Alert – Judd Hirsch reflects on life of Bob Newhart and the kindness he showed him when they starred together on George & Leo

Bob Newhart will forever be considered among television royalty following his passing on Thursday, July 18, at the age of 94.

And in the wake of his death at his home in Los Angeles, actor Judd Hirsch is sharing the affect Newhart had on him and his career.

In an interview with People, the New York City native talked about his time working on their CBS sitcom George & Leo, which was one of two short-lived sitcoms Newhart had in the 1990s, and how he will never forget the kindness he showed him and his family.

It turns out, after finding out that Hirsch was flying from LA to New York after work every Friday night to spend quality time with his daughter, Newhart tried to put him at ease to let him know he would help him get home on time each week.

‘To get those two days off after the shoot on Friday night, I had to take a red eye,’ Hirsch recalled. ‘[Bob] said, “Hey, listen to me… You will make that plane every time we shoot.” ‘And I said, “Okay.” In other words, he could pace the show and know that we won’t go over.’ 

‘Judd Hirsch paid tribute to Bob Newhart by sharing about the ‘kindness’ he showed him during production on their CBS sitcom George & Leo

Newhart and Hirsch starred as the title characters – George Stoody and Leonard ‘Leo’ Wagonman – on the CBS series for one season from 1997-1998

The former Taxi star knew the TV icon had a keen sense of show pacing and that his talents and thoughtfulness would get him back home to his daughter in New York City.

‘These things are produced and directed by other people, but [Bob] was the master of pace,’ Hirsch explained, before adding, ‘So when he said that, it was an absolute kindness to me. And for that, I just wanted to thank him, but I didn’t get a chance, because we didn’t [shoot] any more than one season.’

Hirsch got the idea of flying back across country to be with his then three-year-old daughter Montana as a way to spend quality time with her and the family that included his then-second wife Bonni Sue Chalkin.

Being a dad to four children of his own, Newhart knew the difficulties in keeping a family fully engaged with each other while trying to keep up with the demands of the job.

In hindsight, Hirsch now says he would’ve liked to have properly thanked the ‘comic giant’ for always being ‘so kind’ and ‘considerate’ to him.

‘He didn’t have to be. He was king of the hill at that time,’ the actor told the outlet, adding, ‘I was just really fortunate to have had that time with that guy, who probably a lot of people would’ve loved to have been in my shoes.’

Hirsch has an extensive acting resume in film such as Ordinary People (1980), which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, as well as Running on Empty (1988), Independence Day (1996), A Beautiful Mind (2010), Independence Day: Resurgence (2016), Uncut Gems (2019), and The Fabelmans (2022).

He also has the distinction of being a two-time Tony Award-nominated theatre actor with his roles in I’m Not Rappaport (1985-1988) and Conversations With My Father (1992-1993).

‘To get those two days off after the shoot on Friday night, I had to take a red eye,’ Hirsch recalled of his travels each Friday from LA to NY. ‘[Bob] said, “Hey, listen to me… You will make that plane every time we shoot.” ‘And I said, “Okay.” In other words, he could pace the show and know that we won’t go over’

After transitioning from stand-up comedy, Newhart would score a hit portraying Chicago psychologist Robert Hartley on sitcom The Bob Newhart Show (1971-1978), which ran for six seasons on CBS; he starred alongside Suzanne Pleshette for the duration of the show

The legendary TV actor had another hit with the sitcom Newhart (1982-1990), for which he played the role of Vermont innkeeper Dick Loudon 

While he has an extensive acting resume in film and the theatre, Hirsch is best known to many fans for his television roles that includes playing Alex Reiger in the now classic sitcom Taxi (1978-1983), John Lacey in the sitcom Dear John (1988-1992), and Alan Eppes in the crime drama series Numb3rs (2005-2010).

For George & Leo, Newhart portrayed George Stoody, the owner of a bookstore in Martha’s Vineyard

The series also featured Jason Bateman as George’s son Theodore ‘Ted’ Stoody; Bess Meyer as Leo’s (Hirsch) daughter Casey Wagonman (episodes 1–7) before being replaced in episode nine by Robyn Lively (episodes 9-22), as well as Jason Beghe as Ronald and Darryl Theirse as Ambrose.

Newhart got his start in show business in the late 1950s as a stand-up comedian, who first gained prominence when his record album of comedic monologues, The Button-Down Mind Of Bob Newhart (1960), became a bestseller and reached number one on the Billboard pop album chart. 

His follow-up album, The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back! (1960), was also a success, and the two albums held the number one and number two spots simultaneously.

Known for his dry humor and stammering delivery style, Newhart transitioned from stand-up comedian to television actor, eventually starring in such hit sitcoms starring as Chicago psychologist Robert Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show (1972-1978), and then as Vermont innkeeper Dick Loudon on series Newhart (1982-1990).

Newhart revealed his role as Papa Elf, alongside Will Ferrell, in the holiday classic Elf (2003) ‘outranks, by far, any role I may have ever played,’ in an email interview with CNN this past November

Hirsch is best known to many fans for playing Alex Reiger on the smash hit sitcom Taxi (1978-1983), alongside the likes of Tony Danza, Dannt DeVito, Marilu Henner, as well as Andy Kaufman, Christopher Lloyd, Carol Kane, Jeff Conaway and Randall Carver

From there, he starred for two seasons in the CBS sitcom, Bob (1992-1993), which wound up being the first of two short-lived sitcoms in the 90s, along with George & Leo.

Newport didn’t have an extensive list of film credits over his career, but he did land roles in the popular films Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde (2003) and Elf (2003), which he has since said his role as Papa Elf is his favorite of his career.

‘Without question, the part of Papa Elf outranks, by far, any role I may have ever played,’ Newhart declared in a new email interview with CNN this past November.

Sadly, Newhart’s longtime wife, Virginia Quinn, passed away in April at the age of 82 after more than 60 years of marriage.