Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - "The Odd Couple" 50th Anniversary Show

Episode Date: October 19, 2020

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of ABC's "The Odd Couple," Gilbert and Frank welcome a panel of experts, including comedian-superfan Dave Juskow, author Bob Leszczak ("The Odd Couple on Stage & Screen") and the sons of Oscar Madison himself, Adam Klugman and David Klugman. Also, Tony Randall stands out, Mickey Rooney loses out, John Byner breaks up the room and Garry Marshall makes TV history. PLUS: The queen of game shows! "The New Odd Couple"! Howard Cosell fakes it! Adam plays young Oscar! And David hits the road with Randall and Klugman! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Ontario only. Gambling problem? Call Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. This message comes from TD. Getting mortgage advice

should be fast and easy because when you want to buy a home, who has time to wait? TD Mortgage Direct makes it quick and easy to get the answers you need. Just answer a few questions

and get personalized advice from a TD Mortgage Specialist. And you can get up to $4,100 with a new TD Mortgage. Offer ends October 31, 2024. Conditions apply. Visit td.com slash tdmortgagedirect. 🎵 Thank you. Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried, and this is Gilbert Gottfried's amazing, colossal podcast with my co-host, Frank Santopadre. 50 years ago today, Thursday, September 24th, 1970, one of TV's most unforgettable and most beloved situation comedies premiered on ABC. Gary Marshall and Jerry Belson's adaptation of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. Listeners to this show

know how much Frank and I admire the writing and performances and, of course, Neil Hefty's wonderful theme music. So in honor of the 50th anniversary, we've assembled a panel of experts and fellow odd couple enthusiasts for a fond look back. HBO's crashing and Comedy Central's TV funhouse. He hosts his own entertaining podcast called The Night Fly, and he's also produced and starred in live stage recreations of classic Odd Couple episodes featuring comedy pals such as Sarah Silverman. Bob Leschek is a syndicated radio personality, voice actor, pop culture expert, and the author of several books on pop music and classic television, including single-season sitcoms of the 1990s from the small screen to vinyl, dynamic duos, who did it first, great pop cover songs, and,

appropriately the odd couple on stage and screen. And last but not least, Adam Klugman and Dave Klugman are the sons of legendary Emmy-winning actor Jack Klugman and comedian Brett Summers, and co-editors of the terrific 2005 memoir, Tony and Me, about the decades-long working relationship and friendship between their father and co-star Tony Randall. Adam even appeared in two episodes of the show playing, who else, young Oscar Madison. This special episode is brought to you by our friends at Mandar Cologne, Belkin Airlines, Elmo's Barnacle Glue, and Felix Unger Photography Portraits, a specialty. Welcome, gentlemen.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Gilbert. Gil, you got through that one. Yeah. Well, I mean, with only like about five mistakes in this. But who's counting? And the Klugman boys are here.

And it's like looking at two Jack Klugmans. With a little Brett in there. You got to throw a little Brett in there. Felix! I got to. First, before anything else, to me, the real hot couple, Jack Klugman, back when he was a struggling actor with no money, who was he roommates with? Charles Bronson. Yeah, most famously, Charles Bronson.

Yeah. That, to me, that would have been a great show. Charles Bronson and Jack. In The Odd Couple? He said they were like The Odd Couple. I mean, Charles Bronson was very neat, very particular, very fussy. My own answer, you say that they lived, it was so cold in the apartment that he would keep jars, right? Right, Dave?

Didn't he tell you this? Keep jars next to his bed. He would just piss right in the bed because they couldn't afford heat. That's how poor they were. And he'd wake up and Charles would be like, what's up? My dad would have like jars of urine next to him because it was too cold to get out of the bed. So Charles Bronson was the Felix hunger.

Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah. That makes Charles Bronson the greatest actor of our time.

Yes. Absolutely. And I heard Klugman say in an interview that they both owned one white shirt each. Yeah. And that was special. They were poor. They were really poor when i toured with when i toured with my dad because i toured as a prop guy when they did the show in the summers i i remember you know he used to would go to dinner he'd take like a doggy bag in those days

and he'd put a half a sandwich in the drawer every night and finally i said what's up with the half a sandwich in the drawer he looked at me and he wasn't a funny look in his eye he said if you've ever really been hungry you won't have to ask that question wow and that's how hungry he was when he was living with charles browns at least it wasn't a urine jar and the urine jar and i heard that it was i don't know what they were doing with that. They all had jobs. Both of them had jobs to do with those shirts. Like Jack Lugman would wash them both in the bathtub, and then Charles Bronson would iron them. That's right.

You're right. I remember that. I totally forgot. You're right. I remember him talking about that. That's true. That's right. You're right. I remember that. I totally forgot. You're right. I remember him talking about that. That's true. That's true. And he said Charles Bronson had muscles on his muscles, and to watch him with an ironing board.

Gilbert, you've done homework. Yeah. For me to do any research and know who our guests are, you should be flattered. We are. Dave and Adam, it's in the book. It's in Tony and me, but it's worth repeating for people who don't know this.

I think actually Ron Friedman, writer of seven odd couple episodes, told us this on a previous episode. But please explain how Dad kind of got into acting in part to avoid a loan shark. You want to take this one there? All right. Um, so right. He, not only was he poor when he was an actor, he grew up like poor, go to bed hungry every night. It's South Philly. It's South Philly. Yeah. Only Jewish kid, all Italian neighborhood, really rough. He had $3,000 in savings bonds that a rich uncle had given to him to do something with.

And he gambled it all away. Now, $3,000 back then is about $45,000 today. And not only had he gambled all that money away, he was in hock to a loan shark for another like 500, which was, you know, seven grand or whatever it is. So he felt terrible about himself, right? He just couldn't. Obviously, you lose 50 grand and you're eight or 20 years old or something like that. It was bad.

So he had to get out of town because the loan shark was called Uncle Tommy. But he suddenly wasn't so fucking avuncular anymore when he owed him money, right? So he was literally like, look, if you don't give me the money, I'm going to break your kneecaps. And that's actually, I remember him literally saying,

come on, give me a break. I've been gambling with you for years. He goes, this is your break. If you're here tomorrow, I'm going to break your leg. And that's when that's and that's when he went home and finished the story bro finished so so he he he's thinks about he was in the service very briefly right and there was a guy in the service who had gone to carnegie tech

which is now carnegie mellon in the drama department um and my father another story about had always secretly wanted to be an actor. But, you know, you didn't tell anybody in South Philly that you wanted to be an actor, right? That'd be like saying you wanted to be a florist when you grew up, right? That's not going to go over well. That's not going to do well in that neighborhood. So he didn't tell anybody. So he had this kind of secret wish that one day would be an actor.

He had to get out of town. It's Pittsburgh. He's in Philly. He figures Pittsburgh's just far enough away that he maybe can go to Carnegie Mellon. So he leaves and he goes to, drives to Pittsburgh, parks in the Carnegie Mellon parking, Carnegie Tech parking lot, wakes up in the morning, goes to a gas station bathroom, combs his hair, and goes up to the drama desk at Carnegie Tech. I mean, I don't know what he was thinking, like what they're waiting for him. But he goes up to the he says, I want to audition for the drama department. And they say they say, great. And they hand him they hand him our town and they say, read the stage manager and come back tomorrow and audition.

And my man has never auditioned for anything in his life he doesn't know what an audition is he's never spoken with anyone right I mean he's never spoken publicly in front of anyone so he gets a little motel room and he practices but he doesn't know what the hell he's doing and he comes back the next day and uh gets up in front of the people to audition and and when he steps down there, there's like Nancy Marchand was in his class. All like wealthy. Oh, yeah, from the Sopranos. Right.

All like wealthy, middle class, wealthy and upper class. Soon to be starlets, you know. Yeah, soon to be starlets. Everybody is, all the men are at war, which is why they said, great, come back tomorrow. He's the first man that's walked in there and, you know, ever probably, but there are no men. So he gets up, he looks out at this sea of these really well-bred, classy, 18, 19-year-old young women, and he totally chokes and he just runs off. And he thinks, well, Jesus Christ, getting my knees broken has got to

be easier than this this is just brutal and the uh and the the the but he's not done yet because the acting teacher has to assess him he's going to interview him and she says to him she says mr klugman um i uh i do not think you are an act you What did he say, Dave? What is it like? I don't think you're more suited to be a truck driver than you are an actor. Yeah. But you see my problem. I have no men. So when the war was coming to a close, we were clearly winning.

When the men come home, I'm probably going to ask you to leave. And the old man says, am I in? She says for now. And that's how he got his start from a bookie. And then he paid the guy back slowly over time. Uncle Tommy. Yeah. He says in the book, he got a busboy job and paid Uncle Tommy back, which, which immediately made me think of the cookie episode where he owes the money. He takes the job as the short order cook because he owes Felix. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Part-time job.

Yeah, the money he lost on a horse. And how many Twilight Zones did Jack Klugman own? Four. Four. Wait, now let me ask you guys a question. Who can name them? For the love of Pip. Go ahead, Bob.

In praise of Pip. In praise of Pip. Thank you gilbert who else and the other one was with jonathan winters the pool game of pool oh and the one with the horn uh oh yeah the cornet the trumpet what's the name of that one uh the trumpet yeah the truck and what was the death ship is the one he didn't like. Death ship. That's the one nobody ever remembers. And what's the trumpet title, Frank? Oh, I've got it written down somewhere.

Shit. I should know this. I asked the test. Adam, did he have like a relationship with Rod Serling or something? Rod Serling loved him. Oh, he did? Yeah. He used to use a lot of the people he liked a lot.

Clearly. He used to use a lot of the people he liked a lot. Clearly right. He did. And then later, earlier, he had done something that Rob Sterling had written called The Velvet Alley. Which, if you've never seen it. With Art Carney. All there is on, it's on YouTube. And it's just, the video quality is horrible. But it's just great.

It's live. It's Playhouse 90 live TV with Art Carney. And Rob Sterling, it's just great. It's live. It's Playhouse 90 live TV with Art Carney and Rod Serling. It's just classic. Rod Serling seemed to like comedians. He wrote that episode just for Carol Burnett, right? The name of that episode is Passage for Trumpet. Passage for Trumpet. Thank you.

