Bill Daily, R.I.P.

Comic actor Bill Daily died September 4 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was 91 and during those 91 years, he was on television a ridiculous amount of time. Though best known for his sidekick roles on I Dream of Jeannie and The Bob Newhart Show, he was also a frequent guest on other shows and may have been in more unsold pilots than anyone else who ever lived.

I don't have any great stories about Bill.  He was a solid professional who was known for always being on time, always knowing his lines, always taking direction and always being liked by everyone around him.  The few times I met him, he seemed like the kind of actor who got hired because people just plain liked working with him.

Here's an obit that will tell you more about his busy career.  I just wanted to say that he seemed like a real great guy who managed to have a really great career.

P.S. Stu Shostak just told me that when he had Bill on his talk show, Bill disclosed that he was severely dyslexic and had to learn scripts by having someone read them to him…but he was a quick study.  That makes his career (and how much he worked) all that more impressive.