Why Judd Apatow made a documentary short about Bob Newhart and Don Rickles
'To me, the point of this documentary is about kindness,' says Apatow, who co-directed 'Bob and Don: A Love Story' with Michael Bonfiglio,
Judd Apatow has been a student and devotee of comedy since childhood. As a teen, he began performing stand-up and even cold-called comedians and managed to gain interviews with everyone from Steve Allen to Jerry Seinfeld and Steven Wright.
In recent years, Apatow has directed documentaries about Garry Shandling and George Carlin. Now he has released a short documentary, co-directed with Michael Bonfiglio, about the long and close friendship between two dramatically different comedic minds, Bob Newhart and Don Rickles.
The film features old performance clips and TV interviews of both men along with home movies, frequently taken on their joint vacations. Newhart, who is 94, also sat for fresh interviews, including some with his wife Ginny, who died in April after filming. Rickles died at 90 in 2017 and his widow Barbara died in 2021.
Apatow, who is next co-directing a documentary about comedian Maria Bamford, spoke by phone recently about this documentary short.
Q. How did this come about?
I grew up on the “Bob Newhart Show” and “Bob Newhart,” and I’d met him a few times and he’s always hilarious and cool to hang out with. So when he said he wanted to make a documentary about their friendship and to remind people about the greatness of Don Rickles I instantly said yes, it didn’t matter what else I was working on.
There was no discussion of how long it would be. We did the interviews and as we were editing it I thought it was most emotionally effective as an under 30-minute short, especially because there have been major documentaries about Bob and about Don that covered everything for each of them so I tried to make this very specific about how their families love each other.
Q. Do you have any friendships like theirs?
I’m on the road right now opening up for Adam Sandler. When I was young, David Spade lived down the street and Rob Schneider lived across the street and here we are all out on the road together doing comedy shows 35 years later.
Q. Did making the movie make you appreciate your friendships more?
I think I made the movie because I care about these friendships. Everything I do tends to talk about how I’d like the world to be. I wish everyone would be more like Don Rickles’ and Bob Newhart’s families.
Q. Did you have a favorite moment from the documentary?
To me, the point of this documentary is about kindness. There was no drama or terrible stories about a fight they had. Not everyone has this rise, fall, disaster, comeback story. Some people just work hard and are nice and it’s good to remind people that this also exists.
I loved the idea that most entertainers in that era went to Las Vegas to get into trouble and cheat on their wives and they didn’t want to do that so they just hung out with each other. It was so sweet and it shows you the kind of people they are.
Q. Did you have to be judicious in what you showed of Don’s material?
I was certainly aware there were jokes we wouldn’t want to show — he worked in a very different time where he could say, “It’s all OK as long as I insult everyone.” It was generally accepted and not even that shocking. Bob said people would always run up to Don and say, “Do me, do me.”
Q. Their style and subjects are such a stark contrast. What about their approach to performing?
They were so different. Bob is an amazing writer, everything he did was very meticulous where Don was very in the moment. When he got off stage it was almost like he didn’t know where he was or what happened. Bob said he reminded him of a funny line Don had said and Don didn’t remember having said it, and even if it killed he wouldn’t write it down and do it again.
Q. How important were the home photos and video footage that went beyond their performances and TV interviews?
Viewers are moved by how long they were friends and the depths of their friendship and the footage gave a real peek inside their relationship. It feels like the footage we all had as kids when we went on vacations with our families, which made it easy to relate to. People have said this reminds me of my parents or grandparents.
There’s something we all could learn from the deep connection they had.