Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - A Tribute to Bob Newhart

Episode Date: July 24, 2024

I did a lot of commercials with Bob Newhart in the late 90s. He was one-in-a-million, a joy to work with, and he will be missed. And I want to tell you a very funny story that happened as a result of those commercials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly. As you may know, we've been producing a lot of bonus episodes while under the influences on hiatus. They're called the Beatleology Interviews, where I talk to people who knew the Beatles, work with them, love them, and the authors who write about them. Well, the Beatleology Interviews have become a hit, so we are spinning it out to be a standalone podcast series. You've already heard conversations with people like actors Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, and Beatles confidant Astrid Kershaw. But coming up, I talk to May Pang, who dated John Lennon in the mid-70s. I talk to double fantasy guitarist Earl Slick, Apple Records creative director John Kosh. I'll be talking to Jan Hayworth,

who designed the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Very cool. And I'll talk to singer Dion, who is one of only five people still alive who were on the Sgt. Pepper cover. And two of those people were Beatles. The stories they tell are amazing. So thank you for making this series such a success. And please do me a favor, follow the Beatleology interviews on your podcast app. You don't even have to be a huge Beatles fan. You just have to love storytelling. Subscribe now and don't miss a single beat. new year new me season is here and honestly we're already over it enter felix the health care company helping canadians take a different approach to weight loss this year weight loss is more than just diet and exercise it can be about tackling genetics hormones metabolism felix

gets it they connect you with licensed healthcare practitioners online who'll create a personalized treatment plan that pairs your healthy lifestyle with a little help and a little extra support. Start your visit today at felix.ca. That's F-E-L-I-X.ca. Whether you're in your running era, Pilates era, or yoga era, dive into Peloton workouts that work with you. From meditating at your kid's game to mastering a strength program, they've got everything you need to keep knocking down your goals. No pressure to be who you're not. Just workouts and classes to strengthen who you are.

So no matter your era, make it your best with Peloton. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. This is an apostrophe podcast production. We'll be right back. You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly. Right now, ladies and gentlemen, Bob Newhart. The album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was recorded way back in 1960. It was the first comedy album to ever reach number one on the Billboard chart A feat even more amazing when you realize that it nudged out somebody by the name of Elvis Presley

It stayed in the number one position for 14 weeks Still a record for a comedy album And here's a little piece of interesting trivia It was also the first live album to go to number one. The button-down mind of Bob Newhart would go on to sell over 1.5 million copies. At the 1961

Grammys, it was awarded Album of the Year, beating out Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole. Bob Newhart was also named Best New Artist, still the only non-musical artist to win that award. Playboy

magazine called Newhart the Best New Comedian of the Decade, which Bob found amusing since there were still nine more years left in the decade. A follow-up album titled The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back also topped the charts.

For a time, his first two records occupied the top two spots on the Billboard album chart. He was born George Robert Newhart on September 5th, 1929 in Oak Park, Illinois. His father was also named George, so Bob became known as Bob. He attended Loyola University and graduated with a degree in business management in 1952. He served two years in the Army during the Korean War, then returned to civilian life as an accountant and part-time ad writer. During that time, he and a co-worker named Ed Gallagher, who was in the advertising business,

would break the boredom by making gag phone calls to one another throughout the workday. They started recording those funny phone calls and used them as demo tapes to try and get airplay on radio stations. When Gallagher left to take a job in New York, Bob started writing solo routines using a telephone as an imaginary partner. One day in 1959, a Chicago DJ heard the material and introduced Newhart to the head of a new label called Warner Brothers Records. The executive thought Newhart was funny and signed the 30-year-old

to a recording contract. Newhart was thrilled and was excited to go into the recording studio when the record company said it wanted the album to be a live performance with a live audience reacting. That was a bit of a problem, because Bob Newhart had never appeared in front of a live audience before. And here's the amazing thing. That first album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, recorded in front of a live audience in Houston, was the first time

Bob had ever been in front of a live audience. Remarkable when you think about it. When he finished the performance that night, the audience just kept applauding.

Bob had no more material for an encore, so he went back out on the stage and asked the crowd, which bit would you like to hear over again? But he was a natural, in that stammering, hesitant, nervous Bob Newhart way. His timing, his forlorn looks, and his comedic talent then led to a long and distinguished TV career.

First with appearances on programs like the Dean Martin Comedy Hour, The Ed Sullivan Show, and guest hosting often for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. Later, he starred in his own sitcom titled The Bob Newhart Show, where he played an insecure psychiatrist, which ran from 1972 to 78. Then, with his next sitcom titled New Heart, where Bob played a befuddled Vermont innkeeper, which ran from 1982 to 1990. The finale of that series has gone down in history as one of the greatest of all time.