I failed my own test. In that Playhouse 90 episode you're talking about, a young Mickey Dolan shows up as a child actor. Wow. Really? Mickey Braddock. As Mickey Dolan shows up as a child. Wow. Really? Mickey Braddock. As Mickey Braddock. Very good, Bob. Wow.

Who got that? Nice. We had on the podcast Billy Mummy, who was the little kid in In Praise of Pip. That's right. Which is an episode I love. That's one of the great ones. Dave, you've got a story about that, don't you? About dad clashing with a director?

Well, yeah. Was it President Pip? I think it was the trumpet, the passenger trumpet, which was, as I recall, the second one. I actually have a visual aid. Look, nobody else can see this. Oh, this guy brought visual aids. Oh, jeez. You're a pro, Dave.

For an idiot like me. But anyway, this short, thank you, Gilbert. Anyway, the short story is, this director, because my dad was, you know, he was 32. He had done one Twilight Zone. This was his second. Rod clearly liked him, but he was

no shoe and he'd done, you know, really not much. And this director kept sort of asking him and not so a directorial kind of way, but more like do it this kind of way to play the scene. And every time my dad did it, he would come back and say, you know, it doesn't feel true. It's just not the way I'm playing the character. And he'd say, try it again, Jack. So after seven times, my dad looked at the guy and he said, Jerry, I'm not doing it your way. And the guy looks at him and says, Jack, I don't think you understand. I'm not asking you. And my dad, with two nickels in his pocket, said, Jerry, we have a good relationship and you're good for a job here and there. And I hope I serve you put a little food on each other's table, but you can

take this job and shove it up your ass. Cause if I, if I've got to climb into your head and be what you need me to be this week. And then next week I do the same thing with another director pretty soon. I'm not going to know who the fuck I am. Good for him. And so that created a hullabaloo. And of course, rod sterling came down and being the actor's actor he looked at jerry and said what the fuck are you doing let him do his thing and so this guy was humiliated as a result and for 40 years never hired my dad again and my dad's moral from that story is you got to be willing to blow the job when it comes to your integrity and i think it paid off for him so so i would say so so serious an actor so dedicated an actor that he was willing to lose a job that he desperately needed and maybe mark himself on a blacklist you know another really

good story on that was with uh that that was his bottom line credo right so he was doing gypsy with ethel merman so he's working with jerome robbins jules stein stephen sontime and ethel merman it was a huge star at the time right i mean just massive star at the time and he played herbie he originated the part of herbie on Broadway. And he's going to leave her. And he leans over and he kisses her before he leaves. And, you know, in rehearsal. And they say, look, Jack, don't kiss her. We don't like it. Don't kiss her. He goes, OK. So he tries it. Oh, he would always try it. He gave him a suggestion. He tried it. He tried it. He tried it without kissing her. He goes, no, no, no. I got to kiss her because I love her, but I can't live with her. You know that? He's got to kiss her. I want to see it. He said, Jack, don't kiss her. He goes,

no, no, I really they go back and forth. forth and he said and finally they do what that director did which was jack kiss her like we're pulling rank and jack said go fuck yourself and he walked off this is ethel merman dude walked off and they tried to recast it all weekend they called him on monday jack come back kiss her what's the big deal? Wow. Wow. I never knew that. That's who he was. Yeah, Bob, take that cue. Adam gave us a cue there. Ethel Merman and Gypsy was a turning point. Yes, that's where Gary Marshall

first saw him and realized what a good actor he was because he was so close to the face of Ethel Merman who spit a lot when she sang and when she spoke. And Gary said something to the effect of, you've really got to be a good actor to take that and then stand there and do that.

And he was very impressed and, of course, used him just a few years later. And the funny thing about that, Adam, as you were saying the other day, is before Gary had told my dad that, my dad's sitting there thinking, he must have really liked my Odd Couple performance. And meanwhile, he's like,

no, your ability to withstand spit is really what I admire about you. I have a question. Did your dad sing? I mean, was he a singer? I mean, it's funny when you hear him sing. I mean, when I used to listen to the album as a kid. That is not singing.

Bob, that's not singing. I don't know what it is, but that is not singing. I mean, isn't it amazing to originate a role in a legendary musical and not be a singer? That's the crazy irony of it all. This kid from South Philly who has zero shot at anything. Like his big break is singing, singing on Broadway with Hufflepuff and Jules Stein, Stephen Sondheim. So what Stephen Sondheim realized, and he didn't audition for Gypsy. They gave it to him based on The Velvet Alley. So they had seen The Velvet Alley. And up until The Velvet Alley, he'd always played gangsters.

But when he did The Velvet Alley, he was a mensch. He kind of moved his type from gangster to mensch. So now he's a mensch. So they hired him just on that. He didn't have to audition. Then he started singing. And Stephen Sondheim said, no, he can't sing, but he has perfect pitch. How about that? So I can teach him to talk,

sing his way through it. And that's how they did it. We will return to Gilbert Gottfried's amazing colossal podcast after this. baseball. BetMGM.com for Ts and Cs. 19 plus to wager. Ontario only. Gambling problem? Call Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. So what's it like to buy your first cryptocurrency on Kraken? Well, let's say I'm at a food truck I've never tried before. Am I going to go all in on the loaded taco? No, sir. I'm keeping it simple. Starting small. That's trading on Kraken. Pick

from over 190 assets and start with the 10 bucks in your pocket. Easy. Go to kraken.com and see what crypto can be. Non-investment advice. Crypto trading involves risk of loss. See kraken.com slash legal slash ca dash pru dash disclaimer for info on Kraken's undertaking to register in Canada. Bob, since we're talking about Jack on stage and the turning point of Gypsy and Gary Marshall sees him in Gypsy and gives him the part in the series, but not a lot of people, maybe a few people, but I don't think everybody who's a fan of Jack on The Odd Couple know that he played the part on stage. Oh, yes. He was not the original um of course was walter mathau and art carney when walter mathau had to leave to go to do the fortune cookie movie with jack lemon jack stepped in and uh it was a

big pay cut there i think walter mathau was making like 5800 a week and Jack's was almost like $4,000 less a week and got great reviews. And, uh, did it also in the UK a few years later before the TV series very successfully. Yeah. With, uh, with Victor Spinetti from a hard day's night. Yeah. So he went from Broadway and then took it over to England. I think probably because Walter wanted too much money. Right. I'm sure that's the reason. And then Walter had the heart attack while making the fortune cookie. That's right. So Jack wound up staying later and doing it with a car. And he was gone. He couldn't come back. Right. He couldn't come back. And Jack was doing it on stage with Eddie Bracken. That's right. That's right. And Victor Spinetti. I'm too,

I'm too young to remember that. But I remember I was in second grade in England. I went to some American school for, you know, American kids. It was nuts. And I always behaved badly in school when I was young. But when I would behave well, every once in a while I'd win a merit badge. You know, like they'd give them out each week. And when I did, my reward was I got to go see the show. So I saw it like so many times and I really got to love this play.

I mean, I could probably recite it by heart, but there was this one funny thing where I go one night, I'm wearing this red sweatshirt, you know, like red sweater type thing and I'm sitting in the front row and I go to my dad after the first act and I say, Hey, how you doing? He goes, you can'm sitting in the front row and I go to my dad after the first act and I say, hey, how you doing? He goes, you can't sit in the front row. You're distracting me.

I'm looking at, right? So I'm seven. You know how seven-year-olds think. So I get up into the balcony. There's nobody in the balcony. And every time he walks to that side of the stage, I duck down so he can't see me. Dave, you've never told me that story, man.

You've never told me that story, man. You've never told me that story. Yeah, that's real straight. Dave, you told me on the phone that, and I didn't know this either. I mean, I learned so much about the show and so much about Jack doing research for this episode. And I should have known this, and maybe Bob knew it, maybe Dave Juskow knew it, that Tony and Jack would take to the road in the off seasons from the series, and they would take the play out. And in fact, you went on tour with them. I did when I was 15. My dad threw me as a lark job because my parents had just divorced and I

didn't have a job for the summer. And I always had to work in the summer. My dad said, take it with me. I'll have him do the props. And I was really good at it. It was a turning point for me. And I just, for some reason, took it seriously without thinking about it. And I had a ball. We went to Norfolk. We were pretty girls all around. That whole thing that happens when you're around celebrity.

But the cool thing was it was the original cast from the TV show. So I'd hang out with them and watch their process. The original cast from the TV show went on the road with them? They wanted to stay sharp. To do the play? To stay sharp. To stay sharp. That's great.

And employed. And employed. For them more so. But I think it's the whole notion of these guys were trying to bring stage to sitcom. That somehow made The Odd Couple different, memorable. But David, if the show wasn't successful at first, were

the crowds into seeing them because of the TV show, or were they just going to the theater? I just don't think there was much to do in those towns. Right. We're talking about Birmingham, Alabama, Norfolk, Virginia. Can I ask a question?

I don't think they're coming to see the Jew, in other words. We understand. Now, one question I have. I've seen about 50 explanations on the odd couple episodes. How did Oscar and Felix meet? It was like every other episode had a different explanation. Bob makes a joke about that in his book, that the show was never big on continuity. Gary Marshall was not.

He never expected people to have DVDs and watch them and binge on them. So there's a whole section in the back of my book about all the inconsistencies. And that's just what they met in the army. They met as kids. In fact, that's one of the ones where jury duty Adam is in our father's episode. Yeah, the blink. There's a million different explanations about how they got married, who got married first who had a kid first and if i tracked them all and put that section is fascinating in the back because nothing is and they were like you and me they were like you and me in the 70s they didn't think anybody was looking did they change this there's a in the opening narration he he appeared at the home of his childhood friend, Oscar Madison.

Right. And was childhood later removed? Yes, it was. There were a lot of changes. The announcer was a guy in his 90s when I talked to him, William Woodson. William Woodson. William Woodson. And that was the biggest thing of his career.

