The Odd Couple (1970 TV series)
The show, which stars Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison, was the first of several sitcoms developed by Garry Marshall for Paramount Television.The success of the 1968 film (adapted from the stage play), which starred Jack Lemmon as Felix and Walter Matthau as Oscar, catalyzed the production of the television show.Marshall also disliked the practice; theater veteran Randall particularly resented the process of having to wait several seconds between punchlines to allot enough space for the laughter to be inserted.The production team eventually experimented with omitting the laugh track for the first season's 21st episode, "Oscar's New Life" (laughter was subsequently added for syndication).By the second season, ABC relented; the show was subsequently filmed with three cameras and performed like a stage play in front of a live studio audience, with laugh sweetening completed during post-production.[4] Randall and Klugman both enjoyed the spontaneity that came with performing in front of a live audience; any missed or blown lines usually passed without stopping (they would be reshot during post-production).In addition, it gave the show a distinct edge that had been lost during the first season (although the actors had to deliver lines more loudly, for they were on a larger sound stage, as opposed to a quiet studio with only minimal crew present).The Pigeon Sisters (Monica Evans as Cecily and Carole Shelley as Gwendolyn, reprising their roles from the Broadway stage play and the film) make four appearances during the first season.The two other major supporting characters, Officer Murray Greshler and Myrna Turner, Oscar's secretary, are portrayed by Al Molinaro and Penny Marshall (Garry's sister), respectively.Character actor Richard Stahl appears in nine episodes as, among other things, a florist, a pet-shop owner, a psychiatrist, a volunteer fireman and a non-denominational monk, never playing the same role twice.Veteran character actor Herbie Faye appears in six episodes, including four in which he plays Harvey Faffner, the superintendent of Oscar and Felix's apartment building.Neil Simon (the author of the play on which the series is based) makes an uncredited cameo appearance during the fifth season in "Two on the Aisle",[8] as does Bob Hope in "The Hollywood Story".The end of the title sequence for the first three seasons shows the duo sitting on a park bench in front of the William Tecumseh Sherman Monument in Grand Army Plaza at West 58th Street and Fifth Avenue, where Oscar throws his lunch wrapper on the ground while Felix beckons him to pick it up.However, in an episode from the fifth season, titled "Our Fathers," Oscar remembers briefly meeting Felix when they were children, while their families were staying in the same hotel in Chicago, Illinois.For the first three seasons, the closing credits consist of more of the duo's antics, such as Felix talking to a man repairing a street clock, and Oscar indiscreetly looking at a peep show.";[10] in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Klugman and Randall reprised their Odd Couple characters in a series of commercials for Eagle Snacks, although in some of these spots, they called each other by their real names.Minolta countered by hiring Randall, who was appearing on the NBC sitcom, Love, Sidney, to do a commercial for that company's copiers, in which he channeled his Felix Unger, mentioning that he "can change copy colors without getting that disgusting black powder all over my hands!".In the film, Felix tries to help Oscar recover following surgery; he also becomes overly involved in his daughter Edna's upcoming wedding, much to her and Gloria's (Barbara Barrie) dismay.[citation needed] In 1982, as a hedge against the 1981 Writers Guild of America strike, ABC aired an African-American version of The Odd Couple, starring Ron Glass as Felix and Demond Wilson as Oscar.Also included as extras are Emmy Awards speeches, bloopers, TV interviews with the show's stars and a clip of The Odd Couple on Broadway.
Tony RandallJack KlugmanThe Odd CoupleNeil SimonGarry MarshallJerry BelsonNeal Heftilist of episodesParamount TelevisionThe Oddball CoupleThe New Odd CoupleThe Odd Couple IIsitcomManhattanTV Guide100 Greatest Episodes of All TimePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series1968 filmthe stage playJack LemmonWalter MatthauMickey RooneyMartin BalsamDean MartinArt CarneyBroadwayJerry ParisBob BrunnerMark RothmanLowell GanzParamount Studiossingle-cameralaugh tracktheatersweeteningNielsen ratingssyndicationgo-go dancersmeatloaffranks and beanscole slawLondon broilcorned beef sandwichesdelicatessenMonica EvansCarole ShelleyJoan HotchkisBill QuinnElinor DonahueJanis HansenBrett SomersalimonyWillie AamesLeif GarrettPamelyn FerdinAl MolinaroPenny MarshallAlice GhostleyJane DuloGarry WalbergLarry GelmanRyan McDonaldQuincy, M.E.Richard StahlHerbie FayePhil LeedsElvia AllmanTina AndrewsJohn FiedlerLeonard BarrHoward CosellRoone ArledgeJaye P. MorganMartina ArroyoRichard FredricksfrenemiesBobby RiggsBillie Jean KingPaul WilliamsDick ClarkBob HopeEdward VillellaMonty HallRichard DawsonWolfman JackDavid SteinbergHugh HefnerRodney Allen RippyJohn SimonBubba SmithDeacon JonesJohn BarbourAllen LuddenBetty WhiteMarilyn HorneRoy ClarkJean SimmonsPeggy ReaPernell RobertsJack SooReta ShawBayonneRob ReinerVictor BuonoThe ExorcistAlbert BrooksWilliam RedfieldBuffaloEmmy AwardsGolden GlobemaypoleWilliam Tecumseh Sherman MonumentGrand Army PlazaFifth AvenueBill Woodsonjury dutyChicago, IllinoisColumbus Circlepublic service announcementsYoplaityogurtEagle SnacksThe Sunshine BoyscopiersMinoltaLove, Sidney