The idea came from Bob's wife, Ginny. Bob finally won an Emmy in 2013, after he'd been on television for half a century for a guest spot he did on The Big Bang Theory. He was 83 at the time. Hard to believe it took that long. I was fortunate to direct Bob in over 30 commercials, and I can tell you he was as nice and wonderful as you imagine. And I want to tell you about how we worked together. It was a radio campaign for Bell Mobility. It seemed like a natural association. Bell Mobility was a cell phone company, and Bob was famous for his comedic one-way telephone conversations. First, a little bit of history. Back in the mid-80s, I had written a radio campaign for Eastern Airlines.

It was a one-way phone conversation inspired by Bob's routines, so I thought, why not get Bob Newhart to do them? So we called his agent to ask if he was interested and what he would cost. His agent simply said, Mr. Newhart does not do commercials, and hung up. Okay, fair enough. Now, skip ahead to 1996. The Cassette Advertising Agency hired me to direct a radio campaign for Bell Mobility.

The scripts were based on a one-way phone conversation. So again, I thought of Bob Newhart. But I also remembered that he doesn't do commercials. But it was more than a decade later and sometimes things change. So I thought, why not?

All he can say is no. So we called his agent and sent the scripts over. This time the agent said, Mr. Newhart is very interested. Hmm, there's a good life lesson there. It always pays to ask and ask again. Not only that, Bob made himself very affordable, which is often an issue

for Canadian advertisers. Hollywood talent is usually too expensive for Canadian budgets. But Bob understood that and made himself affordable for us, which was wonderful. So here's how we worked. The advertising agency and I

would collaborate on script ideas. Not the scripts per se, but the scenarios, the setups. For example, one scenario was that Bob was to deliver a singing telegram but was stuck in traffic, so he had to sing it over the phone.

In another, Bob was to play Happy the Clown late for a performance at a kid's party because he has mistakenly shown up at a party

that was expecting a male stripper. All funny, all situations where Bob's character has to deal with the ensuing embarrassment. We would send maybe seven or eight scenarios like that to Bob at a time

and ask him to pick the five that appealed to him most. Bob would then phone me and we would have a chat about the ideas. Bob would tell me which ones he liked. He would sometimes suggest a funny reaction or two that we could incorporate. Then, and only then, we would go away and write the scripts. It was a very smart way to work. We didn't slave away for hours writing scripts only to have Bob say he didn't like the basic scenario. Then, all that writing would have been for nothing. But this way, he had already approved the scenarios, now we could concentrate on writing the scripts.

Of course, that presented a unique challenge, too. The genius of Bob Newhart's comedy were his pauses. And I've always thought that the unique thing about Bob's one-way phone conversation bits was that his end wasn't the funny end. The funny lines were the lines you couldn't hear. It was Bob's reaction to those imaginary funny lines that was so funny. What a special talent that required to make us hear the funny lines at the other end of an imaginary phone conversation.

Now, let's talk about those pauses. Bob's stammering pauses were gold. And when you record a script, you have to leave them alone. Bob even whispered to me once early in the process, Terry, don't shorten my pauses. I said, Bob, I will guard them with my life. Now, those pauses were big and funny. And did I mention big?

The Bell Mobility radio commercials were 60 seconds long, but a full 29 or 30 seconds were taken up with Bob's pauses. That made writing the commercials very tricky. We needed to write a script, set up a scenario, have fun with Bob, get in the Bell Mobility product information, and achieve it hearing only one side of a phone conversation, all in the remaining 30 seconds.

Oh, and make it amusing and effective. You have no idea how difficult that is. So, we would write the scripts and send them down to Bob in Los Angeles. Then Bob would call me. We would talk about the scripts and make any revisions Bob suggested. But I have to say this. He really respected the script writing process. He wasn't a celebrity who trod all over the work and demanded rewrites.

