Bob Newhart is the best! If you don't listen to this as an audiobook you're doing yourself a great disservice because so much of his humor is in his delivery. He even goes over this in the book. It's a stammer not a stutter and it's real, not an affectation.

This book is part memoir, part greatest hits. Newhart tells stories of his personal and professional life all the while interspersing some of his more famous bits (i.e. King Kong/Night Watchman and Submarine Commander to name a few).

I'm embarrassed to say I never watched any of his shows but have always been a huge fan of his comedy albums. After reading this, I'm tempted to go back and do a rock block of his shows. A truly delightful read.

This is an interesting (and yes, funny) collection of Mr. Newhart's recollections of his life. It's a bit like having a conversation as he jumps around on topics, goes off on tangents - including providing some of his routines, supplies some behind-the-scenes information on his television shows/movies and gives a glimpse at his personal life.

Very funny, interesting and an easy read. Short sections make it a breeze if you only have short spans of time during which to read.

Mr Newhart provides a biographical sketch and the history of his career in comedy. I highly recommend and suggest reading it in a place where you can laugh out loud.

A light memoir from a man who’s seen it all, and is (was, as of 2006), still a working comedian. Famous since 1960, his list of accomplishments, credits, and old pals should be enough to fill a thicker book, but this volume breezes along, thankfully. It wasn’t terribly funny to me, but I did enjoy his anecdotes of backstages, golfing with other comedians, and vacations with Don Rickles. Nowadays most famous, depending on your generation, for either his sitcoms or for Elf the movie, his name is secure in the list of funny people.

I'd say 4.75 stars, rounded up to 5 because I really loved hearing this one read by the author. There's no voice like Bob Newhart's, and it was great to hear this small, tiny glimpse into his life and career directly from his own mouth. That said, I wish there was a little more offered up in this book - more tales from the road, or in creating his TV shows. Still, I had a lot of fun listening along, and I'd be glad to find his others!

Very funny! I came across Bob Newhart when he guest starred on Big Bang Theory and I wanted to know more about him, so when I had a long road trip ahead of me, I downloaded this audiobook. I was so glad I did. Bob Newhart recounts his long career in stand-up comedy, various TV shows and interactions with other celebrities in this hilarious memoir. Periodically he would share some of his more famous sketches and I was literally crying because I was laughing so hard while I was driving listening to him. I really enjoyed this insight into this very funny man.

The memoir contains some amusing stories and funny jokes, but it would have been better to have more personal information about Newhart.
Nonetheless, Newhart reveals he didn't start out to be the world's first stammering comedian. That's just the way he talks. He was on career path to be a lawyer, but he became an accountant instead. A comedy gig with a radio station changed his life, although it took years to make it to the big time. He lived with his parents until age 29; he didn't drive a car until 33.
A number 1 and 2 record album in 1960 netted him three Grammys and ensured a career path to TV comedian. He had great chemistry with "The Bob Newhart Show" co-star Suzanne Pleshette, although she'd never done straight comedy. He says character Bob Hartley was about 85% Bob Newhart. It irked him that the show, nominated for 15 Emmys, never won one.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. His tv shows were superb; many times, they were the only tv shows I watched. If you like his humor, you enjoy this.

Not so much an autobiography, more a collection of stories from his professional career. Modern audiences will know him from his appearances in the Big Bang Theory, but he cut his teeth in standup before embarking on a wonderfully successful sitcom career. His telephone routines are legendary and this book includes excerpts from some of these.
Very enjoyable and funny, but I would like to know more about his wider life.

I admit I'm not a huge fan of Mr. Newhart's tv shows, but I've always loved his stand up. "The Driving Instructor" is one of my favorite bits, and I don't know how many times I've listened to it. It's brilliant. When I saw he had an autobiography out, I figured I'd give it a whirl, and I'm very glad I did.

He covers his career in various segments, his life growing up in Chicago and afterwards, and has some of his routines included. There are tales of a beginning comic, a rising star, meeting the rich and famous, and what making movies is like, among other things, all told with his wonderfully understated humor. He doesn't make himself sound perfect, admitting to such vices as drinking a bit more than he should and his battle with quitting smoking (which diverts into his "Introduction of Tobacco" bit, another classic).

