‘Elf’ and ‘Big Bang Theory’ Actor Bob Newhart Dies at 94 After a ‘Series of Illnesses’

Legendary TV sitcom star and comedian Bob Newhart has died at the age of 94 following a ​series of “short illnesses,” his publicist announced on Thursday, July 18.

He played a Chicago-based psychiatrist in his first television smash, The Bob Newhart Show, which ran on CBS from 1972 through 1978. Bob followed it up with another show bearing his name, starring as an author turned Vermont innkeeper on Newhart, which aired for eight seasons on CBS starting in 1982. The show was renowned for having one of the best TV series finale episodes of all-time.

Later in his career, Bob found a new generation of fans in the 2003 comedy Elf, playing “Papa Elf” to Will Ferrell‘s lead character.

Despite not winning an Emmy for his brilliant work on his namesake TV shows, Bob finally took home television’s biggest honor in 2013 for his guest-starring role of Arthur ​Jeffries on The Big Bang Theory. He would go on to star as “Professor Proton” in six more episodes of the show through 2018. Bob reprised the character for three episodes of Young Sheldon starting in 2017, which would be his last credited TV work.

Born in Oak Park, Illinois, on September 5, 1929, Bob didn’t set out to be an actor. He found comedy making prank calls with a pal to break up the tedium of his accounting job. The pair later turned it into a radio comedy routine of playing having a conversation on one end of the phone, while listeners could imagine what was being said on the other end.

Bob landed a contract with a record company and released his first comedy album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, in 1961. Recorded live at a Houston, Texas, nightclub, it went on to sell 1.5 million copies. Bob won a Grammy for the album and the success led to appearances on popular talk shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show.

The comedian landed an eponymous TV variety show in 1961, although it only lasted for one season.

Just as his career was taking off, Bob met the love of his life, Virginia “Ginnie” Quinn, in 1962, after being set up on a blind date by his comedian pal Buddy Hackett. The couple wed on January 12, 1963, and would stay married for the rest of their lives. Ginnie died in April 2023, shortly after the couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. She was 82 years old.

Bob and Ginnie shared four children: Robert, Timothy, Jennifer, and Courtney, as well as 10 grandchildren.

It was Ginnie who came up with the idea for the series finale of Newhart after running into his first TV wife, actress Suzanne Pleshette, at a party.

In the final scene, Bob’s character of Dick Loudon woke up from a dream but he wasn’t next to his wife Joanna Loudon, played by Mary Frann. Instead, it was Suzanne, reprising her role of Emily Hartley from The Bob Newhart Show. He was back in his role of Bob Hartley, telling his wife about his crazy dream where he was an innkeeper in Vermont surrounded by all sorts of eccentric characters.

Bob revealed the secret to his long marriage to Ginny in a 2023 interview with Parade.

“The marriages of comedians, no matter how stormy, seem to last a long time, and I attribute it to laughter,” he said. “No matter how intense the argument you’re having, you can find a line, and then you both look at each other and start laughing. It’s over, you know?”