I went to the bookstore the other day. I'm not going to say who it is, but it's not Barnes & Noble or Borders or a cool little independent, but it's the only game in town here in Houma, so it's where I go. I didn't have much cash with me, and wasn't finding anything that was in my price range that looked like anything I wanted to read, then I noticed they had a small used library book section and a Bob Newhart book for $3 caught my eye, so I bought it. Not only is Bob one of the great comedians of all time with 2 of the greatest sitcoms of all time, but he is also a distant relative of mine, and actually somebody I met during my Hollywood summer.
During that summer ('89)my buddy Kelly and I became friends with John Voldstad (the other brother Darryl--a blog for another day). John invited us to a taping of the show. (episode #1 of the last season) We met the whole cast with the exception of Bob. After the show, we were waiting for John while he was getting dressed and saw Mrs. Newhart, so we went over to her and told her we were friends with John, and that, like Bob, we were from Illinois and really wanted to meet him just to say hi. This was right outside his dressing room on the lot where his bronze Mazzeratti was sitting. Mrs. N said "Bob would love to meet you boys"... and she went inside to get him. About a minute later, Bob emerged with his glass of wine. The conversation started out about Illinois, which was kind of funny because Bob is from Oak Park, near Chicago, and we were from Collinsville, near St. Louis--some 300 miles away, and when we told him that, he had a classic Newhart style type deadpan comment about East St. Louis, which at the time was one of the murder and drug capitals of the United States. Anyway, we spent about 10 minutes with him and it was great. I didn't realize it at the time, but we are distant cousins--9th cousin, once removed to be exact--our common ancestor is Christophel Nuehart, born 1599 in Germany. (Yes I am genealogy geek guy!)
Picture is of the book I bought and, as promised, another cowboy hat picture of Frederick.
2 comments:
My name is Debbie Hammer. My great aunt's (on my deceased mom's side) daughter was married to Rick Newhart. I believe he is Bob's cousin?? I need to ask my great aunt. Their marriage didn't last, but they had a son, Rick Newhart Jr. I found out today that he commited suicide. I guess all this makes us distant cousins as well! I am just beginning to try and discover my family history. I am so interested in any historical info. I am 40, and my parents are both deceased. I don't have a whole lot to go on. My mom was pretty secretive about her childhood..a bad one. I have some pics of Bob Newhart with our family from when I was a kid. Thanks for your entry! Feel free to email. -Deb
oh my, can't believe I am now just seeing this comment. The foremost authority on the Newhart family is Dr. Dennis Kastens, a Lutheran pastor in St. Louis. You can google him for his contact info.
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