He just added light, funny touches here and there. He would laugh at the funny moments in the scripts, which was always so good to hear, and so strange because the Bob Newhart we all know never laughed. He was always the stammering, nervous, eye-darting guy who was having a mini-crisis. But on the phone, he wasn't that way. When it came to recording the commercials, we did what was then called a phone patch. Bob was in a studio in L.A. I was directing from our studio in Toronto. And we linked studios via ISDN,

which is a system of special phone connections that enables recording studios anywhere in the world to connect digitally. So, we never saw each other. We just heard each other, which would lead to a funny moment later on. While we couldn't see each other, I always felt that in some ways, radio was judged better that way. Directors and clients watching an actor in a studio can be very influenced by what they see,

not by what they hear. Meaning, a comedian who is very physical in the studio or who makes funny faces while performing can make everyone laugh. But when that actor goes home, the radio commercial is suddenly not as funny anymore. But judging a commercial solely on what you hear, as we did with Bob on those phone patches,

we were assured that if it was funny in the moment, it would still be as funny three weeks from now. Here is the aforementioned Happy the Clown commercial, where Bob has been sent to the wrong birthday party. Bell Mobility introduces 50-cent flat rate calls. Mrs. Hagedorn? Yeah, this is Happy the Clown. Listen, I'm sorry I'm late for little Amy's birthday party, but there was a mix-up, but I'm on my way. Talk all you want for just 50 cents a call. Well, the girls at the party I just left were apparently

expecting someone named Buns of Steel Steve instead. Weekends and weeknights. No, no, they weren't impressed by my balloon animals. They just kept tugging at my clothes. Well, ripping, ripping, actually.

Just 50 cents a call on selected plans. Buns of steel, Steve, just arrived on your porch, and he's not dressed like a clown? He's not dressed. Talk to your heart's content. Well, that would explain the sirens. Only with Bell Mobility. To free Bob up from doing the sell in the commercial,

I chose an announcer to handle all the product information. And I chose someone Bob knew, actor Harold Gould. You may remember Harold from the Rhoda sitcom, where he played Rhoda's father. The Rhoda sitcom was part of MTM Productions, Mary Tyler Moore's company that produced the Mary Tyler Moore show, WKRP in Cincinnati,

and Bob's first sitcom. The Bell Mobility radio campaign was a big success and got a lot of attention for the cell company. Many press articles were written

about the campaign, which you can still find online, and they won awards. Bob was an absolute joy to work with. And speaking of funny, two very amusing things happened as a result of those commercials. The stories after this. in case nobody's told you weight loss goes beyond the old just eat less and move more narrative and that's where felix comes in felix is redefining weight loss for canadians with a smarter more

personalized approach to help you crush your health goals is here losing weight is about more than diet and exercise it can also be about our genetics, hormones, metabolism. Felix connects you with online licensed healthcare practitioners who understand that everybody is different and can pair your healthy lifestyle with the right support to reach your goals. Start your visit today at felix.ca. That's F-E-L-I-X dot C-A. Whether you're in your running era, Pilates era, or yoga era,

dive into Peloton workouts that work with you. From meditating at your kid's game to mastering a strength program, they've got everything you need to keep knocking down your goals. No pressure to be who you're not. Just workouts and classes to strengthen who you are. So no matter your era, make it your best with Peloton. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. Two funny and completely unexpected things happened after the commercials had aired.

The first was when Bob Newhart came to perform at the Hummingbird Theatre in Toronto. And during that evening, he actually performed one of our commercials live on the stage as part of his act. We were all surprised and completely blown away. The second funny thing happened at a charity event. While talking to Bob on the phone one day, he mentioned he was coming to perform at a charity function and invited my wife Debbie and I to the show. I said we would love to go. So his office called me and said two tickets would be waiting for us

at the box office and to ask for Robert when we got there. So on the night, we made our way to the event, got our tickets at the box office, then asked for Robert. A middle-aged man named Robert suddenly appeared out of nowhere

and said, follow me. It was a big event with hundreds of people in attendance, including many dignitaries and celebrities. As we followed Robert to our seats, we made our way through the crowd. At one point, Robert said,

please, make way for Mr. Newhart's close personal friends. We said, oh, sorry, of course, and my wife and I stepped aside. Then we realized he was talking about us. So this went on for about two minutes, Robert saying, excuse me, make way, please, for Mr. Newhart's close personal friends. Excuse me, pardon me. At this particular charity event, everybody sat around tables, and eventually we were shown right to the front table, the very front table. There was already a couple sitting there, and Robert firmly said,

excuse me, this table is reserved for Mr. Newhart's close personal friends. The couple quickly scurried away. Everybody was staring at us. My wife and I couldn't believe our luck. Bob Newhart performing, and we have the best seats in the house. Everybody was staring at us. My wife and I couldn't believe our luck. Bob knew how to perform, and we have the best seats in the house. Bob, of course, was hilarious. The crowd loved him.

When it was all over, my wife Debbie and I got up to leave, and that's when Robert suddenly appeared again and said, Follow me. Robert was a man of few words, really. So we made our way through the crowd backstage to the doors of a large green room. Outside that green room was a long line of politicians, athletes, and celebrities waiting to meet Bob. Robert walked straight to the head of the line,

pushed the people back a bit, and said, Mr. Newhart's close personal friends, and ushered us in. Everybody just stared at us. And there, in the middle of a big room, standing with a drink in his hand, was Bob Newhart. Robert brought us up to Bob and said, Bob, I think you know these folks. Bob just stared blankly.

