TV Land and the City of Chicago to Honor Bob Newhart ...

[Pavan]

TV Land and the City of Chicago to Honor Bob Newhart with
Life-Sized Sculpture on Chicago's Michigan Avenue on July 27, 2004



Santa Monica, CA, July 1, 2004 - Bob Newhart, Chicago native, will be honored by TV Land, America's leading classic TV network, and the City of Chicago with a life-sized sculpture commemorating his role as Dr. Robert Hartley in the now classic series, The Bob Newhart Show. The sculpture will be unveiled on Tuesday, July 27, 2004, it was announced today by Larry W. Jones, President, TV Land and Nick at Nite.

The bronze sculpture will grace the sidewalk at 430 North Michigan Avenue, the very building seen in the opening credits of the show.

"Bob Newhart is one of Chicago's favorite sons," explains Jones. "TV Land is honored to salute The Bob Newhart Show - which depicted life in Chicago in the 1970s, and the character of Dr. Robert Hartley, with a landmark celebrating this TV classic."

Studio EIS, a three-dimensional design and sculpture studio in New York founded by brothers Ivan and Elliot Schwartz, created the life-sized bronze sculpture. The studio also created The Andy Griffith Show statue which was unveiled in Raleigh, NC in October 2003. The design selection was made by TV Land executives with Bob Newhart's approval.

A hugely popular hit, The Bob Newhart Show garnered several Emmy nominations and awards including nods for Outstanding Comedy Series. It originally aired from 1972-78 on CBS. It featured one of the most beloved casts in television history -- Suzanne Pleshette as Bob's wife, Emily; Bill Daily as their needy neighbor Howard Borden; Marcia Wallace as the quick-witted receptionist Carol Bondurant and Peter Bonerz as Bob's office neighbor, the orthodontist Jerry Robinson. The cast also boasted a lengthy list of well-known "patients" of Dr. Hartley, who became household figures in their own right.

The sculpture represents the network's fourth effort to honor people, places and moments from our TV heritage by recognizing the site as a "TV Land Landmark." The network's first salute - a bronze statue of Ralph Kramden of The Honeymooners - was unveiled in 2000 and now adorns the entrance to New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal. In May 2002, a bronze statue of Mary Tyler Moore from The Mary Tyler Moore Show was unveiled and now stands on Nicollett Mall in downtown Minneapolis, MN. The Andy Griffith Show statue, which depicts Andy Griffith and a young Ron Howard in their roles of Sheriff Andy and Opie Taylor walking, hand-in-hand, is located in Raleigh's Pullen Park and was unveiled in October.

TV Land will also air a special on the landmark on Wednesday, July 28 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT followed by three classic Bob Newhart episodes.

[barwars]

GREAT news!!

[Pavan]

Updated PR:

THE DOCTOR IS IN...CHICAGO!!

TV LAND CELEBRATES BOB NEWHART STATUE WITH ORIGINAL SPECIAL, TV LAND LANDMARKS: BREAKING THE MOLD, AND CLASSIC EPISODES FROM THE BOB NEWHART SHOW ON JULY 28



Santa Monica, CA, July 21, 2004 - TV Land's salute to Bob Newhart will not end with the dedication of a life-sized sculpture of the television legend in Chicago on Tuesday, July 27. In celebration of the network's newest landmark commemorating Newhart's role as Dr. Robert Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show, TV Land will present an original special entitled, TV Land Landmarks: Breaking the Mold, on Wednesday, July 28 at 10 p.m. -- a half-hour special which takes a look at the making of the statue, footage from past dedications and interviews with Bob Newhart and co-stars from The Bob Newhart Show. Additionally, from 10:30 p.m. to Midnight, TV Land will showcase three unforgettable episodes from The Bob Newhart Show. TV Land can be seen locally on Comcast.

TV Land Landmarks: Breaking the Mold, takes a look back at some of the most-beloved characters in the history of television: Ralph Kramden, Mary Richards, Opie and Andy Taylor, and Dr. Robert Hartley. What all these characters have in common, aside from the impact their shows had in television history, is that they have all been the subjects of TV Land statues. These are TV Land Landmarks - marking the spots where real-life intersects with Classic TV. Footage from previous dedications will be showcased - the Ralph Kramden Statue in front of The Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, the Mary Tyler Moore Statue in downtown Minneapolis and the sculpture of Andy and Opie Taylor in Raleigh, NC. Additionally, footage from the just-unveiled Bob Newhart Statue dedication on Chicago's Michigan Avenue -- the site where the opening credits to the show were captured -- will be revealed. The special was produced for TV Land by TV Land Productions in conjunction with Robert Small Entertainment.

Newhart, who was just nominated for an Emmy Award for his guest role on NBC's ER, is interviewed throughout the special about his reaction to being immortalized in bronze and why the statue's location in Chicago is important to him. Newhart, as well as co-stars Jack Riley and Peter Bonerz, also share behind-the-scenes stories from the enduring classic, and he shares with viewers his all-time favorite episode from The Bob Newhart Show. The special also gives viewers an inside look into StudioEis, the design and sculpture facility who designed both The Bob Newhart and The Andy Griffith Show statues, as members of the design team discuss how the bronze Newhart sculpture was created.


Following are the episodes which will be showcased on TV Land's salute to Bob Newhart (all times ET/PT)

10:30 p.m. #1 "Flying the Unfriendly Skies"
Bob's "Fear of Flying" workshop travels by plane to New York. All seems to be going well as they board the plane for their first flight, that is, until the plane begins to move.

