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This Week’s
"Odd Couple" Fans’ll Never Forget Tony Randall "On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence…" That may be the most well-known program preface in television history. On May 18, the actor who portrayed the lovable, but infuriating, Felix Unger in the hit sitcom, "The Odd Couple," died. Tony Randall was 84. His health in recent years had been failing. Earlier this year he had a bout with pneumonia following bypass surgery in December. In 1997, while covering an assignment for this newspaper, I got the opportunity to meet and briefly chat with Randall when he came to Canarsie High School to speak to a performing arts class. I’d admired Randall for his memorable portrayal of the neurotic neat freak from the hilarious sitcom. I told him that my younger brother and I spent many half-hours watching "The Odd Couple." Sometimes, as we roared with laughter, our mother came into the room to see what was going on. He modestly said it was the writers who wrote the funny lines. I said, "Yeah, but it was you and Jack Klugman who delivered them so well." He smiled and thanked me for the compliment. When I interviewed him, his remarks revealed his love for the theater and his pride in the New York-based National Actors Theatre (NAT). He said, "I wanted to create a theater company that would present fresh adaptations of well-known, time-honored works." He briefly criticized the federal government for its lack of support for the arts, compared to other Western nations. NAT receives some public money, but is mostly privately subsidized. Six years earlier, Randall achieved a personal dream when he launched the not-for-profit company that casts top actors performing in classic plays. His trip to Canarsie was part of NAT’s educational program in which Randall visited New York City public schools to boost students’ interest in the theater. He worked as artistic director and, on occasion, acted or directed at the New York-based company. For five years, in the television series, adapted from Neil Simon’s hit Broadway play, Randall, who won an Emmy in the show’s final season, portrayed finicky neat-freak, Felix Unger, opposite Jack Klug-man, as his sloppy sportswriter roommate Oscar Madison. The show’s introduction asked, "Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?" The answer, of course, was "No," which was the show’s premise. Years before homosexuality gained a modicum of acceptance in our society, Felix Unger’s sexuality was a tad ambiguous. To discourage any confusion in the minds of prime time viewers, the character who was fastidious, culturally diverse and indifferent to popular sports — clichés attributed to homosexuals — Felix constantly pined for a reunion with his ex-wife and dated a mixed bag of women. In addition to his flawless characterization, Randall’s personal cultural tastes were reflected in episodes that featured stars from the worlds of opera and ballet. After the show was canceled for weak ratings in 1975, it gained new status and popularity in syndication, where it currently runs in almost every major market. When Randall accepted his Emmy, for the just-canceled show, he offered the memorable line, "I sure am glad I won. Now if I only had a job." Some of the most memorable "Odd Couple" moments took place in courtroom scenes. But there’s one episode that fans probably remember best. Felix is defending himself when a female character testifies she "assumed" Felix was trying to scalp a theater ticket. He suddenly interrupts and offers an uproarious, yet very sensible defense that clears him of the charge. Felix writes "ASSUME" on a blackboard, then divides it into three parts and firmly states, "When you ASSUME, you make an ASS out of U and ME." I’ve seen it dozens of times and still laugh each time I hear that line. Tony Randall’s gone, but there’s no reason to assume he won’t be fondly remembered as finicky, fussy, fastidious Felix Unger. Who knows? Randall could get in trouble if his alter ego takes over while strolling around Heaven and starts cleaning up the angel dust, something his character once did in a dream sequence.
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