{"id":30119,"date":"2023-11-17T10:54:41","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T15:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=30119"},"modified":"2024-12-16T16:31:38","modified_gmt":"2024-12-16T21:31:38","slug":"bob-newhart-says-his-role-in-elf-outranks-any-characters-hes-ever-played","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2023\/11\/bob-newhart-says-his-role-in-elf-outranks-any-characters-hes-ever-played.html","title":{"rendered":"Bob Newhart Said His Role in ‘Elf’ Outranked Any Character He Ever Played"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"bob<\/a>
Warner Bros. Entertainment\/YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Television legend Bob Newhart had nothing but enthusiasm for and fond memories of playing Papa Elf to Will Ferrell\u2019s starry-eyed Buddy in \u201cElf.\u201d\u00a0 Just before he passed away in 2024, Newhart shared in an email interview with CNN, \u201cWithout question, the part of Papa Elf outranks, by far, any role I may have ever played.\u201d<\/p>\n

That proclamation was no small thing coming from the actor, who enjoyed the lead part in two iconic, long-running television sitcoms in the \u201960s and \u201980s, namely \u201cThe Bob Newhart Show\u201d and \u201cNewhart.\u201d The actor said he knew that \u201cElf\u201d was going to be part of the pantheon of beloved and timeless holiday classics from the first read of the script.<\/p>\n

He said, later adding that he told his wife that the movie was going to be another \u2018Miracle on 34th Street,\u2019 \u201cMy agent sent me the script, and I fell in love with it.\u201d The comparison is fitting. \u201cElf\u201d is among the select few beloved Christmas movies set in New York City as Ferrell\u2019s Buddy the Elf travels from the North Pole, where Newhart\u2019s Papa Elf raised him, to the Big Apple to meet his real father, a grumpy business executive played by the late James Caan.<\/a><\/p>\n