Legendary American comedian Bob Newhart, known for his deadpan delivery and droll humour, passed away on Thursday morning at the age of 94. The comedian breathed his last at his Los Angeles residence following a series of short illnesses, his publicist revealed.

A former accountant, Newhart first made his mark in comedy with his 1960 record The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, for which he won two Grammy awards—Album of the Year and Best New Artist. He went on to star in the critically acclaimed shows The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart in the 70s and 80s.

In 2002 he became the fifth recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humour, following Richard Pryor, Jonathon Winters, Whoopi Goldberg and Carl Reiner. More recently, Newhart was known for his stint on the sitcom The Big Bang Theory as Arthur Jeffries, also known as Professor Proton. He won an Emmy for his performance on the show in 2013 at the age of 83.

Fans, friends and colleagues from across the globe have sent out heartfelt messages following the comedian’s passing.