Bill Daily of ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ and ‘The Bob Newhart Show’ dies at 91
HOLLYWOOD — Bill Daily, who portrayed astronaut Roger Healey on “I Dream of Jeannie” and airline pilot Howard Borden on “The Bob Newhart Show” has died, the stars of both series said tonight.
“Our favorite zany astronaut, Bill Dail, has passed,” “I Dream of Jeannie” star Barbara Eden tweeted. “Billy was wonderful to work with. He was a funny, sweet man that kept us all on our toes. I’m so thankful to have known and worked with that rascal. Until we meet again Billy, xo -B.”
Our favorite zany astronaut, Bill Daily has passed. Billy was wonderful to work with. He was a funny, sweet man that kept us all on our toes. I’m so thankful to have known and worked with that rascal. Until we meet again Billy, xo -B #RIPBillDaily pic.twitter.com/OVZjaWB9CP
— Barbara Eden (@Barbara_Eden) September 8, 2018
Newhart recalled that he and Daily had known each other since the 1ate 1950s, “when Bill was trying to break into standup and I was trying to break into radio.”
Bill Daily & I go back to Chicago in the 50’s. He and I were both trying to get into standup. Later, he joined the Bob Newhart Show. He was our bullpen guy – you could always go to him. He was one of the most positive people I’ve ever known. I will miss him dearly
— Bob Newhart (@BobNewhart) September 8, 2018
“I called him our bullpen man,” Newhart said. “Whenever we were having trouble with a script on the show, we’d have Bill make an appearance.”
Newhart said he had hoped to have Daily be a part of recent tributes to “The Bob Newhart Show” at the Television Academy, “but by then he was no longer traveling.”
“He was one of the most positive people I ever knew, and we’ll dearly miss him,” Newhart said.
Daily died Tuesday of natural causes in Santa Fe, New Mexico, his son, J. Patrick Daily, told The Hollywood Reporter. He was 91.