My hopes just went up already

As only one of my all-time favorite comedians ever is writing a memoir:

Could a book be called deadpan or button-down? It could, if Bob Newhart’s writing it.

The 75-year-old comedian has agreed to write a memoir, scheduled for publication in fall 2006. Hyperion describes the book, not yet titled, as a work of humour that will be "organized thematically and will include stories and anecdotes from throughout Bob Newhart’s life and career, as well as thoughts and observations on a multitude of topics."

"He is a national treasure," Hyperion Editor-in-Chief Will Schwalbe said in a statement Tuesday. "We are thrilled to be publishing his first-ever book, which promises to be every bit as funny and delightful as Bob Newhart himself."

And if, by some bizarre chance, you do not own his first two records, THE BUTTON-DOWN MIND and MORE FROM THE BUTTON-DOWN MIND, well, go get them.