Tony Randall

Tony Randall Born February 26, 1920 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Died May 17, 2004 in New York City, New York, USA (pneumonia following heart surgery) Birth Name Arthur Leonard Rosenberg Height 5' 8" (1.73 m) Tony Randall was born on February 26, 1920 in Tulsa, Oklahoma as Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg. He attended Tulsa Central High School and later Northwestern University and New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. After graduating, he starred in two plays: George Bernard Shaw's 'Candida' alongside Jane Cowl and Emlyn Williams' 'The Corn Is Green' alongside Ethel Barrymore. After four years with the United States Army Signal Corps in World War II, Randall found work at Montgomery County's Olney Theatre before heading back to New York City to continue his acting career. During the 1940s, Randall appeared mostly in supporting roles in Broadway plays. He was given his first leading role in 1955 with 'Inherit the Wind'. Randall managed to nab a Tony Award nomination for his starring role in 1958's 'Oh, Captain!', although the play itself bombed. His first role in a feature film came about in 1957, playing a supporting character in the Ginger Rogers vehicle Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957). The same year, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his role as the titular writer for television advertising in the satirical comedy Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957). Randall also lent his support to the three famous Doris Day-Rock Hudson pairings Pillow Talk (1959), Lover Come Back (1961), and Send Me No Flowers (1964), securing Golden Globe nominations for the former two. Randall worked quite prolifically throughout the 1960s; notable roles include a public relations employee in the Marilyn Monroe romantic musical Let's Make Love (1960), seven quite different characters in the oddball 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), iconic detective Hercule Poirot in The Alphabet Murders (1965), an architect who inadvertently releases a djinn in the fantasy The Brass Bottle (1964), and a man who lives in an underwater house with his family in the adventure Hello Down There (1969). Randall's first major television role was as a history teacher on Mister Peepers (1952); he joined the cast in 1955. After the series ended, he had numerous guest spots on such shows as The United States Steel Hour (1953), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962), Love, American Style (1969), and Here's Lucy (1968). He wouldn't return to TV in a major role until 1970, when he played sardonic neat freak Felix Unger in ABC's The Odd Couple (1970) opposite Jack Klugman. He earned Emmy nominations for each season, finally winning in 1975 for its last. He later starred in The Tony Randall Show (1976) as a Philadelphia judge, and Love, Sidney (1981) as a gay artist. The former earned him one Golden Globe nomination and the latter earned him two. He reunited with Jack Klugman for the 1993 TV movie The Odd Couple: Together Again (1993). Both during and after his stints on TV, Randall had small roles in a few well-known films such as Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), The King of Comedy (1982), My Little Pony: The Movie (1986), and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). He continued to guest-star on television shows, but would never return to the small screen as a leading man. He also continued to work on-stage, albeit infrequently. Randall passed away in his sleep on May 17, 2004 of pneumonia he had contracted following coronary bypass surgery in December 2003. He is survived by his wife, Heather Harlan, whom he wed in 1995, and their two children. Randall had previously been married to Florence Gibbs from 1938 until her death in 1992.

