Surprising Stories from the Set of The Bob Newhart Show

Bill Daily didn’t accidentally make Howard Borden so high-strung on The Bob Newhart Show. He was actively encouraged to push the character in the opposite direction of Bob Hartley’s calm, restrained personality to maximize the contrast.

That creative choice paid off beautifully. Howard’s nervous energy, wild gestures, and constant agitation made Bob Hartley’s quiet reactions even funnier. The pairing became one of the show’s strongest dynamics, proving that exaggerated characters work best when grounded by someone steady.