Further information:List of The Bob Newhart Show episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally aired
			First aired	Last aired
1	24		September 16, 1972	March 10, 1973
2	24		September 15, 1973	March 2, 1974
3	24		September 14, 1974	March 8, 1975
4	24		September 13, 1975	February 28, 1976
5	24		September 25, 1976	March 19, 1977
6	22		September 24, 1977	April 1, 1978

The first four seasons ofThe Bob Newhart Showaired on Saturday nights at 9:30p.m.Eastern Standard Time.During the winter of the1976–77 season,the program moved to 8:30p.m. EST. For its final season during1977–78,the program moved to 8:00p.m. EST.

The program typically aired followingThe Mary Tyler Moore Show,which was also produced byMTM Enterprises.

Finale

In the show'sApril Fools' Dayfinal episode, "Happy Trails to You," Bob gives up his practice and accepts a teaching position at a small college in Oregon. In the closing scene, Bob, Emily, Jerry, Carol and Howard exchange tearful goodbyes and embrace; an emotional Emily bursts into an impromptu refrain of "Oklahoma,"and the others join in (except for Howard, who does not know the words), a nod toThe Mary Tyler Moore Showfinale(also produced by MTM) from the previous year, in which the newsroom characters embraced and sang "It's a Long Way to Tipperary".The final credits show the cast of the episode in acurtain call.

Awards and honors

In 1977, the show received twoEmmynominations – for "Outstanding Comedy Series" and for Pleshette for "Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series".Newhart, himself, was nominated twice for aGolden Globe Awardas "Best TV Actor—Musical/Comedy" in 1975 and 1976.In 1997, the episodes "Over the River and Through the Woods" and "Death Be My Destiny" were respectively ranked No. 9 and No. 50 onTV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Timelisted it as No. 44.In 2007,Timeplaced the show on its unranked list of "100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME".Bravoranked Bob Hartley 84th on its list of the 100 greatest TV characters.

In 2004,TV Landcommemorated the show with a statue of Newhart in character as Dr. Hartley, seated and facing an empty couch, as if conducting a therapy session in his office. The statue was temporarily installed in front of 430 North Michigan Avenue, the building used for exterior establishing shots of Hartley's office. The statue is now permanently located in the sculpture park adjacent to Chicago'sNavy Pierentertainment complex.In 2005, theTV Land AwardshonoredThe Bob Newhart Showwith its Icon Award, presented byRay Romano.

In 2013,TV Guideranked the series No. 49 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time.

Later appearances by series characters

St. Elsewhere(1985)

Jack Riley reprised his Elliot Carlin role on a 1985 episode ofSt. Elsewhereand partnered with Oliver Clark as theamnesiacJohn Doe Number Six. Carlin and Doe have been committed to the hospital's mental ward, where Carlin treats Doe with the same verbal abuse he directed toward Clark's "Mr. Herd" onThe Bob Newhart Show.Carlin blames his insanity on an unnamed "quack in Chicago." While Oliver Clark's recurring portrayal of John Doe Number Six is essentially identical to Mr. Herd, the two are never stated to be the same individual. In a nod to theMary Tyler Moore Show,John Doe Number Six addresses a character played byBetty Whiteas Sue Ann Nivens, which Betty White's character denies.

ALF(1987)

In the 1987ALFepisode entitled "Going Out of My Head Over You", Willie visits a psychologist, Dr. Lawrence "Larry" Dykstra, portrayed by Bill Daily. Jack Riley is in the waiting room, apparently portraying Elliot Carlin. Also in this episode, ALF mentions learning about psychology by watching episodes ofThe Bob Newhart Show.

Newhart(1988 and 1990)

Riley appears in a 1988 episode ofNewhart,playing an unnamed character who acts very much like Mr. Carlin. This character is being treated by the same therapist in Vermont whom Dick Loudon (Bob Newhart) visits for marriage counseling. Dick feels he recognizes Riley's character, but cannot place his face; whereupon the unnamed patient insults him. Echoing Carlin's statement from the 1985St. Elsewhere,the therapist apologizes for her patient, explaining that it has taken her "years to undo the damage caused by some quack in Chicago."

