 There was a fun Minnesota tie to Newhart's rise to stardom with that comedy album, The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart. Newhart always said he owed part of his success to the legendary WCCO radio announcer Howard Vikan. Howard thought Newhart's album was hysterical and would play bits of it on the air. At the time, WCCO was the most listened to radio station in the state and most respected in the country.