Ruth Leon recommends… Bob Newhart – On the Record (1992)

Bob Newhart – On the Record (1992)

The best way to understand how a “button-down” office drone can take up a perennial presence in our memory is to watch Bob Newhart.  This stand-up comedian turned actor came to prominence in 1960 when his record album of comedic monologues, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, became a bestseller and reached number one on the Billboard pop album chart.

In doing his bits about ordinary schmoes in extraordinary situations — such as crossing paths with King Kong or consulting with Abe Lincoln — Newhart spoofs the language of American life. Just a man and a microphone, these routines show one of the best-ever comics doing his thing: delivering one side of ludicrous phone calls and chats while giving the audience just enough information to imagine what is happening on the other end.

This routine, from Bob Newhart: Off the Record  is one of his earliest stand-up bits, from 1960, the sketch where he takes us through what it might be like for an Empire State Building guard whose first shift happens to be the night that King Kong climbs the building.

It was still funny 30 years later when he recorded it for Off The Record and it’s still funny today. I don’t laugh easily but in these parlous times, this innocent yet carefully wrought comedy makes me laugh out loud. I decided that this is just what we need. I found this on YouTube, just one of a number of Bob Newhart routines, each funnier than the last, which we can access free. When you’re feeling down, just dial in YouTube Bob Newhart and start laughing.

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