In the 1970s and 1980s, Bob Newhart starred in two acclaimed, top-rated, long-running sitcoms back to back: "The Bob Newhart Show" and "Newhart." In the period between those two runs, Hollywood tried to convert Newhart's small-screen success into movie star status, but it just didn't take. Newhart starred in a few big-screen bombs that quickly faded into obscurity. For example, scam artist comedy "Little Miss Marker" earned $6.3 million, and "First Family," starring Bob Newhart as the president, made $15 million. "I thought it was the best script I ever read," Newhart told "Inner-View" (via Decider) of the latter, adding that he opted to make that movie instead of another he was offered. "It was '9 to 5,'" Newhart revealed, referring to a $100 million blockbuster.
And while two classic sitcoms is remarkable, Newhart could never again capture the success of "The Bob Newhart Show" and "Newhart." Every sitcom he made in the '90s and 2000s flopped. "Bob," in which Newhart played a cartoonist with a dysfunctional family, ran for 33 episodes in 1992 and 1993, while the buddy comedy "George and Leo" produced 22 episodes in 1997-98. In 2001, NBC ordered a comedy pilot that served as a vehicle for Sisqo. The "Thong Song" hitmaker played an overnight celebrity starring on a sitcom, while Newhart played a late-career TV icon offering guidance on the ways of television. The project never made it past the pilot.
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