I was thoroughly entertained. I really enjoyed getting to know this legendary comedian a bit better, and learn more of his material. If you enjoy comedy or have any interest in show biz in general or Bob Newhart in particular, read this.

Jan 4, 1150am ~~ I neglected my Biography/Memoir pile last year so thought I would start 2025 with a few from there. I enjoyed this, never knew anything about Newhart except for when I saw him on Johnny Carson way back in the day and in his own shows later. Will complete my thoughts asap. He makes a good point in one of the final chapters which I want to share.

840pm ~~ 8pm ~~ Before adding more comments here, I watched a few YouTube clips featuring our author. Besides a few of his classic sketches, I found a blooper reel from Newhart, the show set in Vermont where Bob was running an inn and writing books. Now my tummy hurts from laughing, but at least I have dried the laugh tears and can see to type again so I'll try to finish up this review.

Even though I remember seeing Bob Newhart doing guest appearances and starring in two of his own shows on television, I never truly realized just what a big impact he had made on the comedy world until I read this book He was one of the earliest comedians to tell stories rather than jokes, and he helped usher in a new era of stand-up comedy. He made an album of his routines, called The Button-Down Mind Of Bob Newhart. That album became the first comedy album to hit #1 on the Billboard charts of the day, won awards and established him in his career.

He had a homey way of writing, and even though there were plenty of famous names dropped, there was never a feeling of telling tales out of school like in some memoirs. He was sharing memories about his friends. And I liked the printed versions of some of his most famous routines, like The Driving Instructor. The book was fun and entertaining to read. Of course it helped that I had seen him enough on tv to hear his voice while I read the skits. I think age does have its benefits sometimes!

Earlier I mentioned something I wanted to share that struck me as a good point, but it is also a sad one. The bold lettering is mine.
"Comedy has changed again since the sixties, as the once acceptable limits of raunchy humor have been breached, but audiences have changed, too. We have lost our ability to laugh at ourselves.
{. . . }
If I start to tell certain jokes, I can hear people in the audience cringing because they are afraid I am going to cross the line. The problem is that we live in an uptight country. Why don't we just laugh at ourselves? We are funny. Gays are funny. Straights are funny. Women are funny. Men are funny. We are all funny, and we all do funny things. Let's laugh about it.

Great idea, Bob! I'll see you in just a minute on YouTube!

I laughed from the first page of this book when Bob talks about alternative titles. He says, "I was told by my editor that titles sell books, so the first titles I proposed was A Slimmer You in Three Weeks. That would have been an instant best seller because diet books sell like crazy."

This was a quick, pleasant read about Bob, his career, his jokes, and a little about his life. He includes the text of many of his full routines. I was familiar with a bunch of them, and very much enjoyed reading them. I could hear his voice clearly in all of the routines, especially the ones I'd heard before.

I do wish I had listened to this one instead of reading it. I usually listen to memoirs written by performers. I'm not the biggest audiobook lover, but performer memoirs are the exception. I bought this when it was 99 cents for the Kindle book, but I regret it now, even though it was a great deal. I just think his delivery would have sealed the deal.

I may have given this book only 3 stars, 'cause as far as memoirs go, it's not the best. If you aren't a big fan of Bob Newhart, you should probably give it a pass. However, I am a big fan of Bob Newhart, and the book had me laughing all the way through. I was obsessed with Newhart (the show...you know, "Hi, I'm Larry. This is my brother Darrell. This is my other brother Darrell.") when I was 8 or so years old. I know, not your typical kid show, but I was kind of a weirdo. I loved dry humor when I was a kid. I started watching SNL when I was 5 when I'd stay the night with my grandma, and it was one of my favorite shows.

So, Bob Newhart didn't get super personal. I'm actually glad he didn't get too introspective. I find that highly annoying in a memoir (ahem, Rob Lowe), but he did share some parts of his life. I wish he'd talked more about what it was like to be a dad, and what his kids were like. But I guess that wasn't what the book was about. It was more about his career. I do love that he gave his wife credit where credit was due. For instance, the brilliant and famous finale of Newhart was her idea.

Sorry this review is so disjointed. It's late, and I'm tired. I might come back and edit it later.