American comedian Bob Newhart dies at age 94

Los Angeles. American comedian Bob Newhart has died in Los Angeles at the age of 94, numerous American media outlets unanimously report, citing his spokesman Jerry Digney. The sharp satirist was known for his stammering, businesslike indifference, which made him a star first as a stand-up comedian and later on television and in films.

Digney said Newhart died Thursday morning after a series of short illnesses, describing the star’s death as “the end of an era of comedy.”

“Made the world a better place”

On X, friends and fans shared condolences and anecdotes. American director Judd Apatow (“Virgin (40), Male, Addicted…”, “The First Time”) wrote: “Bob Newhart made the world a better place for a long time.”

The popular comedy show Saturday Night Live also shared a monologue from the comedian from 1995:

Newhart’s greatest successes

George Robert “Bob” Newhart, born in 1929 in the American state of Illinois, broke through in the early 1960s with a comedy album and starred in numerous films and series in the following decades. The television series ‘The Bob Newhart Show’ and ‘Newhart’ were particularly successful in the 1970s and 1980s. Newhart’s 1960 album, “The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart”, was the first comedy album to win the Grammy for Album of the Year.

Newhart was also known to younger audiences as Papa Elf in the 2003 holiday classic “Elf,” as well as his guest appearances on “The Big Bang Theory” (for which he won his only Emmy as a guest star in 2013) and, most recently, in three episodes of “Young Sheldon.”

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