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Bob Uecker, a a Baseball Hall of Famer who spent 54 years as the Milwaukee Brewers play-by-play man, starred in the 1980s sitcom Mr. Belvedere and had a memorable roles in the movie Major League and in Miller Lite ads, died Thursday. He was 90.
His family said Uecker had battled small-cell lung cancer since early 2023.
The Brewers announced the news, saying in part: “Ueck was the light of the Brewers, the soundtrack of our summers, the laughter in our hearts, and his passing is a profound loss. He was the heart and soul of Wisconsin and a dear friend. …. He was a national treasure.” Read the team’s full statement below.
Known for his often self-deprecating wit and warm smile, Uecker had an uneventful six-year MLB career with the Brewers and three other teams in the 1960s. He worked briefly as a scout before joining the Atlanta Braves broadcast team for two seasons. He began his legendary run as the Brewers announcer in 1971 and also called national network games.
He was inducted into the inaugural class of the Brewers’ Wall of Honor in 2014.
Uecker likely is best known among non-sports fans for playing frumpy sportswriter George Owens on ABC’s Mr. Belvedere from 1985-90. He and wife Marsha (Ilene Graff) hire debonair English housekeeper Lynn Belvedere (Christopher Hewett), who is proficient as cooking, cleaning and solving the family’s problems.
Airing mostly on Friday nights, the comedy never made the primetime year-end Top 30 in the three-network universe but lasted six seasons.
During that show’s run, he also played Harry Doyle, the put-upon homer announcer in the 1989 movie Major League, starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and others. After a pitch by Sheen’s hot prospect Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn nearly goes all the way to the backstop, Doyle says, “Juuuuust a bit outside — he tried the corner with it.” He repised the role in 1994’s Major League II.
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He also was a pitchman in several memorable Miller Lite ads during the 1980s. In one, he boasted about how being an ex-Big Leaguer means “getting freebies to the game. Call the front office, bingo” After plunking down in his fieldside seat, an usher tells him, “You’re in the wrong seat, buddy. Come on.” To which Uecker replies, “Oh, I must be in the front roooow.” Cut to shot of Uecker sitting alone amid empty seats at the top of the stadium.
Here is the Brewers’ full statement about Uecker:
“Today, we take on the heaviest of burdens. Today, we say goodbye to our beloved friend, Bob Uecker.
“Ueck was the light of the Brewers, the soundtrack of our summers, the laughter in our hearts, and his passing is a profound loss. He was the heart and soul of Wisconsin and a dear friend. Bob loved people; his presence warmed every room and he had a way of welcoming all of us into his world as if we were lifelong friends.
“Saying goodbye to Bob shakes us all. He was so much more than a Milwaukee Brewers icon. He was a national treasure. Bob entertained us with his words and storytelling, so it is no surprise that his passing now leaves us at a loss for our own words.
“There is no describing the impact Ueck had on so many, and no words for how much he was loved. We are left with a giant void in our hearts, but also remember the laughter and joy he brought to our lives throughout the years.”
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