Chris Taylor

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – This year marks the 50th anniversary for the premiere of “The Bob Newhart Show”, the 1970s sitcom that chronicled a psychologist who tries to live a happy and healthy life.

Newhart, now 92 and happily married for nearly 60 years to Ginny, still makes people smile with his understated humor.

The comedy icon, comedian and actor Roy Scheider, spoke to Reuters about his extraordinary career in showbusiness for the “Life Lessons” series.

Q: Which was your first job when you were a child?

A: I was born in Chicago. As a boy, I worked as a driver at the meat market. For delivering meat, I earned $7 an hour. However, I somehow got my finances wrong and ended up owing the employer $7. This was the end of my week. This was how I got introduced to business.

Q: Was it difficult to break into comedy in the beginning?

Q: I first went to Loyola University, Chicago and received an accounting degree. My friends were all getting married, having children and engaged. I worked as a counter clerk at the unemployment bureau.

My plan was to try comedy. If that didn’t work out, I knew I could always go back to accounting.

Q: Which was the biggest break you had?

A: It is important to surround yourself with people who believe in you, and encourage you to keep going. Dan Sorkin was a Chicago friend of mine. He was an illustrious DJ and told Warner Bros. Records that he had a friend and that he thought he was funny.

I had three routines – Abe Lincoln, Driving Instructor and Sub Commander – and I put them on tape. It was well received and I was offered a recording contract. In Houston, a club allowed me to perform onstage. It was originally recorded in 1960 and became Album of the Year (“The Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart”)

Q: How did you find your unique voice onstage?

A: The stand-up industry is a unique one. There are no books to help you. If you want to make the most of every chance you are given, it is essential that you do so in front of an audience. Stand-up comedy used to be considered safe. With what has happened to Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock and others, I am going to buy a helmet just for safety.

Q: What lessons can you learn from the comedy industry?

A: The best thing about comedy is the fact that many comedians have long married relationships. Ginny, my wife next year, will be 60 years old. The longevity of marriage is based on laughter. It can help you move past your worst moments. It’s the job of comedians to get people through hard times.

Q: I have many grandkids. What life advice would you offer them?

A: Family and friends are the most important thing in life. This is the essence of everything. God knows I had amazing friends and wonderful kids. So I simply tell them: treasure your family and friendships. The rest doesn’t really matter.

Q: How has the pandemic affected you personally?

Q: Because for many years, nobody had been doing shows. People were uncomfortable being in closed spaces with strangers sitting next to them. Two years ago, I stopped doing stand-up. I was so disappointed. This was my first true love. Although I was a successful television star, I never got to see the immediate reactions I expected on stage.

Q: How do you think about your work?

Q: You become part of the lives of others when you appear on TV. That doesn’t happen in movies – only in TV. It is a wonderful feeling to be considered a member of your family.

The most rewarding of all is when someone writes and says that they were going through a difficult time and were contemplating ending the whole thing – but they watched your show, and it helped them through that period.

This is what laughter does; it can help us deal with our bad moments. In such moments, laughter is a way to say, “Boy! I’m glad that I do this!”