Bob Newhart’s family shares emotional tribute to late actor alongside sweet throwback photo with his comedian pal Don Rickles: ‘He was deeply loved by all’

Bob Newhart’s family shared a heartfelt tribute following the passing of the beloved actor and comedian at the age of 94.

Newhart, best known for his roles in “The Bob Newhart Show,” “Newhart,” and “Elf,” died on Thursday in Los Angeles after a series of short illnesses.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, the Newhart family wrote, “Our father passed away this morning surrounded by all our family. We feel blessed that he is reunited with our mom and all of his friends waiting for him.” Newhart’s wife, Virginia “Ginnie” Newhart, had passed away in 2023 after 60 years of marriage. They shared four children: Jennifer, Courtney, Timothy, and Robert.

“Thank you for all of your well wishes. He was deeply loved by all, but especially by his children and grandchildren. Love to all, The Newhart Family,” the statement concluded. The post also featured a charming throwback photo of Bob, Ginnie, and Bob’s close friend, fellow comedian Don Rickles.

“We’re apples and oranges. I’m a Jew, he’s a Catholic. He’s low-key, I’m a yeller,” Rickles said of their lasting friendship to Variety in 2012.

Despite Bob’s tremendous success in Hollywood, including winning three Grammys for a 1961 comedy album, he maintained that his greatest joy in life was his family.

“I don’t care how successful you’ve been in this business, if you haven’t had a good family life, what have you really achieved?” he told Legatus magazine in 2013. “You can be the richest man in the world, [but what] have you really accomplished? That’s the way I look at life.”

Newhart, originally an accountant from the Chicago area, transitioned to a show business career that skyrocketed in 1960 when his comedy album “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” became the first comedy album to top the Billboard charts.

At 30 years old, Newhart’s success continued with the release of his follow-up album, “The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back,” which also climbed to the top of the charts. These achievements earned him three Grammy Awards in 1961 for Best New Artist, Album of the Year, and Best Comedy Performance.

Riding the wave of his early success, Newhart hosted an NBC variety show, “The Bob Newhart Show,” from late 1961 to the summer of 1962. Although the show was short-lived, it received critical acclaim and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 1962.

Throughout the 1960s, Newhart continued to release comedy albums and made occasional television appearances. In the 1970s, Newhart became a television star, portraying Dr. Bob Hartley on CBS’s “The Bob Newhart Show” from 1972 to 1978.

He cemented his television legacy with the CBS sitcom “Newhart,” which aired from 1982 to 1990. In this beloved series, he portrayed Dick Loudon, an author who moves with his wife from New York City to Vermont to manage a historic inn. The star received three back-to-back nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on “Newhart” in 1985, 1986, and 1987, though he did not take home the award in any of those years.

In 2004, he earned an Emmy nomination for his guest role in the drama series “E.R.”

His achievements continued in 2007 when the Library of Congress added his debut comedy album “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart” to its registry of historically significant sound recordings. The registry, established in 2000, recognizes only 25 recordings each year.

His first Emmy win came in 2013 for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy for his role as Professor Proton on “The Big Bang Theory.” He received two more nominations for the same role in 2014 and 2016.

“I have this theory that when it’s all over, for death, and you go up I’ve been led to believe to heaven and there’s a God and he says, ‘What did you do?’ And I say, ‘I made people laugh.’ ‘Yeah, get in that real short line over there,'” he told CBS Sunday Morning in 2021.