Tom Poston, who played Cliff "The Peeper" Murdock, Bob's college friend from Vermont, played "George" the resident handyman from Vermont, throughout the Newhart series. Poston and Suzanne Pleshette married in 2001, with the marriage lasting until Poston's death in 2007. Pleshette died the following year.

Newhart and Pleshette reprised their roles from the show for the 1990finale ofNewhart,in which it was revealed that the entireNewhartseries had just been Bob Hartley'sdream.Bob and Emily awake in a room identical in appearance to their Chicago bedroom fromThe Bob Newhart Show.(This plot device had previously been used in the season five finale ( "You're Having My Hartley" ) in which Emily is pregnant. At the end, the pregnancy is revealed to have been a dream.)

The Bob Newhart Show: The 19th Anniversary Special(1991)

The entire cast assembled for the one-hour clip showThe Bob Newhart Show: The 19th Anniversary Specialin 1991, which finds the show's characters in the present day. This show is set in Chicago, in the same apartment and office that Bob Hartley had in his 1970s show. During the course of the show, the characters analyzed Bob's dream from theNewhartfinale. At one point Howard recalled, "I had a dream like that once. I dreamed I was an astronaut in Florida for five years," as scenes fromI Dream of Jeanniefeaturing Bill Daily as Roger Healey were shown.

Murphy Brown(1994)

Newhart played Bob Hartley onMurphy Brown,in the episode "Anything But Cured" (March 14, 1994) to beg Carol (Marcia Wallace reprising her role fromThe Bob Newhart Show) to leave her job as Murphy's secretary and come back with him to Chicago.

Saturday Night Live(1995)

Newhart reprised Hartley twice in the February 11, 1995, episode ofSaturday Night Live.In one sketch, he appears on a satirical version ofRicki Lake,befuddled by Ms. Lake's dysfunctional guests and her armchair pop psychology. The episode ended with a repeat ofNewhart’s "just a dream" scene, in which Bob Hartley again wakes up with Emily (Pleshette), and tells her that he just dreamed he had hostedSNL.Emily responds, "That show's not still on, is it?"

George and Leo(1997)

George and Leowas a sitcom starring Bob Newhart andJudd Hirsch,and a 1997 episode called "The Cameo Episode" featured a raft of cameo appearances by their co-stars of previous series. Although the actors were not necessarily playing the same characters as they played in the previous shows, there was certainly a suggestion with some of the unnamed characters that theycouldbe. Amongst theBob Newhart Showactors making cameos in the episode were Peter Bonerz (as "Dr. Robins" ), Oliver Clark, Bill Daily (as a pilot), John Fiedler, Tom Poston (as a police officer), Jack Riley, and Marcia Wallace.

CBS at 75(2002)

Newhart and Pleshette, as "The Hartleys," were the hosts of a segment of theCBS at 75broadcast.

Home media

20th Century Fox Home Entertainmentreleased the first four seasons ofThe Bob Newhart Showon DVD in Region 1 in 2005/2006.

On February 3, 2014,Shout! Factoryannounced it had acquired the rights to the series. It subsequently releasedThe Bob Newhart Show: The Complete Serieson May 27, 2014.The fifth and sixth seasons were later released on DVD in individual sets on February 3, 2015.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date
The Complete 1st Season	24	April 12, 2005
The Complete 2nd Season	24	October 4, 2005
The Complete 3rd Season	24	April 11, 2006
The Complete 4th Season	24	September 5, 2006
The Complete 5th Season	24	February 3, 2015
The Complete 6th Season	22	February 3, 2015
The Complete Series	142	May 27, 2014

In popular culture

Season 1 episode 7 of the 2019 Sci-fi alternate history series,For All Mankind,in which the USSR beats the United States to a crewed lunar landing, has the crew of Apollo 22 watchingThe Bob Newhart Showon the Jamestown lunar base and greeting each other with "Hi Bob."

See also

• Hi, Bob– a drinking game based on watching the show

External links

• The Bob Newhart ShowatThe Interviews: An Oral History of Television
• Bob Newhart Show 35th Anniversary Reunionat PaleyLive LA 2007 @The Paley Center for Media
• I Laugh, therefore I am – The Quest for Bob Newhart's Apartment Building(fansite)
• The Bob Newhart ShowatIMDb
• The Bob Newhart Showat TVGuide