11 p.m. #25 "The Last TV Show"
Bob resists vehemently when his therapy group insists that he accept an invitation for the group to conduct one of its weekly sessions on a live PBS show called "Psychology in Action".

11:30 p.m. #83 "Over The River and Through The Woods"
It's a stag Thanksgiving for Bob when Emily flies off to join a family reunion, leaving Bob to share the holiday with his male buddies.


The sculpture represents the network's fourth effort to honor people, places and moments from our TV heritage by recognizing the site as a "TV Land Landmark." The network's first salute - a bronze statue of Ralph Kramden of The Honeymooners - was unveiled in 2000 and now adorns the entrance to New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal. In May 2002, a bronze statue of Mary Tyler Moore from The Mary Tyler Moore Show was unveiled and now stands on Nicollett Mall in downtown Minneapolis, MN. The Andy Griffith Show statue, which depicts Andy Griffith and a young Ron Howard in their roles of Sheriff Andy and Opie Taylor walking, hand-in-hand, is located in Raleigh's Pullen Park and was unveiled in October.

TV Land Productions was created in 2003 to create original programming that complements the network's successful acquired programming slate. TV Land Productions is headed by Sal Maniaci, Vice President of Development and Production, TV Land and Nick at Nite. In addition to this production, TV Land Productions has also produced The TV Land Awards Show: A Celebration of Classic TV (March 2003 and 2004) and the Emmy-nominated The Dick Van Dyke Show, Revisited, the network's first original special for broadcast, which premiered on CBS in May before being shown on TV Land. For more information about TV Land's original Wednesday night line-ups, visit www.tvland.com .

[Pavan]

BOB NEWHART IMMORTALIZED ON
CHICAGO'S MICHIGAN AVENUE

Bob Newhart, Chicago's Richard Moskal and TV Land's Larry W. Jones on
Hand at Statue Unveiling


Chicago, IL, July 27, 2004 - TV Land, home to the best of everything television, and the city of Chicago, today honored one of television's most enduring icons, Bob Newhart, with a life-sized bronze sculpture commemorating his role as Dr. Robert Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show. Bob Newhart, the series star and current Emmy Award nominee for his guest-starring role on E.R., joined Chicago's Richard Moskal, Director of the Chicago Film Office, and Larry W. Jones, President of TV Land and Nick at Nite, at the unveiling. The statue dedication took place among a crowd of an estimated 500 hundred people at The Plaza of the Americas at 420 North Michigan Avenue, and will be immediately moved to the sidewalk at 430 North Michigan Avenue, the very building seen in the opening credits of the hit show.

"Being at the statue dedication this morning was indeed a surreal experience," explained Newhart at the dedication. "The statue rests on a spot that I had passed hundreds of times, if not thousands of times, before I was a comedian."

"We're always thrilled when one of Chicago's own like Bob Newhart receives this sort of recognition," states Mayor Richard M. Daley. Bob Newhart is truly part of the Chicago identity --born here, a Loyola University graduate who began his successful show business career in Chicago during the late 1950's. We salute Bob because for the past 45 years he's been doing something very special and important...he's been making people laugh."

"TV Land is honored to salute Bob Newhart, a television legend and one of Chicago's favorite sons," states Larry W. Jones, President, TV Land and Nick at Nite. "By placing a statue in the city where this series was based and the very location where the image of Bob in the opening credits was captured, TV Land hopes to remind passers-by of the show's enduring impact."

TV Land will pay tribute to the series and to the network's Landmarks initiative on Wednesday, July 28. Beginning at 10 p.m. ET/PT, TV Land presents an original special entitled TV Land Landmarks: Breaking The Mold, a half-hour special which takes a look at the making of the statue, the selection process of choosing who the next TV Land Landmark will be, footage from past dedications and interviews with Bob Newhart. Then, from 10:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET/PT, the network will showcase some of the most memorable episodes from The Bob Newhart Show. TV Land can be seen locally on Comcast.

Studio EIS, a three-dimensional design and sculpture studio in New York founded by brothers Ivan and Elliot Schwartz, created the life-sized bronze sculpture. The studio also created The Andy Griffith Show statue which was unveiled in Raleigh, NC in October 2003. The design selection was made by TV Land executives with Bob Newhart's approval.

The sculpture represents the network's fourth effort to honor people, places and moments from our TV heritage by recognizing the site as a "TV Land Landmark." The network's first salute - a bronze statue of Ralph Kramden of The Honeymooners - was unveiled in 2000 and now adorns the entrance to New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal. In May 2002, a bronze statue of Mary Tyler Moore from The Mary Tyler Moore Show was unveiled and now stands on Nicollett Mall in downtown Minneapolis, MN. The Andy Griffith Show statue, which depicts Andy Griffith and a young Ron Howard in their roles of Sheriff Andy and Opie Taylor walking, hand-in-hand, is located in Raleigh's Pullen Park and was unveiled in October.

[BensonFan]

Hey, I am from Chicago and this past Monday I decided to head downtown for some shopping/browsing when I happened to stumble upon the Bob Newhart couch. It was pretty cool to see it in person and I got a couple of pics (had to kick some people off it who were sitting there eating and shooting the breeze as though it was some ordinary park bench or something..lol). Anyway just wanted to share.

And btw, I have never really watched Newhart. Is it really funny? What other shows would you compare it to?

[Jack1000]

Guys,

This is so cool!!!! But why only three episodes? Is there any way that we can bring The Bob Newhart Show back to TV Land on a full-time basis?

Jack

[catlover79]

Next time I'm in Chicago I'll have to sit on that couch!!

[AB]

That sounds pretty cool!