- This article is about the original Broadway play, For the 1968 movie adaptation - see The Odd Couple (film). The Odd Couple is a 1968 film written by Neil Simon, based on his play of the same name, and directed by Gene Saks. For the TV series - see The Odd Couple (TV series). The Odd Couple is a Television Situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 For other uses - see Odd Couple (disambiguation)
The Odd Couple was a hit 1965 Broadway play by Neil Simon, followed by a successful film and television series, as well as other derivative works and spin offs, many featuring one or more of the same actors. A play, or stageplay, is a form of Literature written by a Playwright, almost always consisting of Dialogue between Fictional characters Marvin Neil Simon (born July 4, 1927 in The Bronx, New York City) is an American Playwright and Screenwriter The plot concerns two mismatched room-mates, one uptight and the other slovenly.
Sources vary as to the origins of the play. Most sources claim that Simon was inspired to write the play when he saw his brother Danny Simon and theatrical agent Roy Gerber living together after recent divorces. Danny Simon ( December 18, 1918, New York City &ndash July 26, 2005, Portland Oregon) was an American television writer However, in the Mel Brooks biography It's Good to Be the King, author James Robert Parish claims that the play came about after Simon observed Brooks, in a separation from his first wife, living with writer Speed Vogel for three months. Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American director, Writer, Composer, Lyricist Vogel later wrote that Brooks had insomnia, "a brushstroke of paranoia," and "a blood-sugar problem that kept us a scintilla away from insanity. Insomnia is a symptom of a sleeping disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity "
Danny Simon, also a writer, took the first crack at the play, but later handed over the idea to Neil. Danny Simon ( December 18, 1918, New York City &ndash July 26, 2005, Portland Oregon) was an American television writer The show, directed by Mike Nichols, ran for 966 performances and won several Tony Awards, including Best Play. Mike Nichols (born November 6 1931) is an American television stage and Film director, writer and producer The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American Theatre and are presented
Felix Ungar, a neurotic, neat freak doctor, is thrown out by his wife, and moves in with Oscar Madison, a slovenly sportswriter. Felix Unger (or Ungar) was one of the principal characters in Neil Simon 's play The Odd Couple. Oscar Madison is a character in The Odd Couple, which began as a Broadway play, then was a film and then a television series Sports journalism is a form of Journalism that reports on Sports topics and events While the sports department within some Newspapers has been Ungar was played by Art Carney and Madison by Walter Matthau. Arthur William Matthew “Art” Carney ( November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an Academy Award - and Emmy Award -winning Walter John Matthau ( October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American award-winning Actor best known for his role Matthau was later replaced with Jack Klugman. Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman (born April 27 1922 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) is an American television and film actor known primarily for his roles in Sitcoms
The play and the film both spell Felix's name "Ungar", while the television series spells it "Unger".
Contents |
Characters
- Oscar Madison: A slovenly, recently divorced sportswriter.
- Felix Ungar: A fastidious, hypochondriac newswriter whose marriage is ending. (In the television series, he is a professional photographer, portraits a specialty. )
- Murray: A cop, one of Oscar and Felix's poker buddies. (In the television series, Murray's last name was revealed to be Greshler. )
- Roy: One of the poker buddies. Oscar's accountant.
- Speed: One of the poker buddies.
- Vinnie: One of the poker buddies.
- Cecily and Gwendolyn Pigeon: Oscar and Felix's upstairs neighbours, a pair of British sisters. The former is a divorcée, the latter a widow. Divorcée, or Divorcee, refers to a woman whose marriage ended in Divorce, a legal dissolution of marriage before death of either spouse WIDOW is a full-length Album recorded by British rock band Ritual released in 1983
Stage revivals
The Odd Couple was also revised by Neil Simon in 1985 for a female cast (Sally Struthers and Rita Moreno starred). Sally-Ann Struthers (born July 28, 1948) is a two-time Emmy-winning American actress and Spokesperson, known for her roles in Sitcoms Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a singer dancer and multiple award-winning actress It was based on the same story line and same lead characters, now called Florence Ungar and Olive Madison, the poker game becoming Trivial Pursuit and the Pigeon sisters becoming the Costazuela brothers (played in the original cast by Lewis J. Stadlen and Tony Shalhoub in his Broadway debut). Trivial Pursuit is a Board game in which progress is determined by a player's ability to answer general knowledge and Popular culture questions Lewis J Stadlen (born March 7, 1947) is an American Character actor. Anthony Marcus “Tony” Shalhoub (born October 9, 1953) is an American Television, Theater and Film Actor. The play ran on Broadway for 295 performances and was directed by Gene Saks. Gene Saks (born November 8, 1921) is an American Tony Award -winning stage and Film director.
