Bill Daily
Encyclopedia
Bill Daily is an American
comedian
and dramatic actor
, and a veteran of many television sitcoms. He is best known for playing astronaut Roger Healey on I Dream of Jeannie
and commercial airline navigator Howard Borden in The Bob Newhart Show
.
, where he spent the rest of his youth. Upon leaving Lane Technical High School
, Daily left home to try to carve out a life as a musician
, playing bass
with jazz band
s in numerous clubs across the Midwest
.
Bill was drafted into the Army and served in Korea with an artillery unit, later being transferred to an entertainment unit.
It was in his traveling-musician days that Daily found his true calling: comedy
. He began to do stand-up
in the same clubs he had once filled with music, and he soon moved up in the comedy ranks to the point where he was playing some of the bigger clubs in the country.
After graduating from the Goodman Theatre School
, Daily worked for the NBC
television station in Chicago, WMAQ
, as an announcer and floor manager. He eventually became a staff director. Daily recently recalled for PBS
how one day, preparing for a Chicago-area Emmy Award
telecast, he asked a young local comedian to come up with a routine about press agent
s. The bit, "Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue," became an early hit for the performer—a young Bob Newhart
.
Television executives liked Daily's clean-cut looks and superb comic timing (due to his brief role as Steve Allen
's announcer/sidekick on his daily syndicated talk show in 1964), so by the mid-1960s he earned guest spots on sitcoms like My Mother the Car
, The Farmer's Daughter
, and Bewitched
. Veteran sitcom writer Sidney Sheldon
noticed Daily in one of his myriad small roles, and decided that he would be perfect for a character in his new sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie
. Looking back, it was the moment that made Daily's career.
The part on Jeannie was that of a United States Army Corps of Engineers
test pilot
and NASA
astronaut
named Roger Healey, who would be sidekick
and best friend to Larry Hagman
's main character, Tony Nelson. It was a dream part for Daily, who made playing Healey look effortless; it was said that Daily never won any awards for his portrayals because he made it look too easy—people thought he was simply playing himself. While Daily enjoyed his work on Jeannie, Hagman decidedly did not. Daily was witness to multiple Hagman tantrums on the set, but he and Barbara Eden
stood behind Hagman, citing a substance problem and the progressively poorer scripts on Jeannie as the roots of Hagman's fits.
In 1972, two years after Jeannie was canceled, Daily was back at work and back in an aviator's uniform, in what is perhaps his signature role—commercial-airline navigator (later cargo airline navigator) Howard Borden in The Bob Newhart Show
. Borden, who lived across the hall from Bob Newhart
's Bob Hartley character, was a divorced father struggling to care for his son while keeping his flying schedule. Daily would also occasionally serve as a panelist on the 1970s CBS game show
The Match Game
, more often than not giving bizarre answers that seldom matched those of the contestants. After Richard Dawson's departure, Daily was a semi-regular in the lower-tier middle seat for the last three-plus years of the show's CBS and syndicated run. After six years of success, The Bob Newhart Show ended its run.
For the two years that followed The Bob Newhart Show, Daily returned to stand-up, but in 1980, after years of making a living as a second banana, Daily was offered his own show. Called Small and Frye, the show featured Daily as a neurotic doctor; it lasted only three months before being canceled. In 1988, Daily tried his hand again at starring roles, this time as another doctor on the sitcom Starting From Scratch. It fared only mildly better than Frye, and was canceled after one season. Daily's most notable post-Newhart role was another supporting one, that of Larry the Psychiatrist on the cult favorite ALF
(1986).
During the 1980s-1990s, Daily reprised his I Dream of Jeannie role of Roger Healey in two made-for-TV reunion movies: I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later
(1985) and I Still Dream of Jeannie
(1991). Also in 1991, he reprised the role of Howard Borden in "The Bob Newhart Show: 19th Anniversary", which aired in February of that year. In 1997 he was a guest star on Caroline in the City
.
and stunt pilot in Hollywood, and his daughter is a retired teacher in Colorado
. He married again in the late 1970s to Vivian Sanchez, with whom he traveled on the road performing "Lover's Leap" for two years, and with whom he had one child, Becca. He later divorced Sanchez. In 1993 he married Becky Daily. He currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico
. Though retired, he still does some comedy and the occasional TV guest appearances. Also, from 2006 to February 2009, he was a guest host on radio station KBQI
, 107.9, in Albuquerque, on Thursday mornings.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
and dramatic actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, and a veteran of many television sitcoms. He is best known for playing astronaut Roger Healey on I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
and commercial airline navigator Howard Borden in The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...
