Bob Newhart

Bob Newhart recently gave an Interview on TV and I was once again amazed by the story of how his career in comedy just seemed to take off with very little preparation or experience when he was in his early 30s. I was wondering what to look for for extreme Good Luck (well, and talent).

Bob Newhart b. Sept. 5, 1929 9h10m Oak Park, IL
Sun in Virgo, Libra Ascendant, Libra Moon, Cancer MC

Like Ted Hughes, the poet I just looked at, at the opposite end of the scale here, Bob Newhart has a Bucket Shaped Chart with Saturn as the handle which really emphasizes Saturn's role in his life. It's in Sagittarius in the 3d House. Saturn can indicate fears, insecurities and delays in life. His successes came right after his 1st Saturn Return. The extra ambition and decision making power of the Saturn Return really kicked in here. Most astrologers read this house placement of Saturn as showing slow mental processes or inferiority complexes due to sibling rivalry. 3d House makes sense for communications, also indicates humor especially in connection with Sagittarius. Saturn indicates dry, understated humor, sometimes cutting. Neptune is also unaspected in Newhart's chart giving it extra power and Neptune rules work in Film and TV.

The Fun Part is watching the t-square in Newhart's chart in action. Pluto conjunct Cancer MC (career) is at the apex. Pluto can bring great crisis but sometimes great fame. Cancer MC can indicate a career in Cancer type activities like cooking or real estate but here it's ruler, the Moon, is conjunct the Ascendant, giving Public Appeal (Moon) to his personality (ASC). Cancer rules families, children, a sense of play and playfulness and often comes up in Comics' charts especially in aspect to Uranus and Mercury as it is here. It is squaring his Libra Ascendant opposite Uranus (sudden events and changes). Jupiter also trines Newhart's Ascendant which brings luck. It's in the house it rules, the 9th, which emphasizes humor and abstract thought. There's a conjunction of Mercury-Mars-Moon with Newhart's Ascendant from the 12th house. 12th house is good for actors, it describes people who like to escape behind a character role.

In 1960, his album, "The Button Down Mind of Bob Newhart" became an instant hit, beat out Elvis and/or Sinatra (I'm not sure which) in the Charts, and won an Emmy. His progressed Sun (ego projection) had just passed over his Mercury-Mars-Moon over the last 3 years and was approaching conjunction with his Ascendant so it would have been squaring his Pluto-MC (fame-career) and trining his Jupiter (Luck). At the same time, Saturn was passing over his IC filling out the empty leg of his t-square. This is considered a great time to start building a new life, usually it is thought to bring a bout of poverty or restriction. In a tension aspect with progressed Sun, Uranus, and Pluto it is explosive. Although they would never admit it, most astrologers would look at this combination plopping on the angles as they are and think that the client should just bend over and kiss his ass good-bye. In Newhart's case, this brought an explosion of the good kind, sky rocketing fame. His chart was also receiving beneficial trine and sextile aspects. Jupiter was trining his Progressed Sun. In addition to filling out the empty leg of the t-square, Saturn was also filling out a Grand Trine formation with Newhart's Sun trine Chiron-NN in Taurus. So, Success is stressful, boo hoo. It's just so cool that it brought such fulfillment to his ambitions rather than aching poverty the way I personally would have read it. Just a great example of the powers of an unaspected
Saturn. Well, transiting Jupiter (luck) was also passing over Newhart's Saturn that year too, bringing more protection.

The success in show business makes sense although I wouldn't have guessed it. His North Node is in Taurus, ruled by Venus. That shows a life purpose connected with the arts and money. Venus (Art, Love) is in Leo (Drama) in his 10th House. Venus also rules his Chart and his Moon. The Moon is conjunct his Ascendant (public personality) and rules his Midheaven (career). All this Venus accounts for his easy-going personality. The Virgo Sun in the 11th house is an easy going personality.

His skits often revolve around humorous phone conversations that he has with an imaginary person on the other end. Libra doesn't like to work alone, after all, and with those 12th house planets Newhart could probably imagine himself to be just about anywhere at any time. Mercury rules telephones and radio and it is conjunct his Ascendant. To repeat: His progressed Sun was just passing over this when he found success.

Looking back, it makes so much sense that the act that catapulted him to fame was through telephone conversations, although, but who would be able to read it to begin with through that Buttoned Down Mind (Gawd, that's just so Saturn in H3!)?