Comics get serious about their genre
Newhart, Romano share sitcom success — now and then
Pioneers of Television: Standup to Sitcom
Tuesday, PBS
PASADENA, Calif. — Once upon a time in TV land, it seemed as if the fastest route for a standup comic to land a sitcom was to get established on the comedy- club circuit, then parlay that routine into a hit show.
Today, a standup routine is no longer the quick route to sitcom success, as sitcom veterans Bob Newhart and Ray Romano pointed out earlier this year.
Traditional sitcoms — performed live and taped before a studio audience — have been replaced for the most part with shot- on- film comedies such as Modern Family, Community and Parks and Recreation.
Newhart and Romano appear together in the PBS program Pioneers of Television: Standup to Sitcom, premièring on Tuesday.
Newhart, an advertising copywriter by day and a budding standup comedian by night in his hometown of Oak Park, Ill., adapted his naturally deadpan, halting delivery into a comic routine that would serve him well in a pair of successful sitcoms. The Bob Newhart Show ( 1972- 78) and Newhart ( 1982- 90).
Ray Romano first appeared on the talent competition Star Search as a standup comedian in 1989, but it wasn’t until 1996, that he landed his first major role in a sitcom, Everybody Loves Raymond ( 1996- 2005).
The following are edited excerpts of what they said earlier this year, when they appeared before a group of out oftown reporters in Los Angeles.
Converting standup to sitcom success
Newhart: There are three elements a standup brings to a TV role. No. 1 — and this saves a lot of time for the audience, four or five episodes at least: They already know who you are. When Bill Cosby finally decided to do a sitcom, everybody knew the persona of Bill Cosby. No. 2, as a standup used to working before a live audience, you know how to deliver a line. You are here; the joke is here; now how do I get from here to there? And thirdly, the most important thing a standup can bring to the role is integrity. I’m sure Ray can verify this, but There are times when they would give me great lines and I had to say, “Look, I just wouldn’t say that.”
A successful standup career doesn’t guarantee a TV hit
Romano: A lot of standup comedians get pilots today, but they just
A lot of standup comedians get pilots today, but they just don’t work. It doesn’t always translate. It doesn’t always work.
RAY ROMANO
COMEDIAN
don’t work. It doesn’t always translate. It doesn’t always work. There are guys out there, guys I know, who have got close four or five times but haven’t got there in the end. And these guys are some of the best comics out there.
Nothing lasts forever, not even a hit sitcom:
Romano: I was involved with Raymond 24/ 7, concerned with making it good. I guess I didn’t start to consider what my next thing would be until it ended. I decided that whatever I did, I didn’t want to do that again. I would never do another sitcom again. Nothing against the genre. I did one — that’s it. I want to move on. I want to explore other things. Am I getting everything I want now? No. But I’m not complaining.
Newhart: I never thought I’d be where I am today. I’m not being modest. I never thought it would last this long. I have to be honest with you — I thought I might have five years and that would be it. That was fine. I pictured myself like an elevator operator, you know, back when they used to have elevator operators, and people would stand in the corner and say, ‘ That guy used to be Bob Newhart.’ Frankly, I never expected it to last this long. I’m grateful that it has.
Who is the fairest of them all?
Newhart: Jerry Seinfeld was an absolute natural for a sitcom. Romano: Yeah. Newhart: He was just so accessible. I was asked once who the next great act was going to be, and I said “Jerry Seinfeld.” He was just born for television. Whatever the guys ( today) lack, I don’t know what it is.