The death of comedy legend Bob Newhart July 18 had me scrambling for this “From the Vault” conversation with Bill Daily.
This was recorded in May of 2014 with the interview arranged to cover the release of The Bob Newhart Show: The Complete Series in a DVD box set from Shout! Factory. I also interviewed Daily and Bob Newhart’s co-star on the series, Peter Bonerz (best remembered as Jerry the dentist), at the same time.
Daily was one of Newhart’s oldest friends from their Chicago days in the late ’50s when Daily was directing and performing in television and Newhart was exploding onto the scene with, at the time, the biggest-selling comedy LP ever, “The Button-down Mind of Bob Newhart.”
What I didn’t know at the time was that Daily’s TV credits reached way back to the very roots of late night network television. A musician, Daily played bass for bandleader and accordianist Milton DeLugg on the precursor to The Tonight Show, NBC’s Broadway Open House (1950-51). DeLugg, some may remember, was also the musical director for Chuck Barris’ The Gong Show (1976-80).
Daily was 86 when I spoke with him ten years ago (he passed away in 2018 at 91), yet his memory was still razor sharp. He remembered, for example, that Morey Amsterdam’s early stint hosting Broadway Open House was on Mondays and Wednesdays! Jerry Lester, for those keeping score, hosted the rest of the week.
In addition, Daily touches on some of late night’s other luminaries, including Johnny Carson, Steve Allen, Jack Paar and even daytime’s Mike Douglas.
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It was MTM Studios boss Grant Tinker who put Daily together with Newhart on The Bob Newhart Show. Daily guesses it was because Tinker liked his work on I Dream of Jeannie. Whatever the reason, the MTM executive inadvertently created one of television’s greatest comedy teams.
Daily points out he wasn’t the first choice to play needy neighbour Howard the flight navigator to Dr. Bob Hartley (Newhart) and his wife Emily (Suzanne Pleschette). In the pilot, another actor played a version of that part. Daily does bring an added likeability that was needed in a character who could have otherwise quickly worn out his welcome.
There is much praise from Daily for the writers on that series, including creators David Davis and Lorenzo Music, Tom Pachett, Jay Tarses, Gordon and Lynne Farr, and, in later seasons, Glen and Les Charles who went on to create Taxi and Cheers. Other script contributions came from some of TV’s top sitcom writers, including Sy Rosen, Jerry Meyer, Gary David Goldberg, Hugh Wilson, Canadian Earl Pomerantz and Susan Silver.
While Daily loved the writing he hated the reading. He was dyslexic, something he had to overcome when it came to learning his lines. Good thing he had a sharp memory. He tells a funny story about meeting two other successful actors and discovering all three were dyslexic — and how that may have powered them to succeed.
Daily also talks about how they all adored Suzanne Pleschette, as well as the incredible cast of zanies who stole scenes as Dr. Bob Hartley’s group therapy patients. Then there’s the story about how Newhart had to fire his best friend for getting the studio audience too heated in the warm-up — Don Rickles.
“I was so grateful to have that show,” says Daily, who saves his most heartfelt praise for Newhart. “He was the nicest man I’ve ever met.”
He also tells three of the funniest jokes I’ve ever heard.
To listen to the hour-long episode, click on the white arrow in the blue dot, above.
