Here’s why Bob Newhart preferred smart comedy over easy laughs

While some sitcoms cornered the market on cute kids, Bob Newhart did his best to keep children out of the spotlight on his series — both on-screen and in the audience. It wasn’t that he disliked kids. He simply had a clear vision for what his comedy should be.

Bob Newhart starred in Newhart from 1982 to 1990, fittingly named after its lead actor. Of course, audiences already knew him from The Bob Newhart Show and later Bob, among many others.

In a 1990 interview with the North Bay Nugget, Bob Newhart said children could become a comedic crutch and were often used as an easy shortcut to laughs.

"With children around, you inevitably end up with situations where kids are precious and the dad is lovable and stupid, and it becomes, 'How will I get daddy out of this predicament?' It’s just not my audience. My audience is people reacting to a situation, not a bunch of kid jokes," Newhart said.

In other words, Newhart didn’t want his comedy spoon-fed.

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According to a 1989 interview with The Des Moines Register, ironically, actress Julia Duffy became pregnant during the run of Newhart, forcing the show to address it onscreen. But even then, Newhart made it clear the series wouldn’t suddenly turn into a diaper-duty sitcom.

"We are not going to be doing Three Men and a Baby here," Newhart said. "There will be no diaper changing."

Newhart also said the secret to the show’s success came down to three things: "good writing, good writing, and good writing."

"It’s intelligent, it’s written at a certain level, and written for adults — for people who think," Newhart said.

That was the Bob Newhart formula: smart comedy for grown-ups. No tantrums, no toy boxes, and definitely no sitcom baby formula.