Bob Newhart Special on PBS

I'm not normally a fan of PBS, but there is a show coming on July 20th that will be worth watching - Bob Newhart: Unbuttoned. National Review Online has a piece about Bob and his career, and he's truly one of the funniest, and cleanest, comedians around. Bob describes his approach to comedy, and one of his earliest performances:

One of the things you learn when you go on the nightclub floor is never show fear, because then you're dead meat," said Bob Newhart, recalling his almost overnight transformation from Chicago accountant to successful stand-up comedian. "So I've just pretended for the last 45 years I knew what I was doing."

Speaking at a PBS press conference in Beverly Hills last week for Bob Newhart: Unbuttoned, which premieres on the network’s "American Masters series July 20, Newhart recalled his almost overnight transformation from shy Chicago accountant to stand-up sensation when he first tried out his 18 minutes of material in a nightclub.

As the applause continued after Newhart left the stage, the maitre d’ told him to go back — the audience wanted more. But those 18 minutes were all the young comic had. Still, he gamely went back out on stage. “I just said, ‘Which one would you like to hear again?’”

Here's an excerpt featuring Newhart's classic style:

In the old Biography special, Newhart is seen at once updating his act while at the same time refusing to update it. “Oh...I hear a little murmur,” he interrupts himself at the beginning of his vintage monologue “The Driving Instructor.” “Why does it have to be a woman driver? That’s sexist!”

“OK,” Newhart continues amiably, “let’s make it a Chinese driver.” Then he begins the monologue in pretend Chinese before informing the audience: “Now I can do the next eight minutes of this in Chinese, or we can go back to the woman driver.”

The show will be on at 8pm in Los Angeles - check your local listings.