#Jack klugman eddie bracken tv

(And if you haven’t seen it, it’s streaming at Netflix.) Raising the narrative stakes gives the story a heightened resonance, and Felix’s on-the-ledge desperation makes his unlikely union with Oscar a legitimate life-saver, not just a narrative contrivance. If you’ve seen it you know Saks’ THE ODD COUPLE is the most darkly comic iteration of the story, with a lengthy opening sequence devoted to Felix’s attempted suicide that takes place off-stage in the play.

Simon wrote an Oscar-nominated adaptation of his play for Gene Saks’ 1968 Paramount film, with Matthau back as Oscar and Jack Lemmon taking on the role of Felix (the duo had co-starred previously in Billy Wilder’s THE FORTUNE COOKIE) Original Broadway cast members John Fiedler, Carole Shelley, and Monica Evans returned as poker pal Vinnie and the flighty Pigeon sisters, Oscar’s next door neighbors and objects of affection. The show closed on Jafter 964 performances, but the story was just beginning. Jack Klugman (later to play the role on TV) replaced Matthau as Oscar, followed by Pat Hingle and Mike Kellin Eddie Bracken (star of Preston Sturges’ MIRACLE OF MORGAN’S CREEK and HAIL THE CONQUERING HERO) replaced Carney as Felix. ) The Mike Nichols-directed production took home four Tonys, including awards for Matthau, Simon and Nichols.

#Jack klugman eddie bracken tv

(In the play he’s a TV news writer, and his name is spelled Ungar don’t ask me why.

Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple first got together Maat Broadway’s Plymouth Theater, with Walter Matthau as Oscar and Art Carney (Norton from The Honeymooners) as Felix. So, as sloppy sports reporter Oscar Madison and persnickety photographer Felix Unger move in together again, this time on CBS in the person of Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon, here’s a look back at 50 years of “two divorced men sharing an apartment without driving each crazy.” The Odd Couple has been rebooted so many times in the last half century it’s difficult to keep track without a Felix Unger-style spreadsheet.