He had no idea who we were. He looked right at me with those familiar darting eyes and had absolutely no idea who I was. I could feel his discomfort. That familiar, nervous, unsure, deer-in-the-headlights reaction from Bob Newhart. I could see Robert out of the corner of my eye wondering, what the hell is going on? Why doesn't Bob recognize these close, personal friends?

Then I stuck my hand out and said, Hi Bob, I'm Terry O'Reilly. That's when Bob finally realized who we were. See, we had never been in the same room together before. Bob had never laid eyes on me, even though we had done a few dozen commercials together and had spoken on the phone many times. It was a hilarious, awkward, perfect Bob Newhart moment.

I realized in that green room that Bob seemed so familiar to me, like an old friend. And that's because Bob has been in my living room so many times over the years. But I had never been in Bob's living room over those years. It's that strange disconnect I experienced with every celebrity I've ever worked with. You feel you know them so well.

But it was even more so with Bob because I actually had a relationship with him, just not in person. Anyway, Bob was delightful and welcoming. We chatted for about 10 minutes. It was lovely. But my wife and I were very aware that a long line of important people was cooling their heels outside the door, so we tried to keep our time with him short. But Bob kept chatting. I think Debbie and I were only half paying attention to Bob at this point,

being completely distracted by the other side of that door, Bob just kept chatting. Eventually, we did say goodbye to Bob and left, then got the side eye from all the dignitaries that had been left waiting for about 20 minutes outside that door. When Debbie and I got to our car, we just burst out laughing. The whole evening was surreal, from Robert telling everyone we were Bob Newhart's close personal friends, to not understanding he meant us, to the front row seats, to skipping the line of dignitaries, to Bob not knowing who the hell we were, to keeping all those important people waiting for 20 minutes.

We have told that story dozens of times. It was a hilarious, memorable, very Bob Newhart night. New year, new me. Season is here and honestly, we're already over it enter felix the health care company helping canadians take a different approach to weight loss this year weight loss is more than just diet and exercise it can be about tackling genetics hormones metabolism felix gets it they connect you with licensed health care practitioners online who'll create a personalized treatment plan that pairs your healthy lifestyle with a little help and a little extra support. Start your visit today at felix.ca. That's F-E-L-I-X dot C-A. Whether you're in your running era, Pilates era, or yoga era, dive into Peloton workouts that work with you. From meditating at your kid's game to mastering a strength program,

they've got everything you need to keep knocking down your goals. No pressure to be who you're not. Just workouts and classes to strengthen who you are. So no matter your era, make it your best with Peloton. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca.

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Please play responsibly. If you have any questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. We lost Bob last week. He was 94 years old. I ran into him one last time, many years later, in an airport lounge in Los Angeles, and we had a nice chat. Bob was one of my favorite performers. He was so funny all while playing it so small, so straight, so dry, so under the radar, so hard to do. He did it all without using profanity. He didn't shock. He didn't punch down. He didn't pick sides. And he had been actively employed

in comedy since 1960. Not many people have that kind of staying power. I remember back in 1996, we were finishing up a recording session and Bob mentioned he was off to a meeting

at a Hollywood studio. I asked what he had cooking. He said, another possible sitcom. I said, really, Bob? You want to do another one? He was almost 70 then. He said to me, you can only spend so much time on the golf course. Bob loved to work. So he never really retired and worked right up to his 90s. And aren't we lucky.

Safe travels, Bob. Thanks for everything. I'm Terry O'Reilly. This special bonus episode is an Apostrophe Podcast production. Find our other shows at apostrophepodcasts.ca This episode was recorded in the Tearstream Mobile Recording Studio. Director, Callie O'Reilly. Producer, Debbie O'Reilly. Chief Sound Engineer, Jeff Devine. Tunes provided by APM Music. Follow me on social at Terry O'Influence. This podcast is powered by ACAST. You may have heard on the news that visits to Ontario food banks are at an all-time high.

To illustrate this, I have some dimes here. One dime represents one visit to a food bank. And these dimes represent visits by people you may even know. Now, here's how many more food bank visits there are every day. Alarming, isn't it? But you can help. Every dime you donate to Feed Ontario will help Feed Ontario support more than 1,200 food banks and hunger relief organizations. Please, give now at feedontariotogether.ca. For the big change your pocket change can make.