Bob Newhart Statue

George Robert “Bob” Newhart was born into a middle-class family in Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, on September 5, 1929. His father owned part of a small business and his mother was a housewife. Growing up, Newhart attended Catholic schools in and around Chicago, and tried his hand at theatre in high school. After graduating from St. Ignatius College Prep in 1947, he enrolled at Loyola University of Chicago, earning a bachelor’s degree in business management in 1952. Shortly thereafter, Newhart was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Korea as a clerk for two years. He then returned to Loyola University of Chicago for law school, but dropped out in 1956. Newhart subsequently found employment as a bookkeeper for the U.S. Gypsum Corporation and later as an advertising copywriter for a Chicago-based film and television production company.

To combat the drudgery of long days behind a desk, Newhart held lengthy phone conversations with a close friend and co-worker in his leisure time. The two men amused each other by imaging absurd scenarios. Newhart eventually developed comedy skits from the conversations, which he recorded for audition tapes. In time, the tapes caught the attention of a local disc jockey named Dan Sorkin, who invited Newhart to perform his comedic monologues on the radio. Sorkin also introduced him to Warner Bros. Records. Impressed by Newhart’s audition tapes, the company signed him to an album deal. Released in 1960, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was an astounding success, becoming the first comedy album to reach number one on the Billboard charts. It also earned a Grammy Award for album of the year and secured Newhart one of his own for best new artist. 

The success of the album led to a television variety series, The Bob Newhart Show (1961-1962). Despite positive reviews, it was canceled after one season. A decade later, Newhart returned to television with a sitcom by the same name. Unlike the original, this incarnation of The Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978) was a critical and commercial success. In the series, Newhart starred as Chicago psychologist Dr. Rob Hartley, a mild-mannered, straight-laced man who has to endure a wide array of over-the-top quirky characters. A later sitcom, Newhart (1982-1990), followed a similar plotline, but with Newhart starring as Dick Loudon, an innkeeper in a small Vermont town. Decades later, Newhart introduced himself to a new generation of fans in 2013 when he made a guest appearance on CBS’s The Big Bang Theory. For his performance as Arthur Jeffries (a.k.a. Professor Proton), he won an Emmy Award. 

In July 2004, this sculpture of Newhart was unveiled in Chicago’s Plaza of the Americas. Commissioned by TV Land, which at the time aired reruns of The Bob Newhart Show, the life-size bronze statue depicts Newhart as Dr. Rob Hartley sitting in an armchair with a pad and pencil next to an empty couch. Inviting viewer participation and photo opportunities, the sculpture was moved shortly after the unveiling ceremony to the front of 430 N. Michigan Avenue, the address of the downtown Chicago building that contained Hartley’s office in the sitcom. In November of that year, it was relocated to its current location at Navy Pier. 

"Chicago dedicates Bob Newhart statue." Today. 27 July 2004. Web. 1 April 2021 <https://www.today.com/popculture/chicago-dedicates-bob-newhart-statue-wbna5529551>.

Cunningham, John M. "Bob Newhart." Encyclopædia Britannica. Web. 1 April 2021 <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bob-Newhart>.

Janega, James. "Hi, Bob, in bronze." Chicago Tribune. 21 July 2004. Web. 1 April 2021 <https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2004-07-21-0407210326-story.html>.

Newcomb, Horace, ed. Encyclopedia of Television. 2nd ed. London and New York: Routledge, 2013.