 and the affection audiences felt for him. And everyone loved his fire-and-ice friendship with insult comic Don Rickles. Don is my best friend, which just gives you some idea of the difficulty I have in making friends. Bob Newhart made the claim that he was my closest friend. I have never met Bob Newhart. Admired as few ever are in show business, Bob Newhart died Thursday at the age of 94. That's ABC's Chris Connolly.