And after that, they would actually hire him looking for a guy who sounded like the opening of the odd couple and he got so much work from that one little bit at the beginning of the which by the way tony and jack hated why it was only there to define that they were two straight men living together that's why it was put there in the first place. ABC was very, very afraid. It was 1970, and it was still before All in the Family, just a few months before All in the Family, but it was still not okay to be gay on television. So they had to define and really clarify that these two men were living together,

divorced, and still dating women. The network even changed. It changed a few times over the next two seasons, and they got rid of it totally by season four. And November 13th, by the way, for trivia heads, is Gary Marshall's birthday. That's how that date was arrived at. Now, have you ever, we played it on the podcast, the odd couple theme with the lyrics? Yeah.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, that sounded very gay. couple theme with the lyrics. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That that that sounded very gay. That was when you walk down the street, people think we're a couple. Well, that's also why they changed from the movie to the TV series. The name of Felix's ex-wife. It was Francis in the movie. But Francis can be construed as a man's name, Francis Albert Sinatra, etc. So they made it Gloria for the TV

series. Another change. Amazing. And Felix in the movie was a news writer. Right. That's right. And not a photographer. Right. Oh, there's so many weird changes. They changed the spelling of Unger from the movie to the series. They changed it from an A to an E. Yeah. Why do you suppose they do that? For what reason is that necessary?

That's very strange. And Felix Unger was actually a character in Come Blow Your Horn before The Odd Couple. He was an offstage character. Neil Simon had used that name before. It seems like it's one of those producer notes, you know, just those mindless ones that they want to feel like they're doing something. But since Gary Marshall was in charge, that's odd. Bob, you also read things like that Dean Martin, you know, was considered for Felix.

Which really doesn't make sense because he had a successful variety show at that time. I would never leave that for the odd couple. Although the Mickey Rooney, we know, we know that, that Tony Randall had done the show in summer stock with Mickey Rooney and loved working with him and I guess assumed, and I'm using an odd couple word there that he was going to work with, uh, with Mickey Rooney. Now, I didn't find this in either of your books, which I found interesting, but I had information that Gary Marshall wanted no part of Mickey Rooney. Well, he had a kind of a difficult reputation. He had had several series before that were pretty disastrous. There's a guy who was very successful in the movies and just couldn't translate to television, but he was also behind the scenes considered difficult.

And I think that's why Gary Marshall, he had a reputation. Right. And I think Norman Lear wanted Mickey Rooney to be Archie Bunker. There was talk of that. Really? Yeah. Yeah. There was talk of that.

And I also discovered this, which I didn't know. I filed this under cool shit I learned while doing research. I didn't know that Jack was reluctant to take on another series because he'd failed in a series.

And I think, do I have this right, Bob? 64? Yes. Yeah. It was part of a show called 90 Bristol Court. It was three shows back to back on Monday nights going against CBS's big juggernaut.

CBS always owned Monday nights and the ratings. And NBC put these three shows back-to-back. It was Karen, Paris Against the World, which was Jack Klugman's show, and another one called Tom, Dick, and Mary. And none of them succeeded. But he had a bad experience with sitcoms. He was reluctant to do another one called Tom, Dick, and Mary. And none of them succeeded. But that was, he had a bad experience with sitcoms. And I don't think really, he was reluctant to do another one. So Universal had screwed him out of his contract.

They'd screwed him out of a ton of money. Oh, really? Yeah, so he goes, he gets the series, goes to David's, what? I'm 64, so I'm one years old. Yeah, we moved to California for this. David, yeah, we moved to California. this. Yeah, we moved to California. David's five. He rents a house in Beverly Hills.

He's got a series. He's got bills to pay. And the show gets canceled mid-season, and they're contractually obligated to pay him, you know, the remainder of his contract. And they said, sue us. And he's left there holding, you know, a bag of, like, wow, I got a lot of bills here

and he was dead broke. It completely screwed him, but he got, we, we got them later. So, so who, who convinced him to do the odd couple if he was reluctant? That's a good question. I'll tell you how it started. Must've been Gary. From my memory. Actually, it was Penny Marshall. That's nobody at the time that's right penny marshall and my dad were sitting by the pool and penny sort of brings up in a voice that my brother could imitate much better than i could you know you know jack you know my brother's doing this show and he's really thinking about you and you should and and my dad was like nah i don't really any all his reluctance came out but i think she kind of paved the way a little bit so by the time my dad was like, nah, I don't really. And all his reluctance came out. But I think she kind of paved the way a little bit.

So by the time my dad got to Gary, he was ready to get on board with it. Penny and Jack had just done an episode of Then Came Bronson. And so they. Oh, that's right. That's right. One year before. Sixty nine. Gary had.

You know yourself, boy. Gary had asked Penny to ask him to do it. And his first response was, no, I don't do TV. I'm a stage actor. I don't do that crap and then he went and looked at his bank balance and was like well how much are they paying right i mean the stage actor here is not he's gonna go he's got two kids he's got two kids it's time to start thinking about that right i i heard and i hope this is true that the network

at first had uh didn't want Klugman because he had just done something in a drama that he was very good at. They didn't see him as a comedic actor. Yeah. They thought he was a better dramatic actor. I didn't know that. Do you know what it was that he'd done?

I forget what it was, but here he was like... Well, Days and Wine and Roses he made an impression. Yes. Or they might have been talking about one of those Twilight Zone episodes. Oh, and Twelve Angry Men. Twelve Angry Men, yeah. He was known to be a serious

actor with a very intense, serious face. I remember as a kid he was in that church insight show. Oh, yes! I remember seeing it when I was a kid and I was like, and I was like, Oh my God, you know, Oscar is in the serious Sunday morning show. And it was terrific. I don't remember like what I thought he was in jail or something, but I'm not sure what it was. And it was so serious and he was so good. And I'd never known him as a serious actor or

anything. So I was like, boy, he's really, I remember that's just a kid being like, well, he really, he's really talented. He was great at either one. Yeah. Yeah. Really, really versatile. You know, you read about people who were considered for the roles. Dino, I mentioned, which doesn't make a lot of sense.

I also read Martin Balsam and jack carter oh jack carter actually got to do an episode in season five episode right right was he jackie bernie yes or joe joey bernie joey bernie joke writer yeah is the limo story true that that that everybody tells uh the the smoky limousine story yeah i don't know that story well gary gary told it to me he did yeah yeah the story is so it's kind of like art imitating life or life imitating art rather so it's the first day of rehearsal i mean the first day of principal photography they're in new york shooting all the exteriors right everybody knows they shot it in la everybody thinks they shot it in new york they shot it in LA and they shot the exteriors in New York, obviously. And so it's the first day and Gary's setting up the shot and up comes the limo that has Jack

and Tony in it. And out of one side, Tony bursts out and he says, I'm not going to work with this man. This man is impossible. He's in tight. He's in there. He's smoking. I've asked him not to smoke and he just keeps smoking. I'm not going to do this, I quit. And out of the other side, smoke pouring out, Jack opens the limo door, smoke pouring out. He goes, I can't work with this pain in the ass. I'm in there, I'm smoking. He asked me not to smoke.

That's what I do. I smoke, that's it, I quit. And so suddenly Gary, both his stars just quit. And Gary goes, wait, wait a minute. What about, we'll have two limousines, one limousine for Tony. That's a no-smoking limousine. And we'll have a limousine for Jack. And that's a smoking limousine, and he can smoke in it.

How about we do that? I like it that there was a Gary Shandler, like an old Larry Sanders show where I thought Gary was going to say, like, you guys realize you're doing the show right now. Right. That's it. And is it true? How long did it take for those two to become friends?

I think they became better friends in later years after the show. They were always colleagues they really weren't friends until much later so there was this kind of confluence of needs that happened um my dad had gotten throat cancer he had lost his voice and uh was looking at his career being over I mean you know this was a guy whose best friend was acting his livelihood was acting and he livelihood was acting. And he suddenly, not only was he no longer an actor, I mean, he couldn't act. He had no voice.

And not only that, but he also had no way to make a living, right? So he was like, I don't know what the hell's going on. How old was he, Dave? This was in his early 60s. Early 60s. Yeah, 65. And then at that same moment, Tony was putting together the National Actors Theater. And so Tony calls Jack.

Visual aid. House from the National Theater. There it is. Dave's got his visual aid. Thank you. Thank you, David. Just trying to stay on top of things. I love it, Dave.

If you could draw pictures for me. It'd be a little easier. So Tony calls the old man and says, Jack, I'm opening the National Actors Theatre. I want to do a one-night-only kickoff event.

You and me doing The Odd Couple. It'll just be the two of us. We'll charge $20,000 a plate. We'll raise a million dollars in one night. And Jack looked at me and talked. I mean, he sounded like this. This is what he could say. We'll charge $20,000 a plate. We'll raise a million dollars in one night. And Jack, look at the bad talk. I mean, it sounded like this. This is what he could say.

Tony, you don't understand. It's over. My career is over. I can't do it. Of course, he wants to do it more than anything in the world. Of course, this is like, of course, he would love to do this. And I can't. It's over. Forget it. Don't call me. Tony says, well, look, I've got a lot to do, Jack. So I won't be ready for a year. So I'll give you a year. Get your voice together. And then we'll do it in a year from now. So get busy.

So whatever. My dad hangs up the phone thinking, you know, forget it, right? I'm not going to do it. But he can't, right? This is just the animal that he is. He's an actor. He wants to do it. So he calls Tony back and he goes, give me three months before I commit.

Right? But in that voice and he finds a an acting coach who gets him to make a sound like this three months of working he can maybe talk like this is what he sounds like and he calls tony and he says okay i'll do it now that takes balls yes he doesn't have the voice but my dad you understand once he commits he won't uncommit right the one thing he would never do is welch so if he tells you he's going to do something he will do it he will show up and do it so he that's why he said give me three months to figure it out and you know nine months later he did it and that's a whole nother story that's that's

amazing but but that's how that that went down And then from that moment. The reunion episode. The reunion movie. Yeah. Which addressed the cancer. Oh, that's right. Yeah, but that wasn't. It wasn't part of the storyline. That one just didn't work. That was not when the friendship cemented.

So the moment that. So my dad's later on stage and the way Tony was so supportive and so loving and took such good care of my father during that whole period and they needed each other and they that was when they fell in love with each other and that's when they became really good friends they were always kind of collegial of course or collegial I don't know how to pronounce that Dave what is it collegial I would say I would say what you're saying is a good point to this idea of friendship I think when they started Tony was the more known actor sure and he was a little full of himself i mean let's be honest about tony randall right so so right so he was a little he got 20 jack that 10 you know there was a reason

for that right so so i think he went a little bit like okay you know i'll be able to tell this guy what to do he was in for a lesson but he learned it really quick. But the point is, is that they very soon, after a few gristles, like the limousine gristle, became very respectful of each other. And they became respected colleagues. But I think my brother's saying is true. They went, they didn't really go into friendship because, you know, Tony was drinking wine with his, listening to opera with his wife at night. My dad was in the horse room in Vegas looking at, you know, the racing form. So they're hardly going to hang out.

