Bob Newhart, the beloved comedy legend who starred in two classic sitcoms, has died at 94.

Newhart’s death was confirmed by his publicist Jerry Digney, who said he died after a series of short illnesses, per Variety.

The beloved comedian was a fixture of television for decades as the star of two classic, self-titled sitcoms, The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart. In later years, he had memorable performances in the film Elf and The Big Bang Theory.

Newhart was born September 5, 1929 in Oak Park, Illinois. He received a degree from Loyola University Chicago, and was a Staff Sergeant in the US Army during the Korean War from 1952-1954.

After the war, he worked as an accountant and advertising copywriter. It was during this time he developed the comedy routines that would send him to stardom, playing the deadpan, soft-spoken “straight man” on one side of a phone conversation, reacting to absurd situations.

This act made him a hit on the stand-up circuit and formed the basis of his smash-hit live comedy album The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart. The album was the first comedy record to hit #1 on the Billboard Charts, at the time becoming the 20th best-selling album of all time.

It was also the first comedy album to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and Newhart also received the Grammy for Best New Artist. He continued to release successful albums throughout the ’60s and ’70s.

Newhart became a staple of classic television and had his own variety show, The Bob Newhart Show in 1961, which only ran for one season but won the Emmy Award for Best Comedy Series.