In 1994 a version of the play moved to Glasgow and toured Scotland, starring Gerard Kelly as Felix and Craig Ferguson as Oscar. Glasgow (ˈglæzgoʊ is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Gerard Kelly (born 27 May 1959) is a Scottish actor who has appeared in many comedies most notably in City Lights, Craig Ferguson (born May 17, 1962) is a Scottish - American Television host, Stand-up comedian, Writer, and Kelly reprised the role of Felix at the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe, opposite Andy Gray. The Edinburgh Fringe (officially the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, commonly just The Fringe) is the world’s largest Arts festival. Andy Gray (born in 1960 is a Scottish actor and comedy writer
In a 1997 issue of Premiere Magazine, Billy Crystal and Robin Williams announced a possible stage revival, in anticipation of success of their film Fathers' Day. Premiere was an American and New York City -based film Magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U William Edward "Billy" Crystal (born March 14, 1948) is an American Golden Globe Award -nominated and Emmy Award -winning Robin McLaurim Williams (born July 21 1951 or 1952 is an American television stage and film actor and Comedian who has won an Academy Award for his performance Fathers' Day is a 1997 Comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, Julia When that film failed at the box office, the Crystal/Williams revival was quickly forgotten.
A similar announcement was made in Premiere in 2005 by Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, in light of their success on stage and screen as the leads in The Producers. Matthew Broderick (born March 21, 1962) is an American award-winning film and stage Actor who is best known for his roles as the title character Joseph “Nathan” Lane (born February 3, 1956) is a two-time Tony and Emmy Award-winning American actor of the stage and screen The Producers is a Comedy - musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks' 1968 film of the same name, Broderick and Lane played Felix and Oscar, respectively. The production opened at The Brooks Atkinson Theatre in New York on October 27, 2005. The Brooks Atkinson Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 256 West 47th Street in Manhattan. Events 312 - Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Lane was replaced for two weeks due to illness by Brad Garrett, who had previously played Murray. Brad Garrett (born April 14, 1960) is an Emmy Award winning American television/ voice Actor and Stand-up comedian.
Also around this time, Neil Simon rewrote The Odd Couple, updating it with more contemporary references and giving it the new title Oscar and Felix.
Film and TV adaptations
1968 film
In 1968 The Odd Couple was made into a highly successful film starring Jack Lemmon as Felix and Matthau (once more) as Oscar. The Odd Couple is a 1968 film written by Neil Simon, based on his play of the same name, and directed by Gene Saks. John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8 1925 &ndash June 27 2001 was an American Actor known principally for his comedic roles Most of the script from the play is the same, although the setting is expanded: instead of taking place entirely in Oscar's apartment, some scenes take place at various outside locations. The film was also written by Simon (who was nominated for an Academy Award) and was directed by Gene Saks. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. Gene Saks (born November 8, 1921) is an American Tony Award -winning stage and Film director.
In 1998 Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau reprised their roles for the film The Odd Couple II, produced by Neil Simon. The Odd Couple II is the 1998 sequel to 1968's The Odd Couple.
1970-1975 ABC sitcom
The success of the film was the basis for the 1970-75 ABC television series, starring Tony Randall as Felix and Jack Klugman as Oscar. The Odd Couple is a Television Situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 The American Broadcasting Company ( ABC) is an American Television network. The Odd Couple is a Television Situation comedy broadcast from September 24, 1970 to July 4, 1975 Tony Randall ( February 26, 1920 &ndash May 17, 2004) was an American comic and Actor. Jacob Joachim "Jack" Klugman (born April 27 1922 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania) is an American television and film actor known primarily for his roles in Sitcoms Klugman was familiar with the role as he had replaced Walter Matthau in the original Broadway run.
Randall and Klugman also reunited in 1993 for a made-for-TV reunion film based upon the series.
Animated series
DePatie-Freleng's The Oddball Couple was an animated version of Neil Simon’s popular play-turned-movie-turned hit TV show. The Oddball Couple was an animated half hour Saturday morning show that ran on the ABC TV network from September 6, 1975 to September 3 DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (DFE was a Hollywood-based American animated production company active from 1963 to 1981 In the cartoon version, Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison were replaced by a cat named Spiffy (voiced by Frank Nelson) and a dog named Fleabag (voiced by Paul Winchell). Frank Brandon Nelson ( May 6, 1911 – September 12, 1986) was an American comedic actor best known for playing put-upon Paul Winchell ( December 21, 1922 – June 24, 2005) born Pinkus Wilchinski (the family later shortened it to Wilchin) Spiffy, as his name implies, was the more orderly of the two, while Fleabag was always a shambles. 32 installments of the series (2 10-minute segments per half-hour show) were produced for the series, which aired on ABC Saturday Morning from September 6, 1975 to September 3, 1977. The American Broadcasting Company ( ABC) is an American Television network. For the Saturday morning children's programming daypart see Saturday morning cartoon. Events 3114 BC - According to the Proleptic Julian calendar the current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar started Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays
1982-1983 ABC sitcom
In 1982, ABC aired a new version of the series, entitled The New Odd Couple, with a predominantly African-American cast. The New Odd Couple was a short-lived new version of the 1970-75 television series The Odd Couple. African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa Ron Glass played Felix and Demond Wilson played Oscar. Ron Glass (born July 10, 1945) is an American Actor. He is known for his roles as the witty Detective Ron Harris in the Television Grady Demond Wilson (born October 13, 1946) is an American Actor, best known for his role as Redd Foxx 's long-suffering son Lamont This new version was not successful and was cancelled after just 13 episodes.
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