So they weren't pals. They weren't friends, but they went from being respected colleagues to almost being lovers. But in the sense that Adam's saying, they kind of fell in love with each other out of a mutual need that grew into this beautiful relationship.

It's funny too, like that, you know, the reason why the show works so well is obviously there was a lot of the two of them in these characters that, I mean, they're great actors, we know. But I mean, look, I mean, your dad is a gambler, you know, and Tony likes opera. I mean, it's really kind of... They were exaggerating. They found the perfect guys. Tony liked sports and Tony liked beer, but, you know, they really had to exaggerate.

The point is, they were both such good actors, they could have pulled off either role. Yeah. But they made the right choice in putting them in that role. Of course. I heard Tony Randall in an interview, he said, do you want to know the type of man Jack Klugman is? And he said he had asked him to do a play,

either The Odd Couple or Sunshine Boys, and they did it, and when they were going to pay him, Klugman said, no, give it to your theater group. Oh. Yeah, that sounds right. And from the book, too, right? The Tony and me book. Yeah, some of the proceeds went to that. All the proceeds to the Actors Theater.

And they were theatre actors. I mean, that's why that show worked so well. They both were theatre actors, and they spoke a common language without ever having to acknowledge it. Of course. They understood each other. And there's a way, like in the second season, when they opened up the set, where it was three cameras

instead of just filming a movie. And the live audience, that's for actors. They made it more of a play, which is why it was easy for me to do these plays, because the dialogue works like a play. There was lots of great just five-minute pieces of great dialogue. Well, you've heard Tony Randall's, and I think Jack has said that over the years, that the laughs are in the play. If you go see a student production, you'll hear the same laughs. Yeah. It doesn't matter who's doing it. It doesn't matter who's doing it because that play is ironclad. But on the series, they actually got to see what was funny. In the first season, they really didn't know. The audience was that stupid laugh track and it just came to life in

the second season when when they tried it without a laugh track that was that episode where oscar gets a job working for playboy magazine yeah season one they did the playboy magazine the harem magazine they did that one without a laugh track possibly john astin as you have Laugh Track. Possibly as a concession. Sean Ashton as Hugh Hefner. Right. Yeah, yeah. Buff Buffington. It's funny, I remember that episode so well, and I never thought there, I couldn't, I didn't know there was no Laugh Track. I researched it, and I have to think that because Tony and Jack were lobbying, not only the network, but they were going on talk shows and asking people to write letters to get rid of this accursed Laugh Track. And they got like 300,000 letters, so ABC was convinced. talk shows and asking people to write letters to get rid of this, this accursed laugh track. And they got like 300,000 letters.

So ABC was convinced. So that one episode in season one that Gilbert mentions, the harem episode, I think it's called Oscar's new life. Isn't that interesting? Isn't that exactly what Gary Marshall did for happy days as well? Season three. Yes. Interesting thing.

It just came to life. Yeah. Yeah. And it came to life big. Just, you know, yeah. Amazing. Right.? Again, it just came to life. Yeah. Yeah, and it came to life big. Just, you know, yeah, amazing, right? I did want to ask, too, about something. We jump around here a lot, as you guys see. We don't have any kind of consistent thread.

But because we've been talking about Jack's gambling and because we do have a gambler within our midst, which is Dave Jusko. Yeah. Dave. Got it from your dad. It kind of endears you to, to, to, to Jack, but, but to Oscar, but to the character Oscar in a way, because you're a gambler. And then I want to ask Adam and Dave what, just what kind of gambler was he? Well, I mean, I became a gambler because

of Oscar Madison. I just thought it was the coolest thing where you could call up and say, hello, mama bear. This is papa bear. I mean, mean, I wanted a bookie so badly. And then unfortunately, I found one and things got bad and I had to start working for them. They didn't threaten to break my legs. They made me work for them instead, which was different. But I'm gambling right now on the Dolphins' Jacksonville game. As we speak. He's gambling on Thursday Night Football. But Oscar Madison was an inspiration? Oh, my God, absolutely. He was just the coolest. I still take my nieces down to the track

because that's what Oscar would do. You know, I mean, it's like, for some reason, it's horrible that it was so glamorous. He was always in debt and he was always broken, yet that's what I wanted to be, Oscar. I never wanted to be Felix. I wanted to be Oscar. I remember there was one episode where he gets a hold of money, Oscar,

and he has to make a bet. And he runs out of the house in his underwear. And then he comes back and goes, oh, I just realized I left the money here. And runs out in his underwear. I don't remember that. Are you sure that wasn't a story from his real life? I'm reminded of the episode where Felix gives him the money to put a down payment on his cemetery plot.

Yeah. Doesn't he? It's going to be $5 for socks. Yeah. He gambles that one away. But Adam and Dave, you told me he wasn't a crazy, reckless gambler like Matthau. No, but he was a terrible gambler. He lost all the time.

Sundays during my childhood were very scary. He just never knew. And he would call his bookie and it would be like, superstar here. That was his code name. Superstar. It wasn't Goldilocks. No, it was not. That's how the morning started.

And it ended with fucking half points. I'm never giving another fucking half point as long as I live. Because he's always getting beat on the half points. And when he would talk about the horses he stole the line from somebody else but he would say that he follows horses that follow horses yeah he was and and he would get and he so when i was a kid my parents split and he would come sundays and pick me up and that would be our day and i'd open the door and he'd go you want to go to the track no i'm 12 like the track when you're 12,

it's two minutes of action and 45 minutes of sitting around. I hated it. The track where I go in Monmouth, New Jersey, they actually have a swing set for kids because I think they figured it out that a lot of us were bringing nieces and kids and stuff. I have the Dave Jessica Invitational I do every year because I love the track so much and have like a big event where I get to take a picture with the jockey and stuff. I have the Dave Jessica Invitational I do every year because I love the track so much and have

a big event where I get to take a picture with the jockey and everything. The horses are at the gate for the Dave Jessica Invitational. That's not far from where I live. Some of the most profound moments of ennui I've ever had was walking around an empty paddock waiting for the next

race to start while my dad was making his bets and looking at the forum like you as a child there's just nothing to do but wait and be lonely so it's not a fun experience and then people people would come by and uh give him tips and that was and so sundays ended with fucking half points and any day at the track would end with tips tips fucking tips i'm never gonna take another fucking tip as long as i live but yeah he that's not true i have to uh pretend now like when i'm with people that it's not bothering me because i know i used to be like that i lost a lot

of girlfriends that way and relationships uh because i was just like your dad those half points are the worst they know those guys are so smart. It's all the Robert De Niro from Casino guys that figure out those lines. None of them are happy and bursting with love. That's it. I got a couple of questions from listeners, because I want to talk about your mom for a minute, Adam and Dave.

I want to talk about Brett Summers. She was like the queen of game shows she sure was every game show she was on yeah she was on a lot of games she was funny as shit she was funny as shit BW Radley says I want to ask Dave and Adam

how close was Oscar and Blanche's on screen relationship to Jack and Brett's relationship were there any similarities oh yeah Blanche's on-screen relationship to Jack and Brett's relationship. Were there any similarities? Oh, yeah. It was pretty combative. I mean, our childhood people say,

what was it like growing up with those two people? I was like, like a fucking Japanese monster movie. You know what I mean? Like, wings flapping and smoking. Cities falling. Big fucking personalities, man. Buildings coming down. Jesus Christ, can you imagine those two people? Two big egos, huh?

Just big personalities. And then just think of the parties. Forceful personalities. Forceful personalities. So when they would come together, it'd be like, oh, shit, I'm getting out of here. Once they split, like Dave and I had a policy, the four of us were never in a room again we did it one time right right then we did like one time it was dave you

mean the let's pretend we're a family thing yeah we did it one time and dave came to me after he goes we're never going to do that again he went to them we're not all four of us ever going to be in the same room again if you're born if you're born and your parents divorce in hollywood and they're celebrities you're obliged to at least one of those, but that's it. That's what I said to you. You did one. Yeah. And that, that we never did again. So them coming together was, they were really good friends, but, so that it would be great for a little while. And she was funny.

And my dad loved to laugh. You know, he just loved to laugh and she was very funny and he really enjoyed her. She was pissed, man. She was pissed. And she just never gave it up. You know, the marriage failed. She kind of just, she just never let go of it. And so it was bad when they came together.

Sorry to hear that. There was the New Year's Eve episode with Joan Van Ark. Yeah. I interviewed her for my book. And she said already at that point, even though they were on screen together, she could tell that there was something wrong. Yeah. And that was like 1971,

72. Yeah. You could feel it. You know, Hollywood is, it's impossible to carry on healthy relationships. It's really hard when you, one person becomes successful,

the other person isn't. And then everybody's roles change. And then he, he's out there and he's getting all this attention and that changes him and changes her i mean it gets really complicated man i mean i don't want to get heavy but that's hard that's why hollywood marriages don't make it because it's complicated but dad was instrumental in getting mom on to match game in the first place yeah you just told me that frank that was fascinating is that true so dave and Adam told me. If you go back in time on YouTube, so he had actually a brilliant strategy.

So he knew she would be great on that show. He just knew it, right? I mean, because her business card should have said, cocktail party guest. That's what she was going to say. She was just the best cocktail party guest ever. So he knew she would be great. And that was just a cocktail party. I mean, they were

just getting hammered backstage and coming out and having fun. So he wanted to get her on. So he would say the most horrible things about her on the show. She wasn't a celebrity. He was. And they used to do a show called He Said, She Said. I don't know if anybody remembers that show. I remember. Joe Garagiola.

Yeah, Joe Garagiola. And they were very popular on that because they were funny and they knew how to play off each other. So he was on this show and he took it because he knew he was going to get her on. So he would say just horrible. I remember I was on YouTube. I'm like, Jesus, Dad. I mean, horrible stuff. Like my wife naked.

Stuff like that. More like this. I mean, horrible stuff. Like, oh, like my wife naked. Like, stuff like that. Like, really. More like this. Like, and then Jim said, hey, the back of my horse looks just like my blank.

And he's like, wife. My wife naked. Brett naked. Brett naked. He's not exaggerating. Like, that was it. Not exaggerating. He was going for the jugular. Wow.

