The Unforgettable Comedy Lesson Bob Newhart Taught Our University Community
The beloved actor addressed the 100th commencement ceremony in 1997. He was presented with an honorary degree.
July 23, 2024
By Matt Palmer
The comedian and actor Bob Newhart died on July 18 at the age of 94. Many people in the Catholic University of America community remember fondly when he gave the commencement speech at the centennial year’s opening ceremony on May 17th, 1997. Newhart was also awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from The University and was a proud father to one from the Cardinal as well as his son Timothy. Timothy completed his studies at the university in 1989 and earned the degree of an undergraduate in English.
He was a Grammy as well as Golden Globe winner started his profession as an accountant but he became known for his stand-up comic masterpieces. The lifetime Catholic was then famous due the stand-up comedy shows “The Bob Newhart Show” and “Newhart.” The comedian was awarded the first and sole Emmy for his appearances as a guest on a show that is now called “The Big Bang Theory. “
“I certainly don’t delude myself that there aren’t certainly more important things to do in life than make people laugh, but I can’t imagine anything that would bring me more joy,” Newhart addressed the students, their families, faculty staff, and other members that were in attendance.
In his speech to students in 1997 Newhart offered a unique perspective of how humor can change lives and save them from. Through the speech, Newhart’s trademark humor and wit regarding life and faith were evident.
“I’ve found that one other thing that humor does is it makes us free,” Newhart said. “That may seem like an odd statement, however, so long as the tyrant can’t influence the thoughts of free women and men who are free. There was humor everywhere the Iron Curtain and in POW prison camps. “
Learn what the meaning of Newhart, “Humor Makes Us Free, Laughter Gives Us Distance”below .
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Thank you so much.
Audience: “Hi, Bob. “
“Hi, Bob,” I’m sure that you are familiar with me.
I’ll be recognized in the history books because of this. What I’ve done is leaving history with the title “Hi, Bob. “
It’s an honor and an honor to be invited to be a commencement address for the year 1997. It may seem like tears, however they’re actually just allergies. The son I graduated from university in 1989. He graduated with an honorary certificate from the faculty of English literature with a concentration in poetry written by Yeats. You’ve likely noticed when browsing the classifieds sites there are many pages filled with potential opportunities Yeats scholars.
In my role as a address the event’s commencement, I was struck by a story about Jascha Heifetz, a well-known violinist. He was asked to perform at Grange Hall in Minot, North Dakota and he agreed to perform in December. When the month of December was approaching, it turned very frigid in New York and he called to tell the world, “I’m sorry, I could not be there. ” One of the people who had arranged for him to perform said, “We have 3,000 people in Grange Hall here in Minot and would you be able to try? ” He replied, “I will. ” He then took off for New York and flew to Denver and then took off on an airplane that was tiny and arrived in Minot until 11 o’clock in the evening. He entered Grange Hall and there were twelve people in the Grange Hall.
He responded, “I’m sorry I can’t perform before an audience of this size. You stated that there were 3,000 people in the room.” Then he said, “Well there were, but they were worried that you would not appear. “
He said, “I’ve never appeared in the presence of such a tiny audience. ” The person who made arrangements for him to perform informed him that “Jascha would you sing a couple of songs, it would be … “
In an aspect I feel very honoured. I’m not certain which one is the right one but I’m very grateful. My name is Irish Catholic, 3/4 Irish and 3/4. German and I’m sure that the humor originates by Germans on the Irish side, because the Germans haven’t been seen as being among the most entertaining races ever. There is a problem with Germans,
Germans are very Iiteral with the way they express their American humor. We can be extremely eccentric in our humor and can often express the exact contrary to what’s being said. For example one German tourist could be looking at the German tourist and tell them “I am not trying to bother you, but your friend Curly is the one who doesn’t have any hair on his head. Tiny weighs more than 350 pounds. “
I was raised Catholic and a lot of my friends have a Jewish background. Jewish A few are Protestant. All religions are telling the same thing that is “be courteous to one another. “
In the Catholic faith, it’s widely known that there’s the possibility of confessory. Non-Catholics don’t know the significance of going into a dark and dingy room to confess the horrible things we’ve done during every day. However, when one is Catholic there are certain rules you’ll be taught: are at the end of the pew, and you’re watching the two lines moving in a different direction, and which one is faster is the one that you’re getting sucked into.
We’ve all been there.
Growing to be a kid in Chicago The most appropriate moment to confess was during Notre SMU-Dame’s match. A priest might make any statement: “I just killed my family. ” “Well please don’t repeat this ever again, my son.” You could be able to hear the game playing while the game was played.
The most difficult experience I had when I was Catholic was studying the laws for the very first time in your confessional. The first law is “Thou must not be a worshipper of false gods. “
I was a resident of Chicago and as I’ve said, I’m not entirely sure of the particulars about D.C., but you could drive through Chicago for 10-12 miles without coming across the devil of a different kind. If you don’t do, one of the last things you’ll want to do is stop in your car and sing praises to it.
You might glance at your spouse and say: “Lock your door, honey, I’m pretty certain it’s an …yeah it’s a fake idol there. “
Another one that really threw me was “Thou should not be coveting thy neighbor’s wife. ” In the year I turned seven years old, I had always believed the church was instructing me to not “cover” the wife of my neighbor because I wasn’t going to do so regardless. It’s illegal to cover the wife of your neighbor.
You’re allowed to cover the wives of other women within the vicinity and remain in your home at no cost until you are covered. Once you have started protecting your neighbor’s wife. You’ll be required to confess.
In preparation for the speech today, I read various different commencement speech. It appears that there is a mandatory reference to Huxley’s Brave New World. Also to give the impression that you’re smart, even though you don’t have to be smart to be intelligent, simply create an appearance. This is usually accomplished through referencing Katka even if you’ve never had the pleasure of reading one of his books … as well as written works.
The most common theme in beginning addresses is that the work the speaker is doing to earn the sake of their livelihood is worth it.
That’s why I’m trying to describe the things I do to earn a living. I was amazed by the books I’d read about humor as well as laughter through the various authors who wrote on the topic. The first books were written by Aristotle, Plato, Hobbes, Freud (who devoted an entire book to the subject), Kant, Schopenhauer, Spenser, and Arthur Roestler who dedicated the first 90 pages of to the Act of Creation to the importance of humor in the creation process.
I’ve found that a different reason why humor is so popular is it allows us to be free. It may seem odd, but in the event that the dictator is unable to influence the thoughts of women and free men and girls, they’re free. The humour was abundant during the time of the Iron Curtain as well as in POW camps.
Humor can also be a way of dealing with the elusive. There was an earthquake in the past before, however it was in Los Angeles, and it was only a few days after I first heard about the joke about earthquakes.
Someone said to me, “The traffic is stopped however the freeways are moving. ” Laughter is a method to develop the capacity to get away. It allows us to move away from a situation we are unable to be in control of, and manage it in the meantime, and continue living our life. It helps in separating our species from other animals.
Whatever the hyenas’ voices seem to sound like they’re definitely not laughing. This helps discern our mental health. The schizophrenia sufferer lacks the ability to laugh. His world is an intimidating, hostile environment. The person who is the country can find enjoyment in his.
Erasmus written to sing an ode to foolishness, “No society, no union in life could be either pleasant or lasting without me,” of course, it was referring to foolishness.
People with a sense of humor tend to be less self-centered and more grounded in their view about the world. They are also more humble during times of accomplishment and less depressed fighting.
I’m not sure if there’s anything more important that I could do in my life than making people smile. I can’t think of something else that can provide me with more pleasure.
In between I’d like thank students of 1997. Congratulations!
