CBS Sets ‘Bob Newhart: A Legacy Of Laughter’ Special In Honor Of Late Comedian

CBS will pay tribute to late comedian Bob Newhart with Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter special set to air on the network on Monday, July 22 at 8 pm ET/PT and streaming on Paramount+.

Hosted by Entertainment Tonight’s Nischelle Turner, the one-hour tribute takes a look back at Newhart’s 70-year career, featuring never-before-seen interviews, and his final interview from his home in Los Angeles. The special takes an in-depth look at his journey from accountant to comedian to Hollywood icon, with rare behind-the-scenes footage on the set of his sitcoms and feature films, from the Entertainment Tonight vault. Included are new and archival interviews with some of Bob’s closest friends and co-stars, including Jim Parsons, Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, Jason Bateman and Michael Weatherly. The show also takes an intimate look inside Newhart’s personal life and his marriage to the love of his life, Ginnie, with newly revealed stories about how he changed American culture through comedy.

Newhart had a long history with CBS, having starred as Chicago psychologist Robert Hartley on the CBS sitcom The Bob Newhart Show from 1972 to 1978, and then as Vermont innkeeper Dick Loudon on Newhart from 1982 to 1990, also on the Network. He had two other sitcoms on CBS in the 1990s, Bob and George and Leo. He also played the recurring role of Professor Proton on CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory from 2013 to 2018, for which he received his first Primetime Emmy Award, among his numerous other credits.

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Newhart died Thursday, July 18 at his Los Angeles home after a series of short illnesses, according to his publicist Jerry Digney. He was 94.