And so, Jack knew that they would have to have her on eventually to defend herself. And she did. And she came on. And because she was so funny, they loved her. How did it work when she was on multiple seasons when it was clear that she was a regular? Did she get paid like a series regular? On what? On a match game?

Yeah, that was a nice game. On a match game, that was the best job nice game. A match game, they did. That was the best job in the world, man. They worked four days a week. They would shoot five shows on Friday, five shows on Saturday, take two weeks off, and do the same thing two weeks later. And she was making $100,000 a year in 1973 doing that. Oh, sweet magic. That's what you wanted to hear.

Yeah, it was sweet magic. That's what it was. That was a damn good job. I want that job. I call it my father's divorce parting gift. Yeah, you didn't hear the show. Kind of was. Jumping back to something else we were talking about earlier,

I always felt awkward that they do those episodes of The Odd Couple where Oscar has some guy he plays softball with and they drink beer together. And Felix would go, why? He's the head of the so-and-so ballet. And I'd go, oh, come on. I think our pal Ron Friedman wrote one of those with Richard Fredericks. They try to show these ballet dancers and Oscar opera singers as, you know, beer-guzzling, you know, skirt-chasing regular guys. That's what made Oscar so attractive.

They each got to pick some of the co-stars. Jack always wanted the sports figures like Deacon Jones and Howard Cosell and Tony conversely got Marilyn Horne and Richard Fredericks and Martina Arroyo and those kind of people. Both of them were happy. The writers would have to adapt.

In fact, one of the Howard Cosell episodes was already planned out and they had to rewrite it because Tony wanted Martina Arroyo to be in that episode. So they suddenly had to make Howard Cosell a fan of opera, which he wasn't.

Wow. I was totally fooled. I thought he loved opera. I always thought... Miss Arroyo, the culmination of a life's dream. Very good. And that's when she says, I found Oscar shorts in the oven.

Bob, talk about the ratings. Talk about how the show wound up getting pretty much canceled at the end of every season. There was an executive at ABC, I believe it was Martin who who uh who was a fan of the show but they never finished in the top 30 no the best they did was season three at number 36 that was the best they ever did and they were actually canceled every year uh and they would do better during the summer because abc moved the show around a lot and finally during the summer they would do better during the summer because ABC moved the show around a lot. And finally, during the summer, they would show the reruns at one set time and people could kind of plan around it. Plus, they probably had seen other shows and they were being rerun.

They hadn't seen The Odd Couple, so they were watching that. The ratings always had a surge during the summer. And so even after being canceled, ABC would say something like okay we'll give you another season and it was a very inexpensive show to produce uh klugman wore a lot of his own clothes eleanor donahue had very expensive clothing from a long career and she would actually wear her own halston dresses and stuff so the the budget was not big and they weren't looking to make friends type money they just wanted to work yeah and that was another reason another factor why abc would renew it every year up to season five and there was almost

a season six in that final episode felix remarries they actually did two endings one just in case they got renewed for a sixth season. I've yet to ever see, I don't even know if they kept it, but I have never seen the alternate ending. Do you know what it is, though? That's exciting. Do you know what it is, the alternate ending? They don't get married.

Oh, I see. Because they do in the final episode. And Oscar says, I'm free, I'm free, I'm free. And he dances around the house knowing that he has his life back and then he uh and then the last last line is the garbage can i knew he wasn't yes yes i know he'd pick it up i heard jack is the one who told tony that he thinks people are gonna find the show later on yeah he was confident I convinced Tony because Tony was ready to quit. I would even know that,

you know, back then. It's amazing. Because he would say, you can't have this many talented people working on a show. It's just not possible. You know, you had Jerry Belson. You had Gary Marshall.

You know what I mean? Harvey Miller. And I remember as a kid, I used to, I would wait for him. I'd be at Paramount waiting for him to finish like on a Friday after school. And you would hear them him. I'd be at Paramount waiting for him to finish, like on a Friday after school.

And you would hear them scream. I'd be like doing my homework or fucking around doing something and I shouldn't. And I'd hear them screaming at each other. They were just like, you know, 12 writers just yelling, screaming at each other. Oh, wow, that doesn't sound good. Five minutes later, hysterically laughing,

you know, just having a great time. I mean, and I remember thinking that that sounds like a really good job, but everybody working on it was so talented. And he used to say, you just can't have this many talented people working on a show. And this is going to be a classic one day.

And like you said- What was unique too is that Tony and Jack contributed to the writing. Unlike most other shows, they actually stayed and contributed their own. They were welcomed into the writer's room. I wouldn't say they were welcomed. They pushed

their way into the writer's room. The writers were very reluctant. And then they realized, wow, these guys are great. And so sometimes they would show up and say, all right, here's the scene. Felix teaches Oscar how to play football. And then they would improvise it. So that kind of classic scene, they impro, here's the scene. Jack, uh, uh, Felix teaches Oscar how to play football. And then they would improvise it. So that kind of classic scene, they improvised it and the writers

went off and wrote it. It sounds like when you say, when they were yelling and screaming at each other, that's how passionate they were about the show, which is why it was so good for us. There was one, you know, it's amazing. You say, you know, it didn't do well in the ratings yet. They, uh, your father, believe, was nominated every year. I think they both were every year. So they were both up together. He won three out of the five, two out of the five years? Two.

And Tony won the last year. The final year. Was there any ill will for Jack winning? No, but there's one blooper reel where my dad keeps fucking up the part and Tony says to him come on Emmy winner do your part so I'm sure he held a little something you know what I mean yeah right I'm right you're right well also think about this remember he started off the bigger star but what's more amazing than your dad when we're just talking about his acting technique,

I mean, and how good he was. And sometimes you forget when a show is so iconic like that. But then your dad's nominated for another three times for a dramatic part in Quincy. I mean, that's unbelievable, especially to have a second successful TV series. The odds are astronomical. Yeah, he made a good bet there That shows you how much everybody really loved your dad very much. He's a lovable actor. They wanted him to succeed. Jumping back to the gambling. I once heard Tony Randall tell a story that Jack Ludman told him, because he owned horses after a while, your dad. And he was telling Jack how they collected semen from this horse, I guess, for breeding. And he said, he told Jack that it was like someone did it by hand.

That's right. That's how they do it. And Tony said, and how did the host react? And Jack Lemmon went, he liked it. Sounds like my dad. Yeah. That's a tough job. I have a question for you guys.

Just before I came on this show, I was talking to my friend Joe and he told me, I told him I was going to meet you guys, and he told me that he has an autographed picture of your father with a spaghetti sauce recipe on the back. Do you know about that? Well, tell him to trust it

because my dad made a mean spaghetti sauce. No, tell him to send me a picture of it. I wasn't sure if you guys knew about it and I said you're going to have to find that. Get him a picture. I've tried to recreate it a couple times and every once in a while I'll hit it. I know the essence of it.

He was a Jewish kid, South Philly, Italian neighborhood. So he learned it from some old Italian mom and it's, it was the best pasta sauce. What's funnier than having it on the back of your resume. You know, that's how we got work. I got a couple of quick, more quick questions from, from listeners here. Gilbert, this one's for you. It's from Rob Martinez and he just asks, you know, Oscar Homolka? Yes. That I remember watching that episode with my mother and yeah. Cause he calls

up Oscar calls up some girl and he goes, yeah, it's Oscar, uh, Oscar Madison. How many Oscars do you know? And then there's a pause. He goes, you know Oscar Homolka? That's crazy. Rhoda Zimmerman. Me and my mom cracking up. Is it crazy Rhoda Zimmerman that he's calling? Crazy Rhoda. That's you and Jerry Belson. So that's Jerry Belson's mind.

That's a Jerry Belson joke. That's Jerry Belson or Gary Marshall, buddy. See, one of them. That's a Jerry Belson joke. That's Jerry Belson or Gary Marshall, buddy. See, one of them. That's a Jerry Belson joke for sure. For sure. Here's another one for the panel from Eric Z. Gilbert, he calls himself Eric Z.

MD Medical Deviant. Oh, that's based on one of my favorite movies. There you go. He says, can any of you guys tell me what the capital of Bolivia is? La Paz. That's the one where Oscar had to take a job in a diner. That's right. Tony says, you know,

how did you wind up? Olaps. And he said something like, well, some guy jumped me in an alleyway, asked me what's the capital of Bolivia is, and I couldn't answer, and he hit me over the head. And here I am. And Tony Randall goes, that's the most ridiculous story I've ever heard. Everyone knows the capital of Bolivia so far.

That's a great one. there were also uh there were a few really nice moments in some of those odd couple episodes where uh you saw like a love between the two characters the odd candidate especially that's one where oh yeah felix runs oscar felix puts oscar up to be councilman and he doesn't win. But Oscar at the end is so appreciative. There's a really nice moment to close out that episode, which you didn't see all the time. And there's an episode where they both like try to get healthy. And Oscar says to him, who cares if you live 30 years and I only live 20? And Felix says, I'll miss you.

And there's something to be said here, not to get somber, but my dad found his way, you know, like you said, when he was going to replace Walter Matthau, he was scared shitless. So he sat in the audience 16 times and watched that play to see where the hole was, if there was one. And he found it in the second act when, according to that play, there's only one origin story. They met in childhood. And then you walk into my life, my oldest and dearest friend. And my dad's watched it 15 times.

And on the 16th time, he goes, you're lying. You're treating him like the butt of a joke, which is what our car. And he had a nervous breakdown after that run. He was treating him like that, which is what Malta, Malta, Malta mainly does unless Jack Lemmon's not letting him do it. And my dad said, I'm going to play the love, right? It's going to, and it was easy for him because it was like his mother. I love you, but you drive me crazy. I can't get rid of you. I don't want to get rid of you, but you make me nuts. And that action really worked for him and was his way into the role.

Conversely, and I only heard this recently, Tony, I saw it on YouTube. They were asked how they regarded each other. I think it was Merv Griffin or something. And Tony said something really interesting. He said, well, I see Oscar as a very troubled, hurt man who covers everything up with a lot of mess. So that was his line of compassion into him. He didn't just see him as a messy douchebag. He saw him as a hurting guy who just, that was the only way he could control it.

