| The Quotable Bob Newhart | |||||
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| Bob Newhart's Famous Lines | |||||
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| Bob Newhart Quotes |
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| All I can say about life is, 'Oh God, enjoy it!' As an actor, you generally want to see the other actor's face. Comedians are never really on vacation because you're always at attention... that antenna is always out there. Continuing to do stand-up is always a challenge because the audiences and the environments in which you work very often differ. Doormen are kind of invisible, people don't know their names. They just say, Thank you, or Good morning. I'd never thought about doormen before. They're a vanishing breed. More electronic doors are being introduced. Doormen, I generally recognize with just a, Hello. Have a nice day. Every new routine I have ever written and performed probably occurred extemporaneously. Then after you have fleshed it out and tried it out in front of a number of audiences and it works, you put it down on paper. Funny is funny. I can't remember the last live-action, non-animated Christmas movie. I didn't need the elf outfit to play an elf; I could just play an elf. I don't know how many sacred cows there are today. I think there's a little confusion between humor and gross passing for humor. That's kind of regrettable. I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'. I feel more comfortable in comedy. I had seen Reese in Election and thought she was incredible. Then I saw her in Legally Blonde. I read the script, I liked the way it was written. It was a chance to work with Reese. I had to learn how to attack a drunk. His wife will punch him in the side and tell him to shut up. I met my wife, Jenny, through comedian Buddy Hackett. He set us up on a blind date and then we got married. I think everyone probably starts out sounding like someone else, but gradually you develop your own sound. I think there are still words you can't use in family entertainment that you can use in a sitcom today. I think you should be a child for as long as you can. I have been successful for 74 years being able to do that. Don't rush into adulthood, it isn't all that much fun. I was influenced by every comedian I ever saw work. That's the only way you learn how to do it. I was never a Certified Public Accountant. I just had a degree in accounting. It would require passing a test, which I would not have been able to do. I was pleased to be in the company of the previous recipient, Richard Pryor, the first one who I think was the most appropriate choice for the first Mark Twain Award. I went in for about six months writing ad copy. I was fired from that. Then another guy and I did a kind of poor man's Bob and Ray kind of radio show. I decided to stick it out and see what happened. I wouldn't want that man as my psychologist. I'm most proud of the longevity of my marriage, my kids, and my grandchildren. If you don't have that, you really don't have very much. I'm very open to the up-and-comers. I've been a very lucky actor. I've done more than I thought I was ever going to do. I've had a very long and very satisfying career. It was a decision to work clean. I just prefer to work that way. I have no problem with comedians who don't work that way. There was a temptation in the early '70s to reconsider. I decided against it. 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. It's the laughter. The money, too, was more than I was making as an accountant. 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. Jack Benny, George Burns, I would examine how they worked. Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with it and then move on. One of the first things that you learn as a stand-up is, you're the boss. It's your stage, and don't screw with me because I'll make you look bad, which I had to do, because you wind up with drunks and loud people. One of the messages Reese wanted to get across was that one person can make a difference if they stick it out and stand up for what they believe in. The best advice I could give someone trying to get into the comedy field is to take advantage of every opportunity you have to work to hone your skills. 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. The only thing I have never done is a Broadway play. I'm not sure I have the discipline necessary to do a Broadway play. I know it holds a fascination for certain actors. The taboo subjects have become fewer and fewer with television. There w never touch in the '70s. There's a lot of cynicism. Let's really enjoy Christmas, with all that's going on in the world. This stammer got me a home in Beverly Hills, and I'm not about to screw with it now. To be considered for American Masters from those humble beginnings, it just really is, you've come a long way baby. Let's just say that. We presumed a certain intelligence on the audience, that they knew something about Sir Walter Raleigh, or about Abraham Lincoln, or the Wright Brothers. When I started out in 1960, I thought it might possibly last a couple of years. I never expected it to last 42. I take great satisfaction in that longevity. You never know when you'll come upon something and it's going to be fodder for new material. You should have a value system. You can win if you stick with your value system. |
| Quotes About Bob Newhart |
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