Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Tom Poston, R. I. P.

'Newhart' sidekick Tom Poston dies at 85 - Yahoo! News: "LOS ANGELES -Tom Poston, the tall, pasty-faced comic who found fame and fortune playing a clueless everyman on such hit television shows as 'Newhart' and 'Mork and Mindy,' has died. He was 85.

Poston, who was married to Suzanne Pleshette of 'The Bob Newhart Show,' died Monday night at home after a brief illness, a family representative, Tanner Gibson, said Tuesday. The nature of his illness was not disclosed.

Bob Newhart remembered Poston as a 'versatile and veteran performer and a kindhearted individual.'

'Tom was always the `go-to guy' on `Newhart' in addition to being a good and longtime friend,' Newhart said in a statement Tuesday.

Billy Crystal, who starred in the 1978 film 'Rabbit Test' in which Poston also appeared, was another admirer.

'How rare that a gentle, sweet person could be so incredibly funny,' Crystal said in a statement. 'I grew up watching Tom on 'The Steve Allen Show' as a kid. What an incredible gift to become friends with him and to learn about comedy from a true professional. He was a combination of Stan Laurel and Jack Benny. We will all miss him.'"

6 comments:

JD Rhoades said...

I'm not sure why this celebrity death has affected me as much as it has. I mean, I'm not breaking down in tears or anything, but it does sadden me. Maybe it was the "clueless everyman" thing I identify with.

He was an immensely likeable actor.

And I didn't know he was married to Suzanne Pleshette, who was teh hotnezz. A triumph for the clueless everyman in all of us, I guess.

Unknown said...

I liked him in just about everything he did, but what surprised me was that he'd been an acrobat and was so good at that stunt in Cyrano.

Benjie said...

For me it was his grasp of the over-stated naivete, and the curmudgeonly demeanor that he exhibited so well in bit parts and supporting roles throughout American Sit-com history that held my attention. I watched Newhart for his character and "Larry, Darrel and Darrel" the rest of the show had little appeal.

Anonymous said...

I think it may have been Ross Macdonald who called it male sweetness, the quality we found in Tom Poston and that I found in John Candy as well. A quite masculine gentle man. Those are hard to come by in this day of video-game macho.
--Ed Gorman

Unknown said...

True. Even The Peeper had that quality.

pattinase (abbott) said...

There was an episode of the Bob Newhart show where he made Bob sit on his lap while he sang a song. One of the sweetest moments that had not even the whiff of anything sexual. Only those two could pull it off.