There was a great episode with william redfield and the brothers oh that's when he's off to buffalo yes where he plays felix brother floyd and at one point when they're both uh he and his brother are arguing uh oscar says well i'll leave you two alone now. And William Redfield says to him, he goes, no, Oscar, you stay. You're family. Yeah. There are a lot of sweet moments. Well, Dave, Jack, you know, Dad was always looking.

He was always asking the writers, what do I want? What do I feel? He was trying to treat the comedy. He was trying to play the comedy real. And he was trying to look for comedy he was trying to play the comedy real and he was trying to what he called the love scene the love scene he would call it that was the cliche where's the love scene but but the truth under that which is related it's not an esoteric secret they were from the stage they knew that if anything was really funny it had to grow up out of the ground to be

real it can be these friends joke joke joke joke joke and by the way there there was no friend salary back when they were doing the outpoubles. So they didn't miss anything. They just, they didn't. They would have asked for it if they had it. Even though they bought a piece of the show eventually. I'm stuck on this thing. I'm remembering all the nice moments. There was that one where Oscar puts his name on a singles thing.

And they ask his looks. He says, above average. And Tony Randall keeps saying, no, you're not above average. He goes, you uh at most uh plain and and then at the end oscar does something nice and uh felix says to him you're well above average oscar yeah that's another sweet one gilbert i love how you've remembered all these sentimental moments from the show i'm crying over here what a big hearted guy you are. I like always when they had the sentimental moments and then they just had the great punchline for the end

with the horns coming in, you know, like when they thought they were getting old and they met those girls and then, you know, and then they have this and he's like, look, so we're old. I mean, what's the big deal? Whatever it is. And then he's just like, and that's what you woke me up at two o'clock in the morning. He goes, no, it's time for the party.

I think the genius the genius of gary marshall and jerry bellson on that line was that they knew where the fall was into sentimentality from the sentimental and they never let it go there so it never became cheesy or cheap it was always earned yeah well it's always good yeah. And that's why it was earned comedy, right? I like when they're tied up together by the burglars and Felix starts singing, wherever we go, we're together. And Oscar's hopping away from him. You know, it's not quite a homoerotic subtext. I mean, that would be taking it too far.

But there is a romance going on between these two guys. Absolutely. It's a bromance. It's a bromance. One of the earliest bromances. Yeah, but it's real. It's really, I mean, like Jack says about Tony that people don't realize how good he was. He never said a word he didn't believe. He never

made a false move. He never made an action that he didn't believe. The way they sold their affection for each other is, I think, one of the reasons we love the show and that it endures. And I think that's right. I mean, my dad definitely gave me an appreciation of how good Tony is. Go back and look how good Tony is. Oh, the best. Felix is a pain in the ass, so he's not a likable character.

So everybody identifies with oscar right so that's right but if you look like i remember uh i was went one week you know it was just i would always just be moving in and out of it and tony looked sick there's an episode where he's really sick i can't remember what the episode is but he didn't drop it he was sick all week right he would he would stay sick all week always in character yeah he, but he didn't drop it. He was sick all week, right? He would, he would stay sick all week. Yeah, he was, but he, he looked sick and he was, I mean, Tony was such a good actor and, and it was really my dad that said, look at him, look what he's doing. That's. Here's the thing about, and also it's the writing, but if you look at the Ron Glass to

Mon Wilson version, if you look at, uh, at the, at the Tom Lennon, Matthew Perry version, even the movie, there isn't the same love. There isn't the same affection. You get, you get the sense in a way that, that Tony Randall, that Felix is mothering him, you know, that, that, that's the, that they actually achieve that sort of husband and wife dynamic. Well, Ron Glass would not buy into the Felix character. He didn't want to look foolish. He would even he would. Conversely to what Tony Randall did, he did not want to look like a buffoon every week. And so the writing had to change a bit.

And so it wasn't as real as the as the first series. Oh, and I remember there was another episode where Felix's daughter visits. And then she gets angry and she leaves a note for Felix. That's the Paul Williams episode. Yes, yes.

And Oscar comes home and he finds the note and he hands it to Felix and he goes, I can't stand being treated like a child. I'm leaving. Oh, Oscar, we've been through this. By the way, that's an episode with a lot of sentiment. Yes. Because Oscar puts them together. Or he sets up Paul Williams to do it.

But Oscar is a hero in that episode. He does that, too, with his son. Remember, we were just talking about this before, when he wakes him up in the middle of the night and says, just give your father another chance. And he's like, Uncle Oscar, I don't want to play cards now. And he goes, no, no, it's not about that. I'm going to pay you back that money i owe you too but he's trying to help philly yeah

that was the you're right and the other ones don't go was the ron glass one did were they using the same scripts one of them they were using in some ways yeah some ways that was odd uh yeah it was they were doing a weird time period there where they were doing old black recreations of other shows. Like there was The Odd Couple. And then I think, oh, there was. Well, they did a black version of Barefoot in the Park. Barefoot in the Park. Yes.

Yeah. Very odd. With Scully Mitchell. Adam, tell us about working with Gary Marshall and the Flamingo Kid. And tell us about your relationship with Gary in general. I mean, he was close to you guys. Yeah. You know, my dad was a bit of a loner actually, you know? But Gary was his best friend and we were like family. Gary would always tease me. I was in sixth grade and I played Prometheus in the school play and I was tied to the rock, right? But I wasn't tied to

the rock. So I would hold my arms around, I go, oh, if I could just get off this rock and then I'd reach around and scratch my nose. So Gary would always teach me, I remember you when you were Prometheus. I couldn't, if I could get off this rock, it would be so nice to get off this rock. And then he would always tease me about. So we were, we grew up together. I don't Gary since I was in sixth grade.

Gary was the kindest, most generous man. He, you know, you were, you guys were talking earlier about Mickey Rooney. He doesn't do drama. Yeah.

He just doesn't do drama on set. So I was in the Flamingo Kid. I was cover set, which means people don't know, when it's raining, we shoot. We were shooting at this country club out in Rockaway in November, trying to make it look warm. But Gary

knew that it wasn't going to rain all that much, so I made a bunch of money. And Gary was just... Gary shoots a lot, as far as just from a technical standpoint, Gary shoots everything and then cuts it later. But I mean, Gary, look at the people, Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. No, none of the people who have worked with him say anything, but he was just an absolute pleasure. The kindest man, the generous man. He always used to say, you have to be nice to the people on the way up because when you're going down they might kick you you know so he

and uh and that was true because gary had he had so he had say one of his lawyers or somebody had put him in a really bad deal i remember that he had made pretty woman and it was a huge hit some some one of his lawyers took all that money and put it in some land deal had no cash bad deal. I remember that he had made pretty woman and it was huge hit. Some, some one of his lawyers took all that money and put it in some land deal had no cash. Um, and he had made that doctors in love movie or something. And he made a couple of flops and,

uh, it was career. What? Oh no, this was prior to pretty woman. Pretty woman was the comeback. He'd made a couple of bad movies and it looked like his career was kind of going down and,

people helped him because he had helped others we will return to gilbert godfrey's amazing colossal podcast but first a word from our sponsor nobody goes on vacation for the moments that are just okay that's why sunwing vacationers go all in like it's a buffet of fun whether you're skimming the treetops like tarzan's long lost twin or deep end swimming with your flippers and fins or maybe you're just perfecting the art of doing absolutely nothing whatever vacationer you are with sunwing you save more so you can do more book with your local travel agent or you are with Sunwing. You save more so you can do more. Book with your local travel agent or that's the sound of fried chicken with a spicy history. Thornton Prince was a ladies man to get

revenge. His girlfriend hid spices in his fried chicken. He loved it so much, he opened Prince's Hot Chicken. Hot chicken in the window. This is one of many sounds in Tennessee with a story to tell. To hear them in person, plan your trip at tnvacation.com. Tennessee sounds perfect. Adam, is there a Sinatra story? Oh, there is.

Yeah, there is. Can you give us the condensed version of it? I'll try to give you the, it's hard to condense this story. I know there's a Sinatra story in there somewhere. There's always a Sinatra story. So, growing up, I was a rock and roller, long hair. And then in my 20s, I kind of got it. Like Sinatra was great. Hated that music when I was a kid. I'm in my 20s, I kind of got it. Like Sinatra was great.

Hated that music when I was a kid. I'm in my 20s. I'm really into Sinatra. So that's just a little bit of background on my orientation. So my dad calls me one week on a Monday and he goes, you want to go to the fights? And I used to go down on Friday. He'd make pasta and we would watch the fights. He would bootleg the fights on his TV.

And I go, yeah, I'll come down on Friday. What time? He goes, no, no, no, Vegas. I was like, yay. Wait, you want me to go to Vegas with you? He's like, yeah, one condition, no girlfriends. I was like, wait a minute. You're asking me to go to Las Vegas and to leave my girlfriend behind,

and you and I are going to kick it in Vegas for the weekend? Fuck yes, I'm in. What fight is it? And it's the Hagler Leonard fight. You know, like the one, if you know fights, that was the one that just changed Marvin Hagler. I mean, it broke Marvin Hagler, right? He got a raw deal.

So I'm like, yeah, definitely. So we're going to, it's Caesar's Palace and we're walking through the lobby and he hands me the ticket. And I looked down at the tickets, 84. And he, I see, I see $800 on the ticket. I'm like, Jesus Christ, that 800. I wouldn't pay that. My dad would never pay $800 for a ticket to anything because not, I did some commercial Nate, you know, they gave it to me. I'm like, okay, this could be interesting. So we walk into, nah, I did some commercial, Nate. You know, they gave it to me. I'm like, okay, this could be interesting.

So we walk into Caesar's palace and, you know, we go to the first round and we walk down, we keep walking down, we keep walking down. I'm like, Jesus, we're walking towards the front of the stadium, right? We end up walk all the way down. We're, we're, we're ringside and we're sitting in Sugar Ray Leonard's corner. Cause he knows Angelo Dundee, who's also a Philly guy. So we're, we're,

this is the Marvin Hagler Leonard fight and we're sitting on the corner. And I'm like, okay, now people, what's it like, you know, having a celebrity as a father, this is definitely the upside for sure.

