When The Odd Couple first went on TV, I had a friend who had a connection to get us in to watch rehearsals. We'd go over to Paramount and sit in the bleachers and watch Tony Randall and Jack Klugman rehearse. What struck me about them was the thoroughness of two smart men who were both very committed to their craft. Actors who work on a sitcom know that the more days there are until the filming or taping, the more likely the script they're doing is going to be revised, often completely. On one show I worked on, none of the performers ever took the pages seriously until the day before…sometimes even the morning before the live audience arrived.
Not Tony and Jack. Even four days prior to filming, they took the script at face value, performing it as if that was the material they had to make work. It was fascinating to watch, especially when they'd pause and discuss each line and in an utterly selfless manner. I'm sure one of the things that made that show work — that made almost everything either man did work — was that they put the material ahead of their own stardom. Tony would suggest things to Jack and vice-versa and both would ask pointed questions: What did this line mean? What was the character's motivation for doing whatever he did? How could that information be conveyed via a different attitude or physical reaction? It was the first time — and one of the few times — I got to see dedicated, thinking actors think out loud and function as an ensemble. There is no doubt in my mind that each of them improved the other's performance.
Another key reason for that show's success was its fine crew of producers, writers and directors. One of them was my pal Frank Buxton and I awoke this morning to find this note from Frank in my e-mailbox…
I just wanted to make a huge acknowledgment of Tony Randall's life. His total dedication to our production of The Odd Couple was inspiring. He would work with us writers and directors all day and late into the night trying, as we all were, to make it the best we could possibly do. He was like a terrier. He'd grab hold of Felix Unger and shake him and bark at him and never let go until he was exactly right. He could be a pain in the ass, sure, but a great and productive pain in the ass as you can see from the results. I cherish my years on the show and having been a part of Tony's success.
It's often hard to say why someone has the career they have. But Tony Randall's was as long and successful as it was, in part because of that dedication. The obits I've read so far this morning all do a decent job of summarizing how expansive that career was, but fail to convey how many eras of show business and changing trends it spanned. He was always there and now he's not there…and I already miss him.