August 20, 2019 — Chicago, IL — DECADES television network will honor the 90th birthday and enduring comedic style of Primetime Emmy Award winner Bob Newhart with a weekend binge of his most celebrated prime time series: The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart and Bob. DECADES will present eighty-two select episodes spanning each eponymous series, along with interviews from The Dick Cavett Show, starting Saturday, Sept. 7 at 1pm ET 10am PT and continuing through Monday, Sept. 9 at 7am ET 4am PT.
“In the year 2022, The Bob Newhart Show will have been on the air for fifty years, either on its original run or in syndication,’ said Newhart. “This is longevity I never expected.”
Born in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Newhart worked as an accountant and advertising copywriter, passing the time recording hilarious phone conversations about absurd scenarios that would eventually serve as the blueprint for his foray into comedy. In 1959, Newhart signed with Warner Bros. Records and released several comedy albums including his debut, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, which became the first comedy album to hit #1 on the Billboard charts and earned the 1961 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, beating Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. Newhart released eight more albums from 1960-1973.
Following a short-lived variety show on NBC that earned Newhart a Peabody Award in 1961, the actor made numerous appearances on legendary television shows including The Dean Martin Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, before landing his own primetime sitcom The Bob Newhart Show in 1972. Newhart’s portrayal of psychologist Dr. Bob Hartley, combined with the brilliant performances of co-stars Suzanne Pleshette, Bill Daly, Marcia Wallace, Peter Bonerz, Jack Riley, and the rest of the cast, catapulted the show to instant success. Viewers across America tuned in each week to watch Bob play straight-man to his patients, neighbors, colleagues, and his lovingly sarcastic wife. The series ran for six seasons from 1972-1978 and earned two Golden Globe nominations and four Prime time Emmy Award nominations.
In 1982, Newhart returned to prime time television with another hit sitcom, Newhart, which followed the hijinks of Vermont innkeeper Dick Loudon (Newhart) and the eccentric cast of characters that populate the small town. The series was nominated for twenty-five Prime time Emmy Awards and six Golden Globe Awards. From 1992-1993, Newhart starred in CBS sitcom Bob, portraying a cartoonist who gleefully antagonized his coworkers and friends. The DECADES binge offers viewers a rare opportunity to revisit this series.
Newhart went on to appear in numerous iconic television series including The Simpsons, ER, Desperate Housewives, NCIS and The Big Bang Theory, where he earned his first and only Primetime Emmy Award in 2013. In 2002, Newhart won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and remains one of the most lauded television stars and comedians of all time.
In November, The Paley Center for Media will present Newhart with the Paley Honors Award for his enduring impact on television comedy.
Viewers can see the complete DECADES network schedule and find out where to watch by visiting www.decades.com.
About Weigel Broadcasting Co.
Weigel Broadcasting Co. is a family-owned media company based in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to producing the new series Collector?s Call, the company owns and operates national television networks, as well as local broadcast stations throughout the country. Weigel is the leader in the multicast television network space with “MeTV,” Memorable Entertainment Television, the number-one rated and distributed multicast network, as well as the “Movies!” Network in cooperation with the Fox Television Stations, the “DECADES” Network, the “H&I” Network and the ?Start TV? Network in association with the CBS Television Stations. Weigel’s local stations include CBS, ABC, The CW, MyNet and Telemundo network affiliates. Weigel and its affiliate companies broadcast network and independent television stations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, St. Louis, Cedar City-St. George, Milwaukee, South Bend and Rockford. Weigel is also the creator of the nationally syndicated music format ?MeTV FM?. For more information on Weigel, visit: https://www.weigelbroadcasting.com/
