Newhart


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About

The success of Newhart showed there was still a place for intelligent, eccentric comedy. In this series Newhart played Dick Loudon, a writer of how-to books who moved from New York to Vermont to realize his dream of running a country inn. His wife, again smart, funny, and sexy, was named Joanna and was played by Mary Frann. Again there were numerous quirky supporting characters. Tom Poston, who had frequently guested on the earlier show, portrayed the inn's unhandy handyman, George Utley. Julia Duffy played the hilariously vain and spoiled Stephanie Vanderkellen, an heiress working as a maid at the inn (Stephanie replaced her less interesting cousin, Leslie, after the first season). Stephanie's boyfriend, Michael Harris (Peter Scolari), was an insufferable 1980s yuppie and producer of a local TV show, Vermont Today, which Dick began hosting a few years into Newhart's run. Perhaps the most memorable, and certainly the most unusual, characters were three bizarre backwoodsmen, of whom only one ever spoke (until the final episode). "I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl," was their stock introduction. They could always be counted upon to enjoy any activity that would disgust most people. The show, like Newhart's earlier sitcom, weeded out weak characters and developed the strong ones as it went along.

Newhart closed its successful eight-year run with one of the best final episodes of any series. It involved everyone in town--except the Loudons--selling their property to a Japanese corporation, included a parody of Fiddler on the Roof, and ended with Newhart waking up in bed with Suzanne Pleshette and explaining that he'd had a very strange dream (a parodic reference to the famous 1986-87 season of Dallas.)

-Trudy Ring

CAST

Dick Loudon........................................... Bob Newhart

Joanna Loudon......................................... Mary Frann

Kirk Devane (1982-1984).................. Steven Kampmann

George Utley........................................... Tom Poston

Leslie Vanderkellen (1982-1983).......... Jennifer Holmes

Stephanie Vanderkellen (1983-1990)............ Julia Duffy

Larry............................................. William Sanderson

First Darryl......................................... Tony Papenfuss

Second Darryl....................................... John Voldstad

Jim Dixon ................................................Thomas Hill

Chester Wanamaker.......................... William Lanteau

Cindy Parker Devane (1984)................... Rebecca York

Michael Harris (1984-1990)....................... Peter Scolari

Harley Estin (1984-1988)......................... Jeff Doucette

Elliot Gabler (1984-1985)............................ Lee Wilkof

Bev Dutton (1984-1988).......................... Linda Carlson

Constable Shifflett (1985-1989)............... Todd Susman

J.J. (1985-1987).................................. Fred Applegate

Bud (1985-1990)..................................... Ralph Manza

Paul (1988-1990)........................................ Cliff Bemis

Prudence Goddard (1989-1990)............... Kathy Kinney

Art Rusnak (1989-1990)....................... David Pressman

PRODUCERS

Barry Kemp, Sheldon Bull

PROGRAMMING HISTORY

182 Episodes

CBS

October 1982-February 1983   Monday 9:30-10:00

March 1983-April 1983   Sunday 9:30-10:00

April 1983-May 1983   Sunday 8:30-9:00

June 1983-August 1983   Sunday 9:30-10:00

August 1983-September 1986   Monday 9:30-10:00

September 1986-August 1988   Monday 9:00-9:30

August 1988-March 1989   Monday 8:00-8:30

March 1989-August 1989   Monday 10:00-10:30

August 1989-October 1989   Monday 10:30-11:00

November 1989-April 1990   Monday 10:00-10:30

April 1990-May 1990   Monday 8:30-9:00

May 1990-July 1990   Monday 10:00-10:30

July 1990-August 1990   Friday 9:00-9:30

September 1990   Saturday 9:00-9:30

Highlights
Bob Newhart on the surprise ending of the Newhart series finale and the "red herring" ending that was written to elude the press
04:24
Tom Poston on his Newhart character "George Utley"
01:48
Bob Newhart on the creation of Newhart
04:25
Barry Kemp on a typical production week on Newhart
02:39
Dick Martin on directing the series finale of Newhart and its surprise ending
03:00
Thomas Azzari on doing set design for Newhart
04:24
Who talked about this show

Thomas Azzari

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Thomas Azzari on doing set design for Newhart
04:24

Tim Conway

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Tim Conway on his guest appearances on Newhart
00:53

Bill Daily

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Bill Daily on his guest appearance on Newhart and Bob Newhart's other shows
01:00

Elinor Donahue

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Elinor Donahue on appearing on Newhart
00:33

