SR1167 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1167 LRB103 42335 ECR 75559 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of George Robert "Bob" Newhart, who passed away on July 18, 2024; and

WHEREAS, Bob Newhart, the son of George David Newhart and Julia Pauline, was born in Oak Park on September 5, 1929; As a child, he attended St. Catherine of Siena Grade School and St. Ignatius College Prep; he graduated with a degree in business management from Loyola University in 1952; he briefly attended the university's law school before being drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War, where he served two years auditing personnel records at bases along the West Coast; and

WHEREAS, Upon completion of his military service, Bob Newhart returned to Chicago and worked as an accountant for U.S. Gypsum and the Glidden Company; and

WHEREAS, Bob Newhart first dabbled in entertainment when he would call his friend Ed Gallagher and pretend to be different characters; the two decided to record the conversations and unsuccessfully tried to sell the tapes to Chicago radio stations; and

WHEREAS, Bob Newhart's big break came when a representative at Warner Bros Records wanted to record his comedy act the next time he performed in front of a live audience; having never performed his comedy in a club, he quickly set up some live performances, and his comedy set at the Tidelands Motor Inn in Houston, Texas on February 10, 1960 was recorded into a new comedy album entitled "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart", which came out in April and was an instant hit; the album sold more than a million albums and hit number one on the charts; and

WHEREAS, Bob Newhart's follow-up album, "The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back", was another smash hit, and, for several weeks, the two albums held the number one and number two spots on the charts; and

WHEREAS, Bob Newhart moved from Chicago to California, where he hosted two short-lived television variety shows, one of which won an Emmy and a Peabody Award in 1962, which was also the year he met Virginia "Ginnie" Quinn; the couple married in 1963; and

WHEREAS, Bob Newhart's life as a sitcom star began in 1972 with the debut of "The Bob Newhart Show" in which he played the perpetually put-upon Chicago psychologist Bob Hartley; the CBS show ran for six successful seasons; and

WHEREAS, From 1982 to 1989, Bob Newhart starred in "Newhart," a popular CBS sitcom about a Vermont innkeeper and the wacky townies who surrounded him; and

WHEREAS, Bob Newhart's other television credits include roles in the shows "Bob", "George & Leo", "Desperate Housewives", "ER", "The Simpsons" and the "Big Bang Theory"; he also had starring roles in the films "Catch 22" and "Elf"; and

WHEREAS, Bob Newhart received a number of awards and accolades throughout his lifetime, including a Grammy for Best New Artist and for Album of the Year for his album "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart" in 1961 and a Grammy for Best Comedy Performance-Spoken Word for his album "The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back!" that same year; he won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his recurring role on "The Big Bang Theory"; he received the Sword of Loyola from Loyola University in 1975, and the university named their new theater "The Newhart Family Theatre" in his honor; he was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for Humor from the Kennedy Center in 2002, of which he was enormously proud; in Chicago, a statue portraying him in his famous role as psychologist Bob Hartley can be found on Navy Pier; and

WHEREAS, Bob Newhart loved performing stand up comedy and golfing at his Bel-Aire Country Club; and

WHEREAS, Bob Newhart was preceded in death by his wife; and

WHEREAS, Bob Newhart is survived by his children, Robert, Timothy, Courtney, and Jennifer; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of George Robert "Bob" Newhart and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Bob Newhart as an expression of our deepest sympathy.