Comedian Bob Newhart’s wife Ginnie Newhart passes away at 82

Ginnie Newhart, the wife of comedian Bob Newhart, has died at the age of 82 after a long battle with an unknown illness, per Associated Press.

Her publicist Jerry Digney confirmed the news in a statement sharing that Newhart died Sunday, April 23rd, 2023, in Los Angeles after a long illness.

The Elf actor, 93, also shared the news in a statement on Twitter. “We lost our beloved Ginnie Quinn Newhart - Wife, Mother and Grandmother on April 23rd, 2023 after a long battle with illness. She was our rock and we miss her terribly.”

The news comes three months after the couple celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

In 2019, Bob revealed the secret to their decades-long marriage: laughter.

“I think laughter is vital. It’s as vital as breathing. It gets you through difficult areas,” he told The Day that year. “Laughter is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world. It’s like music, of a kind.”

Ginnie is credited with providing the idea for the 1990’s Newhart finale that included a clever call-back to her husband’s The Bob Newhart Show. That series ran for six seasons from 1972 to 1978 and helped cement Bob’s status as a legend of television comedies.

The later show, which featured Newhart as a Vermont innkeeper, ended with him waking up in Chicago next to his on-screen wife from The Bob Newhart Show, revealing the second series to be dream.

The pair share children Robert Jr., Timothy, Courtney and Jennifer, as well as 10 grandchildren.