He had better success with his first sitcom, also titled The Bob Newhart Show, which ran for 6 seasons on CBS from 1972 to 1978. The show depicted the work and home life of Newhart’s Chicago psychiatrist Dr. Bob Hartley.

Newhart was one of the few TV stars to make lightning strike twice: his second sitcom Newhart, in which he starred as Vermont innkeeper/talk show host Dick Loudon, ran from 1982 to 1990.

Newhart had one of the most memorable finales in TV history, showing Newhart’s character from The Bob Newhart Show waking up in bed (next to Newhart’s former co-star Suzanne Pleshette), implying that all of Newhart was just a dream in the earlier character’s mind.

Later sitcom vehicles like Bob and George & Leo had less success, running for just one season, but Newhart remained a fixture of television, with recurring roles on ER and Desperate Housewives.

He also had a memorable recurring role on the hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory as former science TV host “Professor Proton.” He won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for the role — the long-overdue first-ever Emmy Award for the TV legend.

While better known for his comedy and TV work, Newhart also appeared in several films, including Catch-22, In & Out, and Disney’s The Rescuers.

Perhaps his most-remembered movie role was in the 2003 Christmas comedy Elf: he played Papa Elf, the human Buddy’s adopted father at the North Pole.

Rest in peace to the comedy legend Bob Newhart, who gave us so many laughs and two classic sitcoms in his incredible career.