.
Biography
Daily's father died when Bill was very young, and he was raised by his mother and various other family members. In 1939, Daily and his family moved to ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where he spent the rest of his youth. Upon leaving Lane Technical High School
Lane Technical College Prep High School
Albert G. Lane Technical College Preparatory High School , is a public, four-year, magnet high school located on the north side of Chicago...
, Daily left home to try to carve out a life as a musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, playing bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
with jazz band
Jazz band
A jazz band is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands usually consist of a rhythm section and a horn section, in the early days often trumpet, trombone, and clarinet with rhythm section of piano, banjo, bass or tuba, and drums.-Eras:SwingDuring the swing era in the mid-twentieth...
s in numerous clubs across the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
.
Bill was drafted into the Army and served in Korea with an artillery unit, later being transferred to an entertainment unit.
It was in his traveling-musician days that Daily found his true calling: comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
. He began to do stand-up
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
in the same clubs he had once filled with music, and he soon moved up in the comedy ranks to the point where he was playing some of the bigger clubs in the country.
After graduating from the Goodman Theatre School
Goodman Theatre
The Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of Chicago theatre, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization...
, Daily worked for the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television station in Chicago, WMAQ
WMAQ-TV
WMAQ-TV, channel 5, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Chicago, Illinois. WMAQ-TV's main studios and offices are located within the NBC Tower in the Streeterville neighborhood, with an auxiliary street-level studio on the Magnificent Mile at 401...
, as an announcer and floor manager. He eventually became a staff director. Daily recently recalled for PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
how one day, preparing for a Chicago-area Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
telecast, he asked a young local comedian to come up with a routine about press agent
Press agent
A press agent, or flack, is a professional publicist who acts on behalf of his or her client on all matters involving public relations. Press agents are typically employed by public personalities and organizations such as performers and businesses...
s. The bit, "Abe Lincoln vs. Madison Avenue," became an early hit for the performer—a young Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
.
Television executives liked Daily's clean-cut looks and superb comic timing (due to his brief role as Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Steve Allen may refer to:*Steve Allen , American musician, comedian, and writer*Steve Allen , presenter on the London-based talk radio station LBC 97.3...
's announcer/sidekick on his daily syndicated talk show in 1964), so by the mid-1960s he earned guest spots on sitcoms like My Mother the Car
My Mother the Car
My Mother the Car is an American fantasy sitcom which aired for a single season on NBC between September 14, 1965 and September 6, 1966. A total of thirty episodes were produced by United Artists Television....
, The Farmer's Daughter
The Farmer's Daughter (TV series)
The Farmer's Daughter is an American situation comedy series that was produced by Screen Gems Television and aired on ABC from September 20, 1963 to April 22, 1966. It was sponsored by Lark cigarettes and Clairol for whom the two leading stars often appeared at show's end promoting the products...
, and Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
. Veteran sitcom writer Sidney Sheldon
Sidney Sheldon
Sidney Sheldon was an Academy Award-winning American writer. His TV works spanned a 20-year period during which he created The Patty Duke Show , I Dream of Jeannie and Hart to Hart , but he became most famous after he turned 50 and began writing best-selling novels such as Master of the Game ,...
noticed Daily in one of his myriad small roles, and decided that he would be perfect for a character in his new sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
. Looking back, it was the moment that made Daily's career.
The part on Jeannie was that of a United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
and NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
named Roger Healey, who would be sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
and best friend to Larry Hagman
Larry Hagman
Larry Martin Hagman is an American film and television actor, producer and director known for playing J.R. Ewing in the 1980s primetime television soap opera Dallas and Major Anthony "Tony" Nelson in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early life and career:Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas...
