Bob Newhart Quotes

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Bob Newhart

Profession : Comedian

Birth : September 5, 1929

I was very political when JFK ran.

Bob Newhart

Don Rickles and I are best friends. I know that might seem strange to those who know Don only by reputation, but somebody has to be his friend. Just to make sure I don't forget, Don gave me a doormat that sits just outside the front door of my house. It reads: 'The Newharts: The Rickleses Best Friends.'

Bob Newhart

The only way to survive is to have a sense of humour.

Bob Newhart

I remember seeing a movie with Jose Ferrer and Rosemary Clooney where they were husband and wife, and they got in bed, and he had on polka-dot pajamas and she had on striped pajamas, and when they got up the next morning he had on the striped pajamas and she had the polka dot pajamas, and that was considered racy at that time!

Bob Newhart

One time I happened to use the word 'denigrate' onstage, and it didn't get any reaction. So as I continued my act, the left side of my brain was fast-forwarding to see if I had any other big words coming up.

Bob Newhart

I loved 'Everybody Loves Raymond' because I like Ray and I thought it was beautifully cast, I thought it was great writing. I thought Patricia Heaton was wonderful.

Bob Newhart

I've been told to speed up my delivery when I perform. But if I lose the stammer, I'm just another slightly amusing accountant.

Bob Newhart

If 'The New York Times' says it, it must be true.

Bob Newhart

Jack Benny was, without a doubt, the bravest comedian I have ever seen work. He wasn't afraid of silence. He would take as long as it took to tell the story.

Bob Newhart

People have told me, 'My dad passed on, but I have great memories of watching your shows with him.' It doesn't get any better than that.

Bob Newhart

I worked in accounting for two and a half years, realized that wasn't what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, and decided I was just going to give comedy a try.

Bob Newhart

There isn't a comedian in the world that hasn't bombed.

Bob Newhart

The first time I got up in front of an audience was terror, abject terror, which continued for another four or five years. There still is, a little bit.

Bob Newhart

When I first started out, 'Time' magazine did an article on what it called 'the sick comics,' and they were myself, Shelley Berman, Nichols & May, Jonathan Winters, Lenny Bruce, and Mort Sahl. We were considered 'sick.'

Bob Newhart

It's getting harder and harder to differentiate between schizophrenics and people talking on a cell phone. It still brings me up short to walk by somebody who appears to be talking to themselves.

Bob Newhart

I have an aversion to laugh tracks - the moment I hear a laugh track, I go to another channel.

Bob Newhart

I don't think too much about age. Maybe if you're hurting, aching and arthritic, then you think about it a lot. But I don't.

Bob Newhart

Well I was much too practical to presume to have a career in comedy.

Bob Newhart

There are some actresses that can't do comedy; it's too heavy-handed.

Bob Newhart

When you're going for a joke, you're stuck out there if it doesn't work. There's nowhere to go. You've done the drum role and the cymbal clash and you're out on the end of the plank.

Bob Newhart