Russell Johnson

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Russell Johnson on appearing on Newhart
00:28

Barry Kemp

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Barry Kemp on how the show Newhart came about
07:25
Barry Kemp on working with Bob Newhart on Newhart
03:11
Barry Kemp on the writing process for Newhart
03:55
Barry Kemp on the comedy of Newhart and doing research for the show
04:12
Barry Kemp on the rules for writing Newhart
01:38
Barry Kemp on Bob Newhart's character on Newhart, "Dick Loudon"
06:21
Barry Kemp on the various Newhart characters
01:40
Barry Kemp on Julia Duffy as "Stephanie" on Newhart
01:19
Barry Kemp on cast changes in Newhart
03:43
Barry Kemp on Mary Frann as "Joanna" on Newhart
05:49
Barry Kemp on the challenges of casting a "new" wife for Bob Newhart in Newhart
01:03
Barry Kemp on Peter Scolari as "Michael" on Newhart
01:52
Barry Kemp on Tom Poston as "George" on Newhart
03:52
Barry Kemp on the characters "Larry", "Darryl" and "Darryl" on Newhart
03:42
Barry Kemp on a typical production week on Newhart
02:39
Barry Kemp on the atmosphere on the set of Newhart
01:18
Barry Kemp on the opening theme to Newhart and the opening sequence
01:43
Barry Kemp on John Rich directing Newhart
01:29
Barry Kemp on the early Newhart writing team
01:39
Barry Kemp on changing "Dick"'s occupation on Newhart
01:17
Barry Kemp on moving on from Newhart
02:41
Barry Kemp on watching Newhart after his departure
02:04

Arnie Kogen

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Arnie Kogen on writing for The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart
06:18
Arnie Kogen on coming up with ideas for Newhart
03:45
Arnie Kogen on writing specific episodes of Newhart
02:32

Will Mackenzie

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Will Mackenzie on directing Newhart, and on cast changes including Peter Scolari and Julia Duffy
05:11

Dick Martin

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Dick Martin on directing Newhart
05:38
Dick Martin on directing the series finale of Newhart and its surprise ending
03:00
Dick Martin on the "red herring" script ending for Newhart the series finale
01:10
Director Dick Martin on knowing and working with Bob Newhart
04:49

Bob Newhart

View Interview
Bob Newhart on the creation of Newhart
04:25
Bob Newhart on "Larry, Darryl, and Darryl" from Newhart
02:13
Bob Newhart on the central characters and memorable storylines on Newhart
03:45
Bob Newhart on similarities and differences between his TV wives on The Bob Newhart Show and on Newhart
01:13
Bob Newhart on the cast of Newhart
04:36
Bob Newhart on the surprise ending of the Newhart series finale and the "red herring" ending that was written to elude the press
04:24
Bob Newhart on the pilot episode of Newhart
02:49
Bob Newhart on memorable storylines and episodes of Newhart
04:19
Bob Newhart on the writers and directors of Newhart
01:59
Bob Newhart on memorable guest stars on Newhart
03:57
Bob Newhart on how the last scene of the Newhart finale became one of TV's most memorable moments
01:02
Bob Newhart on the ongoing success of The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart
03:02
Bob Newhart on a photo of him with the cast of Newhart
00:22

Bernie Oseransky

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Bernie Oseransky on Newhart; on working with Bob Newhart
Bernie Oseransky on having George McGovern appear on Newhart  and his memories of working with him in 1972 when he was a presidential candidate
01:59
Bernie Oseransky on the final episode of Newhart; on not knowing about the final twist until he saw Suzanne Pleshette
01:16

Suzanne Pleshette

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Suzanne Pleshette on reprising her role of "Emily Hartley" on the final episode of Newhart
03:42

Tom Poston

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Tom Poston on his Newhart character "George Utley"
01:48
Tom Poston on the final episode of Newhart
02:12
Tom Poston on being cast on Newhart
02:34
Tom Poston on working with the cast of Newhart
05:05

John Rich

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John Rich on directing the pilot of Newhart; on the concept and format of the series
05:35

Abby Singer

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Abby Singer on being production manager for WKRP in Cincinnati and Newhart
02:37

Daniel J. Travanti

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Daniel J. Travanti on playing himself on an episode of Newhart
04:55

Dan Wilcox

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Dan Wilcox on being supervising producer for Newhart and working with Bob Newhart
09:09
Dan Wilcox on his favorite episodes of Newhart
02:45
Dan Wilcox on the final episode of Newhart and on leaving the show
02:19

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