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Newhart's Tom Poston Dead at 85
This just in from Variety:
Tom Poston, who won an Emmy on The Steve Allen Show and was Emmy-nominated for Newhart, Mork and Mindy and Coach, died on Monday after a brief illness. He was 85. While best known for playing George Utley on Newhart and for making guest appearances on The Bob Newhart Show, Poston also had roles in a number of Broadway productions and touring companies (e.g., A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Bye, Bye Birdie), and his film credits included Princess Diaries II and Soldier in the Rain.
Poston is survived by his wife of six years, Suzanne Pleshette (also of Newhart fame), and two grown children from his second marriage. Donations may be made to the Motion Picture and Television Fund.
Matt here. For my money, Poston was one of television comedy's great go-to guys, always at the ready with the beleaguered, sheepish or hangdog look/line delivery. He will be missed.
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May 1, 2007 5:05 PM
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This is a sad loss for all of us. My condolences to his family.......
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May 1, 2007 5:14 PM
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This makes me very sad. I really liked him in just about everything I saw him in. 
I had no idea he was married to Susanne Pleshette!
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May 1, 2007 5:14 PM
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Wow, this is very sad TV news. I remember loving him when I used to watch Newhart reruns on TVLand as a kid. I always thought his line delivery was excellent. He will be missed.
Also had no idea he was married to Suzanne Pleshette. Wow! Guess that explains his guest appearances on the Bob Newhart Show.
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May 1, 2007 5:39 PM
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Actually, they married in 2001, long after The Bob Newhart Show (and Newhart, for that matter) were off the air.
I wish they'd put The Steve Allen Show out on DVD! Some of Poston's funniest moments were on that show! I often see him pop up in reruns on GSN! So funny!
The last I heard, Suzanne Pleshette was battling lung cancer, so I expected to hear sad news about her before him. So sad! My heart goes out to Miss Pleshette and every else who loved him.
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May 1, 2007 5:47 PM
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RIP, Tom. He was one of the greats.
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May 1, 2007 7:12 PM
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Though Suzanne Pleshette appeared in the final episode of "Newhart", it can hardly be said that she is "also of Newhart fame".
Guess I'm nitpicking, as she was actually a star of "The Bob Newhart Show", not "Newhart".
I'm only typing that stuff to distract myself from the fact that Tom Poston has died... He was 100% unique, and one of the best character actors who ever lived.
I am glad his tv appearances will live forever!
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May 1, 2007 7:12 PM
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This is sad -- another person who has given me lots of laughs is gone.
In addition to all of the more well-remembered stuff that Tom Poston appeared in -- The Bob Newhart Show, Newhart, Grace Under Fire -- another role popped into my memory while thinking about him.
It was somewhat of a departure for him.
As a kid, I never missed The Love Boat on Saturday nights. On Christmas Eve of 1977, in the middle of the series' first season, Tom Poston guest starred in what I think was one of the best episodes.
My memory on this is sketchy -- and there's virtually no information about this out on the internet, so I can't cheat (!) -- so some of this plot info may be wrong, but here goes anyway...
Tom Poston played a forlorn widower who got involved in a storyline with Julie (Lauren Tewes) and her childhood friend (Anson Williams), who, to Julie's chagrin, kept ignoring her romantic overtures.
Well, Poston's character had a heart attack (or something) at some point in the show, and in the course of trying to help, Williams' character revealed that, unbeknownst to Julie, he had become a priest!
(So, Julie's ego was soothed. It wasn't that Father Potsie didn't want her -- it was just that he wanted God more!)
Anyway, the downbeat widower character and health crisis gave Poston a chance to play a very different kind of character, and, as I recall, he played it wonderfully.
It showed that Poston was a great actor, as well as a great comic actor.
[As I said earlier -- and, yes, I'm being serious -- that was one of the better Love Boat episodes. It also had the great story in which a crabby old man (Will Geer) befriends a runaway girl. Man, I wish that show was on DVD.]
Gord: I'm glad to see you back! I was afraid you were serious about not posting anymore. (I even sent you a little pep talk message!)
I wish I had GSN! I would love to see all of those old celebrity game shows, like Match Game and Hollywood Squares. Unfortunately, GSN is on our digital cable only.
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May 1, 2007 7:54 PM
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It just broke my heart.
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May 1, 2007 8:18 PM
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Chappy: Good call on the Love Boat episode. I never would have remembered that, but it totally came back to me as I was reading your post. Yes, that was one of the better episodes of that show. Shows how versatile Tom Poston was.
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May 1, 2007 8:21 PM
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This is so sad. R.I.P. Tom.
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May 2, 2007 1:13 AM
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RIP Mr. Poston - you madee me laugh many times as I grew up and that is a rare gift!
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May 2, 2007 1:25 AM
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Yes, it is very sad...and it does also bother me that many News outlets (NBC Nightly News) get his and his wife's credits wrong!
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May 2, 2007 1:50 AM
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I've loved you on The Bob Newhart Show (where I'm guessing you met your future wife), Mork and Mindy, and Newhart (wish you'd won an Emmy for that show). I last saw you in Princess Diaries 2 (loved your performance there too). I guess you're now with Steve Allen, Louie Nye, and Don Knotts doing those wonderful Man on the Street interviews (with you always forgetting your name!).
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May 2, 2007 4:33 AM
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It is inevitable that our favorites will get older and leave us. That doesn't make it any less sad. Not only am I saddened by the loss of the great Tom Poston but the loss of Tommy Newsome this week reminds me of how we are losing traditions as well as people.
There will always be talented new people. It is as wrong to assume that new poeple won't be any good as it is to assume that older ones are irrrelevant. But sometimes to be witness to the pasing of something special is terribly disheartening. Look at the loss of "class" when Jay Leno decided to dismiss a tradition set by talented professionals like Ed McMahon by hiring a clueless dope like "Stuttering" John Melendez. Who will follow in Poston's footsteps? Jamie Kennedy? Tom Greene? Dane Cook? Heaven help us.
R.I.P. Tom
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May 2, 2007 5:27 AM
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