Jack Klugman Biography Born April 27, 1922 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Died December 24, 2012 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA (prostate cancer) Birth Name Jacob Joachim Klugman Height 5' 9" (1.75 m) As a film character actor, Klugman was the epitome of the everyman. He was one of the pioneers of television acting in the 1950s, and is best remembered for his 1970s TV work as Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple (1970) and as the medical examiner on Quincy M.E. (1976). - IMDb Mini Biography By: Ray Hamel Spouse Peggy Crosby (2 February 2008 - 24 December 2012) (his death) Brett Somers (1956 - September 2007) (her death) (2 children) Parents Max Klugman Rose Klugman Served on the board of directors of New York's National Actors Theatre. Lived with Barbara Neugass from 1978 to 1992. Their relationship ended in 1992. She claimed Jack Klugman promised her lifetime support as his common-law wife. One of the reasons her case failed was because Klugman was still married at the time. On 1 December 1999, a Los Angeles jury rejected an $881,000 palimony claim by her. Won two Emmys for The Odd Couple (1970). Married Peggy Crosby, who was ex-wife of Bing Crosby's son, Phillip Crosby. Father of sons Adam Klugman and David Klugman. Stepfather of Leslie Klein. Attended Carnegie-Mellon University. He was once part-owner of a racehorse named "Jaklin Klugman". He reunited with Tony Randall on Broadway in 1998 for Neil Simon's "The Sunshine Boys". Was nominated for Broadway's 1960 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) for "Gypsy". Uncle of Deborah Klugman and brother of Maurice Klugman. Appears in the original film, 12 Angry Men (1957), which was remade with Jack Lemmon. Klugman later appeared in the television series, The Odd Couple (1970), which was based on the film The Odd Couple (1968) in which Lemmon co-starred as Felix Unger. In April 2012 he performed "12 Angry Men" at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ, in another role. As a film character actor, Klugman was the epitome of the everyman. He was one of the pioneers of television acting in the 1950s and is best remembered for his 1970s television work as Oscar Madison on The Odd Couple (1970) and as the medical examiner on Quincy M.E. (1976). Was believed to have been involved in a long and bitter feud with actor Norman Fell that lasted over 40 years. However, it was later revealed by Klugman that he and Fell got along fine and the feud was nothing more than a friendly rivalry. Wed girlfriend Peggy Crosby at The Little Brown Church in Studio City, California (2 February 2008). The last surviving juror from the cast of the original 12 Angry Men (1957), Juror number five. Diagnosed with throat cancer in 1974 culminated with vocal surgery in 1989, which left Klugman's voice harsh and gravelly. Both his cancer and scratchy voice were written into several of his later film and television roles, including The Odd Couple: Together Again (1993), Dear God (1996), and Diagnosis Murder (1993). He and Tony Randall performed together in Appointment with Adventure: The Pirate's House (1955), from the "Golden Age of Television," 15 years before they did the classic sitcom, The Odd Couple (1970). Competed in Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes (1977) in billiards. He won the match but lost by default because he forgot to call the final shot as per the rules. Was roasted on the The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts (1998). Passed away on same day as actor Charles Durning. He enjoyed betting on the horses from the tender age of 15. His own thoroughbred, "Jacklin Klugman", finished third in the 1980 Kentucky Derby. Ended up making more money from his 10% ownership in The Odd Couple (1970) than from the $7000 per episode he received during the show's final season. Was no stranger to hard times from birth: as a child he had been made to work as a street peddler, and during especially lean stints in his early acting career he would sell his blood for $5 a pint. He considered Henry Fonda to be the greatest actor he ever worked with. Appeared in James Sweet's "The Value of Names" at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ. [November 2006] Performed a one-man show "An Evening with Jack Klugman" at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, California, Sept. 12 - Oct. 19, 2003. [September 2003] His favorite episode of The Odd Couple (1970) was The Odd Couple: Password (1972). He and Brett Somers legally separated in 1977. Due to religious beliefs, they did not divorce and remained married until her death. Personal Quotes (6) [on his great friend Tony Randall] The best friend a man could ever have. I loved him dearly. He was a gentleman in the truest sense of the word. I will miss him for the rest of my days. [on former roommate Charles Bronson] You remembered him. He had an amazing presence. [on working with Tony Randall] There's nobody better to improvise with than Tony. A script might say,"Oscar teaches Felix football". There would be four blank pages. He would provoke me into reacting to what he did. Mine was the easy part. [on the hardships of his life] Poverty can teach lessons that privilege cannot. [on smoking] I saw John Garfield smoke. He was my idol, so I smoked. I even smoked like him . . . The only really stupid thing I ever did in my life was to start smoking. [on what made Quincy M.E. (1976) a hit] Quincy was a muckraker, like Upton Sinclair, who wrote about injustices. He was my ideal as a youngster, my author, my hero. Everybody said, "Quincy' will never be a hit.". I said, "You guys are wrong. He's two heroes in one, a cop and a doctor". A coroner has power. He can tell the police commissioner to investigate a murder. I saw the opportunity to do what I'd gotten into the theater to do--give a message. They were going to do cops and robbers with "Quincy". I said, "You promised me I could do causes". They said, "Nobody wants to see that" I said, "Look at the success of 60 Minutes (1968). They want to see it if you present it as entertainment".