Archbishop's web site Denver Catholic Register Parishes Catholic Pastoral Center
October 24, 2001
Bob Newhart to perform in Denver
Legendary comedian featured at Oct. 26 benefit
By Roxanne King
Bob Newhart, the master of deadpan humor, brings his stammering stand-up comedy to Denver 6:30 p.m. Oct. 26 to benefit several charities.
Beneficiaries include Seeds of Hope "Adopt-a" programs, which aid Catholic students and schools.
"The Bob Newhart Show" is sure to include anecdotes about the comedian's experiences growing up Catholic in Chicago. Held in the Seawell Grand Ballroom at Denver Center for Performing Arts, tickets start at $300 per individual; $10,000 corporate tickets include a private reception with the comedian. Call 303-715-3127.
The star of two legendary TV shows, Newhart's album "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart" was the first comedy recording to hit number one. The veteran performer spoke with the Register from his Bel Air, Calif., home last week.
Register: You attended Catholic grade school, high school and college. What is your favorite or funniest memory of attending Catholic schools?
Newhart: I guess my favorite memory was in high school, where if you did something wrong you had to go to "Jug" (detention) after school. It usually consisted of learning a poem before you got to leave, usually something like "Annabelle Leigh." They wouldn't give the same one each time.
Register: What did you do to get sent there?
Newhart: (Laugh) Oh, I don't know. Probably talking in class, clowning around with someone and getting caught at it.
Register: What did you gain from Catholic education?
Newhart: I went to Loyola University in Chicago and I'm on the Board of Trustees. It's a Jesuit institution. I've done a lot of work for Jesuit universities.
It's a great education. I think the Jesuits are great educators. They teach you to question. I try to promote Jesuit education whenever I can.
Register: What do you think about Catholic education in general?
Newhart: All my kids went to Catholic schools (Gonzaga University, Catholic University of America and Santa Clara University). Both my wife and I felt that was important because they were raised Catholic — and to instill in them Catholic values. They all three happen to be marvelous centers of education. They all are very highly ranked schools, so I knew they were getting a good education — and a Catholic education.
Register: You have a sister who is a Catholic nun. Tell me about her.
Newhart: She's a BVM (Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary). She just recently retired, although she still does work for the community. She's highly versed in computers, chemistry and Spanish. If they have a problem they call her.
Register: What influence has your faith had on your life?
Newhart: The fact that when I work, I work clean. Not just because I'm Catholic, other comedians do too, like Jerry Seinfield. I get more satisfaction from that than getting a cheap laugh.
Register: The country seemed to take a break from comedy right after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, is your comedy different now than prior to the attacks and if so, how?
Newhart: I had to make some changes. But I find a real need and desire on the part of people to have to laugh. I've given some commencement addresses (in the past) on the importance of humor in our life. (In 1963) I was doing a concert with Dinah Shore (when) President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
For the first two days we didn't do shows. (Then) the promoter called and we agreed to perform. It turned out to be one of the best audiences we ever played to. It was an hour-and-a-half of getting away from the depressing news of the president dying. People had a need to laugh and I think it's true today.
Register: Tell me about the 30-year record you held for a top-selling album.
(Newhart's "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart "and his sequel, "The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back," held number one and two on Billboard album charts in 1961 for 38 weeks.)
Newhart: I found out about the record after it had been broken. I had the number one and number two (albums) for the most number of weeks until Guns and Roses broke it. (The rock group broke it in 1991 with the simultaneously released "Your Illusion" discs I and II). I always say you hate to lose a record but at least it was to a good friend. (Laugh)
Register: You've enjoyed a highly successful 40-year career in comedy spanning all entertainment avenues without compromising your values or resorting to vulgarity, what do you think of the state of comedy today?
Newhart: I don't like to criticize it because it sounds like sour grapes. I do have a problem with some of the themes. Comedy is such a tough medium and there obviously is an audience for those themes. Cable can do almost anything they want. I think what has happened with the proliferation of networks is there is a shortage of really good comedy writers and I think that may be reflected in the programs out there. But there are some good comedy writers out there: "Frasier" is well written, "Dharma and Greg" — I like the writing on that. "Friends" is well written at times.
Register: Where do you draw inspiration for your comedy?
Newhart: Really, from life — that's the whole basis of what I do. I just refer to these odd situations that happen. I always describe myself as a man who's convinced he's the last sane man on earth and he keeps trying to convince everyone else and they say, "Yes, we know. But this is how we do it."
Register: What's funny to you?
Newhart: People — how they react to situations.
Register: Who are your comedic heroes?
Newhart: Jack Benny, certainly. Jack was a marvelous comedian. I was talking to another member of the Board of Trustees at Loyola — a Jesuit priest who teaches at Fordham University in New York City, he teaches about comedy and popular culture — I told him I thought Richard Pryor was the most influential comedian of the last 50 years. He agreed. Once you get past the profanity to the core of what he's dealing with, the commentary he's making about people and life — especially his life in Peoria, which was really a tragic life, it's amazing he survived at all — I rank him with Mark Twain and Roy Rogers. At times it's beyond comedy — it's true Americana.
Register: Dr. Robert Hartley of the Bob Newhart show is a favorite of so many people. Where did you get that character from and is he an exaggeration of parts of your own personality?
Newhart: I worked with the two creators (Lorenzo Music and David Davies). They based it on the phone conversations (routines) I'd done. He's really a listener — Bob's more a reactor than an initiator. They suggested he be a psychiatrist and I said, "no." I didn't want to make fun of people with
serious mental illness — schizophrenics or bipolar people. So they made him
a psychologist, which allowed me to be surrounded by quirky characters, which worked well. Ellen DeGeneres said their show was designed like ours, surrounded by quirky characters.
Register: Tell me about the work you're involved in now.
Newhart: I do stand-up. That's where I started, in stand-up, as a result of the (first) record album. I do about 30, 35 dates a year. This trip is Corpus
Christi, Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, home, then out again.
Register: What do you hope people take away from your performances?
Newhart: These days I hope they just have had an hour or more of blotting out the world and laughing, and being able to go back to it. Laughter helps us get past these moments. It recharges the batteries and lets people say, "It's OK."
I say in my act that the biggest mistake bin Laden made is that he thought we are soft. He didn't realize how resilient the American people are — they can laugh and then carry on and be victorious. In World War II there was a Japanese admiral who after Pearl Harbor said, "I'm afraid we've awakened a sleeping giant." That's exactly what's happened today. Bin Laden has awakened a sleeping giant.
Now is a very important time to do what I do. This helps you realize that what you do is important.
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