's main character, Tony Nelson. It was a dream part for Daily, who made playing Healey look effortless; it was said that Daily never won any awards for his portrayals because he made it look too easy—people thought he was simply playing himself. While Daily enjoyed his work on Jeannie, Hagman decidedly did not. Daily was witness to multiple Hagman tantrums on the set, but he and Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden is an American film and television actress and singer who is best known for her starring role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.-Early years:...
stood behind Hagman, citing a substance problem and the progressively poorer scripts on Jeannie as the roots of Hagman's fits.
In 1972, two years after Jeannie was canceled, Daily was back at work and back in an aviator's uniform, in what is perhaps his signature role—commercial-airline navigator (later cargo airline navigator) Howard Borden in The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show
The Bob Newhart Show is an American situation comedy produced by MTM Enterprises, which aired 142 original episodes on CBS from September 16, , to April 1, . Comedian Bob Newhart portrayed a psychologist having to deal with his patients and fellow office workers...
. Borden, who lived across the hall from Bob Newhart
Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart , known professionally as Bob Newhart, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Noted for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery, Newhart came to prominence in the 1960s when his album of comedic monologues The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart was a worldwide...
's Bob Hartley character, was a divorced father struggling to care for his son while keeping his flying schedule. Daily would also occasionally serve as a panelist on the 1970s CBS game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
The Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
, more often than not giving bizarre answers that seldom matched those of the contestants. After Richard Dawson's departure, Daily was a semi-regular in the lower-tier middle seat for the last three-plus years of the show's CBS and syndicated run. After six years of success, The Bob Newhart Show ended its run.
For the two years that followed The Bob Newhart Show, Daily returned to stand-up, but in 1980, after years of making a living as a second banana, Daily was offered his own show. Called Small and Frye, the show featured Daily as a neurotic doctor; it lasted only three months before being canceled. In 1988, Daily tried his hand again at starring roles, this time as another doctor on the sitcom Starting From Scratch. It fared only mildly better than Frye, and was canceled after one season. Daily's most notable post-Newhart role was another supporting one, that of Larry the Psychiatrist on the cult favorite ALF
ALF (TV series)
ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
(1986).
During the 1980s-1990s, Daily reprised his I Dream of Jeannie role of Roger Healey in two made-for-TV reunion movies: I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later
I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later
I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later is a 1985 made-for-television reunion film based on the 1965-70 series I Dream of Jeannie which aired on NBC on October 20, 1985 and produced by Columbia Pictures Television....
(1985) and I Still Dream of Jeannie
I Still Dream of Jeannie
I Still Dream of Jeannie is a 1991 made-for-television reunion film based on the 1965-70 series I Dream of Jeannie which aired on NBC on October 20, 1991 and produced by Columbia Pictures Television....
(1991). Also in 1991, he reprised the role of Howard Borden in "The Bob Newhart Show: 19th Anniversary", which aired in February of that year. In 1997 he was a guest star on Caroline in the City
Caroline in the City
Caroline in the City is an American situation comedy that ran from September 21, 1995 to April 26, 1999 on the NBC television network. It starred Lea Thompson as cartoonist Caroline Duffy. The series premiered in the two-hour Thursday night block led by Friends.-Premise:Caroline Duffy is a...
.
Personal life
Daily married his first wife, Patricia Anderson, in 1949. In 1976, Pat and Bill divorced. Daily has two adopted children, a son, Patrick, and a daughter, Kimberley. His son is a key gripKey grip
In the United States and many parts of the world in film-making, the key grip is the head of the grip department and chief rigging technician on the set. Using light, he or she is in charge of the shadows of light, the movement of the camera, the placing of cameras on any stationary, moving,...
and stunt pilot in Hollywood, and his daughter is a retired teacher in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. He married again in the late 1970s to Vivian Sanchez, with whom he traveled on the road performing "Lover's Leap" for two years, and with whom he had one child, Becca. He later divorced Sanchez. In 1993 he married Becky Daily. He currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
. Though retired, he still does some comedy and the occasional TV guest appearances. Also, from 2006 to February 2009, he was a guest host on radio station KBQI
KBQI
KBQI is a radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, owned by Clear Channel. It has a contemporary country music format. It takes its name from the I-40 and I-25 interchange near downtown Albuquerque that is locally known as "the Big I"...
, 107.9, in Albuquerque, on Thursday mornings.