I learned this week (Thursday actually) that Bob Newhart recorded his first stand-up comedy record despite having never been a stand-up. The record label was toying with how to break into the comedy album market and picked Newhart as an early low-cost experiment from a few radio bits he had done in Chicago. He had never performed in front of an audience before then. He himself thought he'd keep being an accountant and the experience would just be a fun story about his life. The record would win the Grammy for "Album of the Year". Not "Comedy Album of the Year", "Album of the Year". That year, the Grammy for comedy went to his rushed follow-up album. That album would hit #2 on the charts. #1 was held by his first album. Oh, and he also won the Grammy for "Best New Artist" that year. Not a bad start to a career.
But BEFORE The Beatles! Does that mean Jesus was #3 behind them and Newhart? 🤣
Of course, Newhart wouldn’t win another Grammy (though nominated a couple more times). And The Beatles won more Grammies after they existed. Still… how many Grammies did Jesus win?
It's also worth pausing on just how early Newhart's brand of comedy really was in the grand scheme. You can kind of understand why people thought it was good - it was a decade ahead of Monty Python, for instance. That's wild! Old man Newhart, the revolutionary comedian my parents enjoyed.
Bob Newhart was a huge deal. And his humour was new and very avant garde at the time, with the dead pan delivery. we take that for granted now, but it didn't exist before the 60s. so i suppose in that way, Larry Daryl and daryl were BEHIND the times... in the best possible way.
also as a former screenwriter for TV, I feel the need to mention that, while I"m not sure what the creative involvement of Bob N was in Newhart, it's likely that the actual show, including Larry Daryl and Daryl was written by one of the staff writers, not Newhart. though he likely had final approval.
"Has this ever happened to you? Have you flashed back to childhood or puberty in an instant, just by seeing a face you haven’t seen in a long time?"
Not really, but I did get a thrill out of watching the Kung Fu TV series on DVD (I had never watched the show when it originally aired) and seeing actors / actresses that were unknown at the time (with one exception) but had become famous in the interim.
Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, "Dr. Pulaski" on Star Trek, and even William Shatner.
I did grow up watching Kung Fu, and I'm pretty sure it's at least partially responsible for me becoming heavily involved in martial arts later in life. I kind of still want to be Kwai Chang Caine.
I still use quotes from Larry on a regular basis all these years later. The writing and the hidden wisdom within the humor lives on long after it was said.
We rewatched every episode, including the sequel/reboot from 20 years later. I can't remember being strongly connected to the show when it was on the air - maybe my folks weren't into it and I was just a hair too young, although in retrospect it really seems like Young Andrew should have been all over this one.
I learned this week (Thursday actually) that Bob Newhart recorded his first stand-up comedy record despite having never been a stand-up. The record label was toying with how to break into the comedy album market and picked Newhart as an early low-cost experiment from a few radio bits he had done in Chicago. He had never performed in front of an audience before then. He himself thought he'd keep being an accountant and the experience would just be a fun story about his life. The record would win the Grammy for "Album of the Year". Not "Comedy Album of the Year", "Album of the Year". That year, the Grammy for comedy went to his rushed follow-up album. That album would hit #2 on the charts. #1 was held by his first album. Oh, and he also won the Grammy for "Best New Artist" that year. Not a bad start to a career.
That is absolutely insane. For one year, Newhart was as big as the Beatles.
But BEFORE The Beatles! Does that mean Jesus was #3 behind them and Newhart? 🤣
Of course, Newhart wouldn’t win another Grammy (though nominated a couple more times). And The Beatles won more Grammies after they existed. Still… how many Grammies did Jesus win?
It's also worth pausing on just how early Newhart's brand of comedy really was in the grand scheme. You can kind of understand why people thought it was good - it was a decade ahead of Monty Python, for instance. That's wild! Old man Newhart, the revolutionary comedian my parents enjoyed.
Larry Darryl and Darryl were so far ahead of their time.
I'm just now catching up on how early Newhart burst into the comedy scene (pre-Beatles!!), and how huge he was that year. Wild!
Bob Newhart was a huge deal. And his humour was new and very avant garde at the time, with the dead pan delivery. we take that for granted now, but it didn't exist before the 60s. so i suppose in that way, Larry Daryl and daryl were BEHIND the times... in the best possible way.
also as a former screenwriter for TV, I feel the need to mention that, while I"m not sure what the creative involvement of Bob N was in Newhart, it's likely that the actual show, including Larry Daryl and Daryl was written by one of the staff writers, not Newhart. though he likely had final approval.
Nice clarification, and it's always cool to see a cohesive creative unit working together like that. Excellence can be contagious!
"Has this ever happened to you? Have you flashed back to childhood or puberty in an instant, just by seeing a face you haven’t seen in a long time?"
Not really, but I did get a thrill out of watching the Kung Fu TV series on DVD (I had never watched the show when it originally aired) and seeing actors / actresses that were unknown at the time (with one exception) but had become famous in the interim.
Harrison Ford, Jodie Foster, "Dr. Pulaski" on Star Trek, and even William Shatner.
I did grow up watching Kung Fu, and I'm pretty sure it's at least partially responsible for me becoming heavily involved in martial arts later in life. I kind of still want to be Kwai Chang Caine.
I've watched every Deadpool movie and I simply can't remember this guy at all. Are you sure he's the main villain?!
I still use quotes from Larry on a regular basis all these years later. The writing and the hidden wisdom within the humor lives on long after it was said.
I think I learned at least 3 or 4% of my humor from these gentlemen.
We're rewatching Twin Peaks rn and it's triggering lots of mammaries
We rewatched every episode, including the sequel/reboot from 20 years later. I can't remember being strongly connected to the show when it was on the air - maybe my folks weren't into it and I was just a hair too young, although in retrospect it really seems like Young Andrew should have been all over this one.
The number of characters is insane. It doesn't help that some are double-ups
I really liked Michael J Anderson in Carnivale. He was prominent in Twin Peaks, too, and quite memorable in both shows