Fifty-six years is a long time. Comedian Bob Newhart signed his first comedy album contract the same year that Alaska became a state. Over half a century later, both are still going strong.
In 1959, nearly 30 years old and living in his parents' basement, Newhart was working a day job and attempting to become a comedian on the side. "After serving in the Army, I had been working a few years as an accountant," Newhart said in a recent interview with Play, "and I knew I didn't want to keep doing that for the rest of my life."
Bored at work, Newhart often called his friend Ed Gallagher during the day to talk, and they found themselves improvising comedy routines. After Gallagher moved away, Newhart began working on solo routines that featured him performing one end of a phone call.
"Those routines became my audition tapes," said Newhart. "Warner Brothers listened, laughed and gave me a recording contract. That was the first encouraging thing that had happened in four years. I said, 'Great!' "
The following year, Newhart's first album, "The Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart," quickly rose to the top of the Billboard Charts, a first for a comedy album. Newhart found himself selling more albums than Elvis Presley and the cast of "The Sound of Music" and winning a Grammy for the album. Seven more albums would follow, earning Newhart another pair of Grammys.
But Newhart is best known for his starring role on two television sitcoms. On "The Bob Newhart Show," which ran from 1972 to 1978, he played psychologist Bob Hartley. The show quickly became a hit, producing 142 episodes over six seasons.
Newhart later starred in "Newhart" from 1982 to 1990. This time around, he played an innkeeper named Dick Loudon. One of the show's signature jokes involved characters introduced as follows: "My name is Larry, and this is my cousin Darryl, and my other cousin Darryl."
Newhart credits the live audience for the longevity of the Darryl joke. "We didn't use a laugh track," said Newhart. "We always had a live audience watching. And they loved Larry, Darryl and Darryl. So I went to the writers and told them, 'We gotta write these guys in.' They became regular characters and got so much applause on entering that I had to hide behind the counter."
"Newhart" ran for eight seasons and 182 episodes, ending with a famous, self-referential episode in which Newhart wakes up in bed in the character of Bob Hartley from "The Bob Newhart Show" and realizes that the entire run of "Newhart" was actually just a dream.
Despite the commercial success of his sitcoms, Newhart only won his first primetime Emmy recently, in 2013, for a guest appearance on "The Big Bang Theory."
"It was great to win," said Newhart. "They invited me to do to skit with ('Big Bang' star) Jim Parsons, and at the end we got a standing ovation. I looked out and saw Al Pacino and thought, 'He's applauding me? I'm not that good.' "
Though he may not see as many celebrities in the crowd, Newhart will have the chance to look out at an applauding Anchorage audience this Saturday.
Newhart kindly answered a few more questions for Play.
Play: When did you know you were funny?
Newhart: In grammar school, we had a talent show. Kids sang, did skits. There was a movie out at the time with Olivia de Havilland called "The Snake Pit," and it was about alcoholism. So I changed it to "The Olive Pit" and wrote some sketches. I enjoyed it. It was the first time I can remember hearing the sound of laughter in response to something I created.
Play: What, besides your trademark stammer, draws audiences to your style?
Newhart: I do this bit about a submarine commander. It's where a captain is returning from a two-year trip on a nuclear submarine, and it was disastrous, and he's describing it. Now, it was a disaster, but the commander is relating it in a very calm voice. Maybe it's that understatement that audiences like? I don't try to look at it too much.
Play: How has your comedic style evolved over the past 55 years?
Newhart: I wouldn't say my style has changed. It has stayed the same. But the areas you can go into now are different than 50 years ago when I went into stand-up. That's the nature of comedy; opening doors and knocking over sacred cows.
Play: How do you mean?
Newhart: When we were doing "The Bob Newhart Show" for CBS, if I had sent them "Everybody Loves Raymond" scripts, they would have laughed but sent them back. But the public changes. Comedy pushes the parameters.
Play: Who is your favorite current comedian?
Newhart: I have to say Don Rickles, as he is liable to read this. Then again, I don't know that he reads the Alaska Dispatch News. Still, I can't take that chance.
Play: Who is your favorite comedian ever?
Newhart: All-time, my favorite comedian is Richard Pryor. He's a genius. I got this Mark Twain Award a few years ago. Twain told people at the turn of the century about life in the frontier. I always thought that Richard Pryor kind of did what Mark Twain did. Pryor told us at the turn of the 21st century what life was like in the inner city.
Play: You have been in television for 50 years. What is your favorite TV show?
Newhart: Maybe "The Richard Pryor Show," though it didn't last very long. "Everybody Loves Raymond," "Mary Tyler Moore," I love so many. There are so many. Today, "Big Bang."
Play: What advice do you give to aspiring comedians?
Newhart: Take every opportunity you have to work in front of an audience. There is no other place to learn it. There are so many places to work your material these days; we didn't have that when I was coming up. There is no book you can read that will take the place of actually being on the floor doing comedy. You will learn from what works and from what doesn't.
Play: What is your proudest achievement?
Newhart: Career-wise, I would pick being inducted in 1990 into the TV Hall of Fame. That was very special because of the people you join. Carson, Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason. These giants. When I was an accountant, we'd go to the water cooler and talk about "Dragnet." And now I am sitting here, being inducted along with Jack Webb. That's kind of mind-blowing.
Outside of my career, it would have to be my wife, my kids and my 10 grandchildren.
Play: Why are you still performing after all these years?
Newhart: It's a narcotic. As long as I am physically able to do comedy, I am going to keep doing it. I enjoy it, I love getting in front of an audience, making them laugh, helping them forget their troubles, and then be ready to face the challenge of the next day. You have to get your hit.
Bob Newhart
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 25
Where: Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, Atwood Concert Hall
Tickets: $48-$105.25 at centertix.net