Tag: BobNewhart

Margerumalia – Newhart-Musk Phone Call 

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – August 16, 2024

On Monday, August 12th, Elon Musk live-streamed an interview with Donald Trump on X after a 40 minute delay due to technical difficulties. I started thinking about my newsletter of two weeks ago and imagined the following Bob-Newhart-style phone call: 

…Hello, X Technical Support Line, formerly known as Twitter Technical Support Line, Jeremy speaking…

…A-Actually you’d be surprised at how many people think I’m saying it’s the Ex-Technical Support Line, like “the former Technical Support Line,” so I try to make it plain from the get-go…How can I help?

…Oh! Hello Mr. X, formerly known as Mr. Musk!…(pause)…Just Mr. Musk, I see…Yes, I’ll remember…

…Y-you’re trying to live-stream on X and haven’t been able to get it started?…Uh-huh, well did you turn it on?…(pause)…I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to insult you, but 37% of my phone calls end with that question, and I know you’re all about the time-is-money thing…

…Y-you say you’re trying to interview the X President? But Mr. Musk, I thought you were the X President…(pause)…N-not the X President, but the ex-president?…Oh, him!…Well good for you, Mr. Musk, I’m sure you’re very proud of that… 

…Oh, well, yes, that is a problem. You must feel terribly embarrassed…I mean it’s nothing compared to that car show when you broke the unbreakable window on the new Tesla truck. That had to be humiliating!…(pause)…J-just a demo model. Of course, sir, I apologize…

…Oh, the streaming…Uh-huh, well, if it’s not responding, did you try going to the source and giving it a bit of a jiggle? Sometimes that’ll get the flow going nicely…(pause)…N-No, I’m still talking about electricity, but you might try it with that, too…

…As for the other problem, it sounds like your server is down…N-no, not Maria, the server that controls the live-stream…I’ll have it patched in about 30 minutes…(pause)…Y-you’re right, Maria is a very good seamstress, but it’s not that kind of patch…

…Ten million people waiting? But, sir, we don’t even have that many users…(pause)…Sir? Mr. Musk…? 

Maybe Bob Newhart would have had to bone up on his tech-speak. I don’t know how savvy he was about that kind of thing.

* * * * *

Barnes & Noble Book-Signing

Barnes & Noble invited me back to sign more books during the back-to-school rush. 

It’ll be in Lafayette, IN, on Saturday, September 7th 11:00-4:00.

The Most Amazing Museum of Los Angeles is also available through The BookBaby Bookshop at https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-most-amazing-museum-of-los-angeles

Margerumalia – Remembering Bob Newhart

Eric Margerum

Newsletter – August 2, 2024

Photo Source: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bob-Newhart

I was saddened to hear about the passing of Bob Newhart last week. Besides enjoying both of his TV shows, listening to his record, and seeing him appear on everything from “Elf” and “The Big Bang Theory” to late night talk shows—he subbed for Johnny Carson 87 times—I got to spend a few minutes talking to him in the early 90’s.

Working as a bartender at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood I met several celebrities who came to see offerings like the national tour of “Peter Pan” (not great for bartending) or a New Year’s Eve concert by Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry (great drinking crowd, great tips).

On this particular day I had seen Newhart on the KTLA Morning News and was telling my fellow bartender about the interview as Newhart came strolling through. The show would be starting in seven or eight minutes and the bar was empty so I said, “Hey, I was just talking about you.” He smiled, walked right over and asked what I had been talking about. 

“You were on the Morning News talking about creating another Bob Newhart Show.” 

“Yeah, I was. And I think it looks promising.” 

“That’s great,” I said. “I loved watching both the other shows. It’s the perfect time to do another one.” 

It was so easy to talk to him. I didn’t feel like I was facing a celebrity, I was just chatting with the guy next door. And he seemed to genuinely enjoy the conversation. We talked for a couple more minutes before I reminded him that the show was about to start. He thanked me and went in to see the performance. 

I would’ve shook his hand but it was sticky with beer, wine, and soda so we just nodded at each other. My pal Bob and me. 

Do you think he knew about the Bob Newhart drinking game that was played in college campuses across the nation? Students would gather in the common room of the dorm to watch “The Bob Newhart Show” and take a drink whenever anyone on the show said “Hi Bob!” It happened a lot and both the episode and the commercials got hilarious by the end of the half hour. I can just hear him chuckling about it.

It’s a shame that third series was never produced. Who knows, maybe there’s an unseen pilot hidden in the vaults of MTM. I’d raise a glass for that! 

If you listen to podcasts, NPR’s Fresh Air dedicated an episode to his career including past interviews with Terry Gross. I laughed out loud several times listening to it on my morning walk. Here’s the link: https://www.npr.org/2024/07/26/1197972896/bob-newhart 

He’ll be missed.

* * * * *

I see I picked up a couple of reviews on Amazon, thanks for those. The more, the merrier. 

Amazon’s website is a bit persnickety about who is allowed to write those reviews. I had to use my wife’s Amazon Prime account to post my review of Effacement because I don’t use my own account enough. Ah, well, that’s how the game is played. 

TTFN