Over the more than half century of Bob Newhart's career in showbiz, he became a sitcom legend and movie scene-stealer. It's therefore not surprising that many stars of the small and large screen wasted no time in paying tribute to the actor following his death at the age of 94. Nothing could be more appropriate for the man who was the lead of more than one of the best sitcoms of all time!
Mark Hamill may be best known for his work on the big screen as Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, but like Newhart, the majority of his credits are actually television, mostly for voice work on projects like Batman: The Animated Series. With the hashtag #RIP, the actor nodded to Newhart and The Bob Newhart Show when he posted this on X (formerly known as Twitter):
From his groundbreaking stand-up to his two classic sitcoms he gave us a lifetime of laughter. Truly one-of-a-kind. Thank you Bob Newhart!
Mayim Bialik certainly knows her way around a sitcom after Blossom and The Big Bang Theory, with Bob Newhart guest-starring on the latter across six episodes. There's a reason why he ranks among that show's greatest guest stars and earned a spot in the final season! In a statement to People about the late actor, Bialik said:
As a child, the Bob Newhart Show provided countless hours of enjoyment for me – it constituted some of my earliest training in the art of sitcom. When I got to work with alongside him on TBBT, it was absolutely a dream come true. He was effortlessly professional, poised, hilarious and incredibly approachable. Working with Bob was working in the presence of a true comedy legend – the likes of whom we simple don’t see anymore. How he will be missed!
Mayim Bialik wasn't the only Big Bang Theory alum to open up in the wake of Bob Newhart's death. Kaley Cuoco, who played Penny on all twelve seasons of the sitcom, wrote in an Instagram Story:
While Bob Newhart earned legend status largely due to all of his success on television, one of his most beloved projects has to be as part of Elf cast. Christmas movie co-star Zooey Deschanel said in a statement:
Bob Newhart was an absolute genius and the sweetest and kindest man. He will truly be missed.
Filmmaker Judd Apatow also had a lot to say in tribute of Newhart. On X, he posted "Bob Newhart made the world a better place for a really long time," and went further in a statement to People:
When I was a little kid, I watched an enormous amount of episodes of The Bob Newhart Show. It made me want to write comedy. I was lucky enough to spend time with Bob after he asked me to make a documentary about his friendship with his late friend Don Rickles. He said he didn’t want the world to forget about him. I will never forget Bob. He was the sweetest, funniest man I ever met.
Comedian and politician Al Franken shared his own perspective on working with Newhart, citing when the actor hosted Saturday Night Live during his tenure on the NBC sketch comedy show. Franken wrote on X:
Bob Newhart was a giant, a genius, and a great guy. I’ll always remember when he hosted SNL and did a stellar show. He was, as you might expect, a joy to work with. May his memory be a blessing.
Jamie Lee Curtis, who has been working on Freaky Friday 2 this summer, perhaps summed up what so many people seem to be feeling when she shared this sentiment on Instagram:
They will be laughing wherever people go when they leave us. God, he was funny! Bob Newhart. You will be missed!
While the loss of Bob Newhart is certainly sad, it's also heartwarming to see so many stars come out to share stories of what he meant to them, whether they worked with him or not. His death at the age of 94 was first reported on July 18.
