I was saddened to hear about the death of Bob Newhart, age 94. He was known for Newhart and his recent appearances on The Big Bang Theory, but for me he will always be The Bob Newhart Show. Priceless hilarious 70s television.
My friend Kathy (Kathy the Mezzo to some of you) shared this tidbit about her experience with that show:
There was a drinking game that went around while the original "Bob Newhart" show was on the air. We would gather to watch at someone's house (network television or maybe recorded on VCR - no on-demand streaming back then). Every time the name "BOB" was heard, everyone had to take a drink (beer, if memory serves). There were a few variations that I think Ward Hammond invented:
"SELF-INFLICTED BOB" (Bob says his own name) - two drinks
"DOUBLE BOB" (as in Emily and Howard or someone else saying "BOB" at the same moment - rare) - chug your beer
"BOB'S NAME ON THE DOOR BOB, or "ROBERT BOB" (seeing Bob's name on the door of his office) - two drinks
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We played a variation on this when I was in college: you’d have one swig of beer when someone said “Bob” and two swigs of beer if someone said, “Hi Bob.” I played along but since I didn’t drink alcohol I would drink water and rather than getting drunk I would just have to pee.
Here’s a cute scene from the show. You can see the wonderful chemistry between Newhart and Suzanne Pleshette.
And the finale of Newhart, my nominee for Greatest TV Series Finale of All Time:
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