MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Carol Burnett says Bob Newhart was as kind and nice as he was funny. Kaley Cuoco says he was classy, kind, generous and absolutely hilarious. The legendary comedian and longtime TV star passed away at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 94 yesterday.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Newhart was known for a kind of everyman appeal and a deadpan delivery that earned him Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe and, finally, at the age of 83, an Emmy.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE BIG BANG THEORY")
BOB NEWHART: (As Arthur Jeffries) Is he dangerous?
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNNY GALECKI: (As Leonard Hofstadter) Actually, he's a genius.
NEWHART: (As Arthur Jeffries) That doesn't answer my question.
(LAUGHTER)
MARTÍNEZ: Newhart ended his epic career by playing Professor Proton on two CBS sitcoms, "Young Sheldon" and "The Big Bang Theory."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE BIG BANG THEORY")
GALECKI: (As Leonard Hofstadter) If you would have told me when I was a kid that someday, I would be doing science next to Professor Proton, I would not have believed you.
NEWHART: (As Arthur Jeffries) If someone had told me that people would still call me Professor Proton when I was 83 years old, I never would have quit smoking.
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: In an interview on PBS in 2014, Newhart recalled what he said to a producer who had asked him to talk faster during a scene.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
NEWHART: This stammer has gotten me a home in Beverly Hills, and I'm not about to change it.
MARTÍNEZ: Wouldn't change it either. And he told NPR in 2005 that he took pride in a minimalist style of comedy.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
NEWHART: I like to get laughter out of the least, and I think one way you do it is by giving the audience some credit for some intelligence.
MARTIN: In the 1980s, he played a Vermont innkeeper for eight seasons on "Newhart." Before that, in the '70s, he played a witty and occasionally sarcastic psychologist on "The Bob Newhart Show."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE BOB NEWHART SHOW")
NEWHART: (As Dr. Robert Hartley) Yes, this is Dr. Hartley. What can I do for you? Well, Mr. Johnson, smiling and whistling while you work doesn't seem to be a problem you should see a psychologist about.
(LAUGHTER)
NEWHART: (As Dr. Robert Hartley) You drive a hearse?
(LAUGHTER)
MARTÍNEZ: Newhart also won three Grammy Awards in 1961, beating out - get this - Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Harry Belafonte for album of the year, and he did it with standup bits, such as the one in which he imagines a press agent on a phone call with Abraham Lincoln.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
NEWHART: (As character) Listen, Abe, I got to know. What's the problem? You're thinking of shaving it off?
(LAUGHTER)
NEWHART: (As character) Abe, don't you see that's part of the image? Right, with the shawl and the stovepipe hat, the string tie.
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart" was the first comedy album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and it's still the 20th best-selling comedy album of all time.
MARTÍNEZ: In 2014, he told MORNING EDITION he thrived in a special time.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
NEWHART: I lived in the days of Johnny Carson, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, incredibly rewarding times. And oh, my God, I could never look upon my life as a failure. It's far beyond anything I ever thought I would attain.
MARTIN: His wife of more than 60 years, Virginia Newhart, died last year. Bob Newhart is survived by four children and their families and endless sitcom reruns, much loved.
(SOUNDBITE OF TELEVISION'S GREATEST HITS BAND'S "THE BOB NEWHART SHOW (HOME TO EMILY)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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