I'm like, this is, we're on the fucking corner. I'm like, this is incredible. I've got a beard. I look like a rabbi. So all of a sudden, so we're sitting there and, you know, usual celebrities, you see

him and everything. And so my dad and Frank Sinatra know each other because they did The Candidate together, right? So many, many years ago. So before this. So there's a little bit of commotion and these guys, you know, guys come out and, you know, you know who they are. They're, they're, they're in Vegas, they're Italian looking guys and they're looking,

they're checking everything out and there's a little bit of commotion. And then and then they go away. And then all of a sudden they come back out and they're like, Mr. Frank Sinatra coming through Frank Sinatra. And so, so there's all this commotion, right? So there's, they're sent out to there's his scouts. They're sent out to find out who's sitting where. So Frank can chart his course to his seat. Right.

And Sinatra. So, so, so now there's all this commotion and my dad turns to me and he says, I'm not getting up. What do you mean? You're not getting up? Frank Sinatra goes, I'm not getting up. I'm like, dad, you got to stand up. Frank Sinatra goes, I'm not getting up and neither are you. This is going to be really interesting. So now it's a full stadium. There's 20,000 people in Caesars Palace or whatever it is. Everybody in Caesars Palace knows that Frank Sinatra just entered the building. Everyone.

My dad's looking away, you know, pretending he doesn't. And you're like, I'm like, Dad, here he comes. So Sinatra's starting to come. And my old man has pledged that he's not going to stand up. And you have to understand that for my dad, this is like a coat of the corner. They're communicating non-verbally from the minute, you know, Sinatra walks in. The worst thing that could happen to my father would be that he would stand up and Sinatra would walk by. My dad would throw himself out of the hotel window that night.

Like that's his worst fear, right? Coat of the corner, that doesn't happen. So, so I'm sitting there and sinatra's coming closer and closer closer like what the fuck is gonna happen this is crazy i can't believe this is happening and he's not jack's looking away like there's something more important meanwhile the entire 20 000 people know sinatra's there and he walked and he's coming close i'm like jesus christ and he comes right up next to my man. And we're on the corner, right? He stops.

He says, what's the matter, Jake? You don't stand up for me? I called him Jake. And my dad turns to him and goes, Frank, I didn't see you. And he turns to me and he goes, stand up. I never heard that part of it. So I stand up and I'm like, holy shit, I'm going to go eyeball to eyeball Frank Sinatra. And I'm a huge fan at this point, right?

I'm like, this is definitely a peak experience. So Sinatra looks over at me. He goes, Frank, this is my son, Adam, and I've got a beard. And Sinatra reaches over and he grabs my, doesn't shake my, I put out my hand, doesn't grab my hand, grabs my beard so fucking hard. Like bring tears to your eyes. Not like, hey, wasn't a tug. It was like, it's testing my manhood, right? I did not flinching.

You know, I know you're pulling my beard out, but I'm not going to flinch. He pulls it really hard and holds it for a second. And I'm eyeball to eyeball with Sinatra. I'm looking in Sinatra's blue eyes. And he lets it go, smacks me across the face good and hard, turns to my father and goes,

nice looking boy, Jack. Wow. And then my dad goes, turns to me and good story that's a good story that's what we're telling right frank okay let's go quick and we'll go around as we run out of time quickly favorite episode and why bob favorite episode uh probably take my furniture please with bella brooke by harvey miller yeah episode and why? Bob. Favorite episode. Probably Take My Furniture, Please. With Bella Brooke. Written by Harvey Miller. Yeah, Harvey Miller. I was

in a Harvey Miller movie. He was. Bad Medicine. Yeah. I worked with Harvey. Harvey Skolnick. He was a nut. Harvey Skolnick. Harvey Skolnick. I even have a hand chair. I even have a hand chair. He does have a hand chair.

Oh, yes. I feel like I have one. I remember this. How do you feel, Oscar? Like I'm insured. You know what they did with those hand chairs? I remember I was on set with those hand chairs and it was kind of cool because you'd never seen him before.

Right. And and the cast, you know, I mean, the crew the crew when you came they came back from dinner to shoot they had been it down so the it was the Dave just held up his middle finger since this is an audio podcast yeah Dave Juskow favorite episode and why quickly i just have to go with the standard password one. Password. It is just absolutely the greatest, as everyone says, and mostly for the absolute genius when you're a kid, the writing, when they get back to that Lincoln, ridiculous. When you're a kid, you're like, oh, my God, that's the smartest thing I've ever seen in my life,

how they brought it around like that. Aristophanes. Written by the late, great Frank Buxton, right, Bob? Yes. Yes. Bob? Yes. Game show host. That's where he says granite. Graphite. Yeah, graphite.

Graphite. Lead. Graphite. Pencil. I love pets. It's such a pretty word. I love pets. I think it was also a game show host at one time.

David, what I love in that episode is you can see that Jack's collar is up, right? It's not supposed to be up. And so when you watch again, Tony reaches over and tries to fix it. Get out of here. It works so perfectly. Recently, I just saw extended footage I'd never seen before on Channel 11. Oh, yeah. Like a whole nother scene that I never had seen before.

They were pretty. Oh, they caught him and they put it back in. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Syndication. That was awesome. Didn't Dad like the password episode? I think he did. I think that was his favorite episode.

I know it's the standard, but it's the best. Okay, Gilbert, favorite Odd Couple episode? I mean, it's almost impossible because, I mean, so many great ones. But I did like the one where they go back in time and he's blinky well adam's in that one oh yes that is i think that's that's what oh what i remember about that one is i oh who was the girl in that who is the actor barbara rose friend barbara rose her new york state's wife. That's right. So she's like a sexy girl, and she's sitting on Tony Randall's lap and trying to kiss him. And he goes, Miss, I wouldn't do that if I were you. I have a, what's that word I'm thinking of?

And then he goes, oh, wife. Gilbert Wilmer the Gun Soul is in that episode. Yes. Elijah Cook Jr. Elijah Cook Jr. Turns up in that episode. Blinky Madison, one of my favorites. Okay, Dave, favorite episode?

You know, I wish I had one. I'm not the aficionado as you guys are, but I've seen the play so many times and so many iterations with my dad. I would have to say that it's so much nearer and dearer to me than any of the episodes. Interesting. I sort of see all

of this series as splinters out of this brilliant idea that actually came from Danny Simon, not Neil Simon. And Roy Gerber. And his roommate, Roy Gerber. And the genius of it is, as my dad said, and it's obvious to see, everyone's going to relate. Because if you put any two people together, you're going to get some kind of odd couple. And if you know how to play with that, you're going to make people laugh.

It's funny. And we were talking on the phone how Neil Simon did it again with a man and a woman in The Goodbye Girl. Two people forced to share an apartment. Same formula. But, Dave, was there a moment on stage that dad did that stands out to you? My favorite moment in the play is when Tony is just furious that my father, Oscar's come home late and the rump roast is burnt. And he's sitting on one side of the room.

My dad feels like a shame child on the other side of the room. And he says, well, why of the room. My dad feels like a shame child on the other side of the room. And he says, well, why don't you go get another roast? And Tony Randall gets up angrily and walks up and says, where am I going to get a rump roast at 12 o'clock? And starts yelling at him. And it's just this genuine moment of, like, you don't understand anything of what I've gone through. You know?

It's like this hurt housewife and this dumb, you know, monkey. They use that line again and I think it's the password. Do you ever know a Monday when I didn't bake? Yes. Exactly. I'm so jealous of you, Dave, that you got to go on the road with those guys and watch that stuff from the wings. What a life

experience. It was cool. When I was youngest, I will say where I laughed the hardest the first time I saw it was after my dad and after Oscar and Tony have had a terrible fight and they're not talking to each other. Tony's built a nice, you've seen the play, he's got a nice plate of pasta for him. And my dad just did it so well. He's doing end dust, you know, in the air, the opposite of what he would do normally. And so Tony covers his pasta thinking, you know, in the air. The opposite of what he would do normally. And so Tony covers his pasta thinking, you know, he's going to come over

and get me. So, you know, my dad does the old trick where he puts it down. Tony releases his hands and then he just sprays the pasta. And it's such a fun and he goes, you did, look what you did to, he says, what, to my, to your, by your spaghetti. And he goes, ah, you're such an imbecile.

It's not spaghetti, it's lingu spaghetti. And he goes, ah, you're such an imbecile. It's not spaghetti. It's linguine. What I wouldn't That's when Oscar picks up the garbage. That's what I wouldn't give to see those two guys doing that play. I'll tell you, Victor Spinetti was not someone

to underestimate in that play. He was incredible. I mean, that was only seven, but the impression he made on me was incredible. Adam, favorite episode was only seven, but the impression he made on me was incredible. Adam, favorite episode or favorite moment of Dad's on screen? The monks. Yeah, that's beautiful. That scene

where they're silently baking and the X is on the chest. Why don't you bake your stomach? That culminates in that line. That bit to me is classic. Honeymooners. I don't care what.

It's as good as anything you'll ever see on TV. And now you know what a good father Jack was because Adam did not choose the episode with himself. No. Because that's exactly what I do. He doesn't have a big ego. Exactly. I remember the one with the monk. because that's exactly what I think. He doesn't have a big ego.

I remember the one with the monk. One of the guys gives a whole long speech saying, he goes, today I watched a butterfly land on a flower and it flapped its wings gently. And Oscar goes, and he's the social director. Dick Stahl. Dick Stahl. Dick Stahl. Nine episodes.

Nine episodes. Genius. Genius. Oh, my God. The episode, the part that makes me crack up is when they both decide to go into therapy. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And there's that argument between the therapist and the secretary.

Richard Stahl and his secretary where she says, you are bald. Shirley Mitchell. Right. Yeah. And he's great. Shirley Mitchell. She'd go. He says, you know, do some type that up. And she goes, you type it up. And he goes, I don't need to type it up. And then he goes, I have my own job. And he holds his diploma. I'm a doctor. He's also great as the pet store owner when Oscar types on the frog's leg and injures the frog.

I want to read some of those. Nine episodes. They must have loved him. Richard Stahl, genius. Oh, he was great. But, you know, another reason that I love the show is those character actors, Bob. And you list them all in the book. I mean, Bella Brooke, who always cracked Jack up, pushover Paige, the great John Fiedler, who was in the movie.

Oh, yeah. Yes. Yes. Right. He was a friend. Yeah. And John Fiedler was a friend of the family. He was a friend of my mother's. Oh, is that right? Yeah, he was close. He was a friend. Yeah. And John Fiedler was a friend of the family. He was a friend of my mother's.

Oh, is that right? Yeah, he was close. He was in 12 Angry Men, too. He was in that movie with the high security building. Yeah, he's also the trainer of Silver the Wonder Dog. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Jack Sue as the wrestler. Jack Sue, sumo wrestler.

The great Vito Scotti. Rita Shaw, who played that nanny from hell. The one that Felix hires to take care of Oscar. Ed Peck is the tough guy on the Belkin Airlines. Probably wasn't even in the service.

You guys are sissies. That was a great one. The Flying Felix. Belkin Airlines probably wasn't even in the service. You guys are sissies. That was a great one. The Flying Felix, right? Yes. There's a tremendous woman blocking the aisle. There's a story about that one. Oh, and I remember Tony Randall looking out of the plane and going, wait, I can read their lips.

I fear there's something wrong with the fuselage, Frederick. That was Tony's idea to have the parachutes. They originally had it. It was going to be a gay charter flight. And ABC put their foot down and said, you can't do that. And so they were trying to come up with an ending for it. And it was Tony Randall who came up with it was a parachute club and they would be the only two left. That was a contribution in the writer's room to that.

There's nothing better when he comes back from the bathroom and just sits down. And then suddenly it hits him. What's the timing on that that you actually, you know, figure it out? All those actors. Fritz Feld shows up, Gilbert. Yes, yes. The great Louis Gus, who says maybe they teach geese. Charles Lane, the ageless Charles Lane, shows up in the furniture episode. I've got cash.

I want that desk. Cliff Norton as Lloyds of Lubbock. The great Dub Taylor shows up in the quarterback, the Eskimo quarterback episode. So many wonderful characters. What about John Biner? Hey, John Biner. Yes.

I'm going to, in fact, since I didn't go and pick my favorite episode, I'm going to pick the new car. Yeah. John Biner. And Dave told me on the phone that, that dad couldn't do a straight take.

He couldn't keep a straight face with, with Biner. No, he couldn't. i i was i was in the dressing room with my dad and i remember saying i'm not gonna get through it i go what i got some about john beiner just slayed him every time when you see him do it he you see he goes hey park is Park is my life. So if you look at the gag reel, you can see he starts to laugh, and Tony doesn't know it, and Jack's just practically tears coming down his face.

And then he turns to him, and the whole scene is over. He said he couldn't get through it, and he couldn't. And actually, if you go back, as I told you, Frank, earlier, and look at the scene that they actually finally got through, it's not really that good because my dad just, like I say, looks like an eight-year-old trying to just get out the way. In the outtake at the end, Tony says, well, bad, bad. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Bad, bad. Look at my life. Give me a street, I'll give you an ordinance. Give me a street, I'll give you an ordinance. Gilbert, other than John Beiner, eight guests of this very podcast appeared on The Odd Couple. Can you name one? Okay, let's see. Well, of course, you already said John Paul Williams.

Right. Oh, was Peter Marshall, was he on? was no no uh okay oh damn it oh david steinberg very good um okay oh shit you let me see i'm gonna read them off in the interest of time yes yes david david david john beiner was here. David Steinberg. Bernie Coppell. Oh. Dick Cavett. John Astin, we mentioned.

Joyce Van Patten. Great. And Clint Howard. Oh. Wow. Yes. We also had Barbara Barry, who was in the Odd Couple remake or the sequel, the TV movie. And our friend Ron Friedman,

as we said, who wrote seven episodes. And a lot of other guests on this show have odd couple connections, like Matthew Broderick played Felix, and Paul Dooley played Felix, I believe, and Jason Alexander played Oscar or Felix? I think he played Oscar.

I thought he played Felix. Or maybe he played Felix. I would have he play? I thought he played Felix. I'm sorry. Or maybe he played Felix. Anyway. I would have liked to have seen him in either role. A lot of odd couple connections. So real quick, let's plug Bob's books.

Bob, quickly, this great odd couple book, which people can get on Amazon, full of stories. You've got an episode guide. You've got a glossary in there. A lot of fun. A lot of great interviews. It's called The Odd Couple on Stage and Screen from McFarlane Publishing, but it's available wherever books are sold online. And people can get your other wonderful books about pop music and sitcom history. And you're

a man after my own heart. Yes. And one about wings coming up, which involves our host. Oh, Gilbert, you have to give Bob an interview. I did three episodes. Yes, funny episodes. Yes, with... Lewis Blanchard. Yes, and with... William Hickey.

William Hickey. Very good. And Dave, let's hear about your podcast. Oh, it's called The Night Fly, and it's basically just talking about this kind of stuff. And, you know, a lot of $6 million man references. But it's just a hodgepodge of nonsense and stuff we like to remember. And on Tuesdays, I do a show on YouTube through the Comedy Cellar, just making football picks at 8.30. Okay. And Dave and Adam, I do a show on YouTube through the Comedy Cellar, just making football picks at 830.

Okay. And Dave and Adam, I can't imagine you have anything to plug. Just the book. Let's plug the book, Tony and Me. Tony and Me. Available on Amazon. You can get the Kindle version. You can get the iBooks version.

Definitely, if you love The Odd Couple and you love The Old Man and you love Tony, you'll read it fast. It's really good. And a lot of it is in Jack's voice, too. So you really get it. And you learn a little bit more about Jack's history. And, you know, like the story I didn't tell about how he, at seven years old, knew that he wanted to be an actor and then kept it a secret for 15 years. And the hardcover comes with a gag reel for only $20. That's right.

I teared up reading the end of the book, and we'll make people buy the book to hear the Helen Hayes story the night you guys were in the room. It's a beautiful story. It's a beautiful story about Jack's courage, and we'll urge people to buy the book. And, you know, if you're not a fan of this show, what the hell is wrong with you? Find these episodes.

Track them down. Do the research into these great actors and into Harvey Miller and Gary Marshall and Jerry Belson and all of the wonderful character actors we named. I want to dedicate this episode to some people, to our friend Ron Friedman and to John and Terry and Laura Musio and Jeff Bernstein and Vinny Favale, the biggest odd couple fans I know. And we also want to thank Orville Kruger, Dr. Clove, Aristophanes, Happy Greshler,

Harry Tallman, Mildred Fleener, Wild Willie Boggs, Crazy Rhoda Zimmerman, Oscar Matasoi, Mob Gump, History has changed. changed and of course Silver the Wonder Dog guys this was a blast it's the first time I've worn pants in a long time since March thank you for sharing that Bob thanks for inviting me

it was really a pleasure to meet you guys Thank you for sharing that, Bob. Thanks for inviting me. Thanks for inviting me, guys. It was really a pleasure to meet you guys. A real pleasure. I really appreciate it. And maybe, Dave, you could draw a picture of him with no pants on. I was just going to say, prove it, you know? Guys, this show has meant so much to Gilbert and to me. We've talked about it.

We've been doing this podcast since 2014. We're always quoting the Odd Couple chapter and verse. When I found out the anniversary was coming, I got so excited. I'm so glad that I reached out to you guys. We also have to thank Jonathan Tesler for hooking me up with David. Yeah, Jonathan Tesler. Our pal Jonathan Tesler. This was an absolute treat for us, and I know our fans are going to just eat it with a spoon. Gilbert, I love you. This is one of those shows I could do an odd couple

episode every other week for another thing. What's really cool for me, and I think I speak for Dave, is that people that love him and that he's still got a legacy and it's still alive and we're still laughing, I know that he would really appreciate that.

So we were both, for my part, just thrilled to be here and be able to just celebrate him. He was a great guy. We loved him. Likewise. This is a very cool legacy. Thank you. It's an honor. And mom, too.

She kept us laughing for decades. I mean, both of them, special talents. And this show is a tribute and it's in gratitude for all of the laughs and the entertainment that these people have provided. Thank you guys for being a part of it. Yeah, thanks for your laugh tonight. It was fun. Thank you. A real joy.

Gil, you want to take us out? Once again, I'm Gilbert Gottfried and this has been Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast with my co-host, Frank Santopadre. And tonight we are closing and saying thank you to Dave Gutjohn. I told you, Frank. Dave Justkow. Mark Leschak. Bob. Where do you see Mark? Dave, Dave, Mark, let's check. Bob. Where do you see Mark?

Bob, let's check. Oscar, Mattis socks. Yeah. And what if I fuck up Klugman. Actually, that might be perfect. Adam Klugman and Dave Klugman. Thank you. Thank you, guys.

Believe it or not, we're going to go out on something from the Odd Couple album. Put it on in post. Thank you, gentlemen. This was a joy. Thank you. Thank you, Frank. Good night, everyone. Thanks a lot.

You know, buddy, we've had our ups and downs. We had our fights and our arguments, but we've always snapped back. And I have figured out why. Why? Look, there is a battleship. There is a sailing ship. But the most important ship is friendship. If you're ever in a jam, here I am.

If you're ever in a mess, S.O.S. If you ever feel so happy you land in jail, I'm your bail. It's friendship, friendship, just a perfect blend-ship. When other friendships have been forgot, ours will still be hot. Lottle, lottle, lottle, vododeo. Take it, baby. Ours will still be hot La-da-la-da-la-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Take it, baby If you're ever up a tree Phone to me, take it, baby

If you're ever down a well Ring my bell You heard me well If you ever lost your teeth And you're out to dine Borrow mine It's friendship, friendship lost your teeth and you're out to dine, borrow mine. It's friendship,

friendship, just a perfect blend-ship. When other friendships have been forgave, ours will still be great. La-da-da-da-da-da-chuck-chuck-chuck. Take it yourself. If you ever lose your mind,

I'll be yourself. If you ever lose your mind, I'll be kind. I'll let you know. If you ever lose your shirt, I'll be hurt. Let me $20 now. I got a good horse. If you're ever in a mill and get sawed in half, I won't laugh. It's friendship, friendship. life is friendship friendship just a perfect blend ship when other friendships go up in smoke ours will still be oh la la la la boop boop boop boop boop if they ever hang you part send a card, send a card. If they ever cut your throat, send a note and read it.

If they ever make a cannibal stew of you, invite me too. It's friendship, friendship. Just a perfect friendship. When other friendships have been forget Ours will still be it Lotta, lotta, lotta, hep, hep, hep Ours will still be it Lotta, lotta, lotta, hep, hep, hep

Ours will still be it Lotta, lotta, lotta, hep, hep, hep