Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Merry Christmas from SitcomsOnline; Remembering Jack Klugman from The Odd Couple, Quincy M.E.
Onto a bit of sad news, yesterday (December 24, 2012) we lost actor Jack Klugman. He is of course best known to sitcom fans as Oscar Madison on the hit '70s sitcom The Odd Couple, based on the Neil Simon play and film of the same name. The series ran on ABC from 1970-75 and Klugman co-starred with Tony Randall, who played Felix Unger. The series was of course about two divorced men living together -- a neat freak and a slob -- Klugman played Oscar Madison, the slob sportswriter to Tony Randall's overly fussy Felix Unger. The sitcom got solid ratings and received critical acclaim. Klugman won two Emmys for this role (and was nominated three other times) and a Golden Globe, not bad for a man whose first drama teacher told him he was better suited to be a truck driver. The show ran just for five years, but has lived on for decades in syndication. Klugman's co-star Randall passed away in 2004 at age 84. In 2005, Klugman published Tony And Me: A Story of Friendship, a book about his long friendship with Randall which began in 1955 (15 years prior to Odd Couple) when they both appeared on an episode of the CBS series Appointment with Adventure. For Klugman, no cause of death was mentioned, however he battled throat cancer for many years, losing his voice as a result of a 1989 surgery. He spoke in a rasp thereafter.
After The Odd Couple ended, Klugman went on to play another iconic TV character in the NBC drama Quincy, M.E. from 1976-83. In that series, Klugman became just as iconic playing the relentless Los Angeles medical examiner with a talent for forensics. He was nominated four times for an Emmy for this show, but never won. He actually got his start in show business in 1950 and by 1954 he was on the soap opera The Greatest Gift. He had various guest appearances on series in the '50s such as in Gunsmoke, Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchock Presents, and appeared in major movies like 12 Angry Men (1957), playing juror No. 5; Days of Wine and Roses (1962), starring opposite Jack Lemmon; and Goodbye Columbus (1969), based on the novella by Philip Roth, starring Ali MacGraw and Richard Benjamin. He won his first Emmy Award in 1964 for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in the series The Defenders.
He starred in the short-lived NBC sitcom Harris Against the World in the 1964-65 season. After Quincy, he starred with a then-unknown John Stamos in the short-lived sitcom You Again? on NBC from 1986-87. Some of his other TV appearances were on The Virginian, Naked City, The Fugitive, Ben Casey, I Dream of Jeannie, The F.B.I., Love American Style, The Love Boat, Diagnosis Murder, Brother's Keeper, The Outer Limits, Third Watch, Crossing Jordan and Presido Med. He also appeared on many game shows like Match Game, Hollywood Squares, Password Plus, and $25,000 Pyramid. In 1993, he reunited with Tony Randall for the TV-movie The Odd Couple: Together Again, but this time on CBS. He was married to Brett Somers (Match Game), who also guest starred as his ex-wife Blanche in The Odd Couple, from 1953 until her death in 2007 (though they separated in 1974, they never divorced). His survivors include their two sons, Adam Klugman and David Klugman, and two grandchildren. In 2008, he married his longtime girlfriend Peggy Crosby, the ex-wife of Bing Crosby's son, Phillip Crosby.
The Archive of American Television conducted an extensive two-and-a-half hour interview with Klugman in 2004 that you can watch. Mr. Klugman will be deeply missed by fans of The Odd Couple and Quincy, M.E. for sure and all of his other work. We will keep you up to date of any on-air tributes for him. The Odd Couple is coming back to MeTV Network starting December 31, weeknights at 10pm, as we previously reported. So a best bet marathon for that series will be from them. In New York City, local independent station WLNY-TV (10/55) already had planned a marathon of The Odd Couple on New Year's Eve beginning at 12 midnight lasting through New Year's Day at 9pm. Now that marathon gets bittersweet with the passing of Klugman. We'll keep you up to date of any on-air tributes (hopefully someone will air Quincy which was last on Hallmark in 2003-04), so stay with us! Mr. Klugman was 90.
Share your memories on our The Odd Couple message board. View photos in our The Odd Couple and Quincy, M.E. photo galleries.
Sitcoms Airing Tonight
Wednesday, January 27
The Goldbergs - "Cocoon" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Beverly enlists the help of Erica, who has recently declared pre-law as her major, to sue her cookbook publisher after finding her book in the bargain bin at a bookstore. Meanwhile, Adam and Pops bond while taking a trip on the wild side after Adam convinces Pops to fall back into some youthful adventures.
American Housewife - "Under Pressure" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Greg ropes Katie into a double date with Principal Ablin (Jerry Lambert) and Maria (Julie Meyer) in an attempt to further his political aspirations. Meanwhile, Anna-Kat’s new found popularity at school proves to be overwhelming.
The Conners - "Promotions, Podcasts and Magic Tea" (ABC,
9:00PM ET/PT)
Darlene earns a promotion at Wellman Plastics, while Ben decides on a new career path. Meanwhile, Jackie tries an herbal tea leading to an emotional revelation.
Call Your Mother - "Quaran-Jean (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
After the secret gets out that Jean came to L.A. to check on Freddie but not Jackie during quarantine, Jean plans a girls’ night for just her and Jackie to bond, but it doesn’t go as smoothly as planned. Meanwhile, Celia grows frustrated with Freddie always counting on his mother to take care of him and confronts him for taking Jean’s advice over hers.
Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of January 25)
Wednesday, January 27
- Leslie Odom Jr. (Central Park/Big Day) - Watch Leslie on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
- Rami Malek (The War at Home) - Rami appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
- Billy Crystal (The Comedians/Soap) - Billy is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
- Stanley Tucci (Central Park) - Stanley will be on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
- Adam DeVine (Workaholics/Modern Family) - Adam appears on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
- Kyra Sedgwick (Call Your Mother) - Kyra chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
- Ted Danson (Mr. Mayor/The Good Place/Becker/Cheers) - Ted appears on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
- Drew Carey (The Drew Carey Show/The Good Life) - Drew plays fan-favorite Clock Game for members of her VFFs for a chance to win cash and prizes on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
- Nico Santos (Superstore) - Nico talks about the new season of Superstore on Rachael Ray, so check your local listings.
- Yara Shahidi (grown-ish/black-ish) - Yara talks about Freeform's grown-ish on Access Daily, so check your local listings.
- Gina Yashere (Bob Hearts Abishola) - Gina talks about Bob Hearts Abishola on The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
New on DVD/Blu-ray (September-January)
09/01 - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Season 14
09/01 - What We Do in the Shadows - The Complete Second Season
09/01 - Young Sheldon - The Complete Third Season (Blu-ray)
09/15 - Mom - The Complete Seventh Season
09/15 - South Side - Season 1
09/22 - Brockmire - The Complete Second Season
09/22 - Brockmire - The Complete Third Season
09/22 - Brockmire - The Complete Fourth Season
09/22 - Man with a Plan - Season Three
09/29 - The Bob Newhart Show - The Complete Series (2020 Release)
10/13 - The Jetsons - The Complete Series (Diamond Collection)
10/13 - Our Cartoon President - Season Two
10/23 - Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em - The Complete Collection
10/27 - The Flintstones - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/27 - Head of the Class - The Complete Second Season (WBShop.com)
11/10 - Letterkenny - Seasons 5 & 6
11/10 - The Office - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/10 - Schitt's Creek - The Complete Collection
11/17 - Carol's Second Act - The Complete Series
11/17 - Robbie - Season 1
11/24 - Corporate - Season 1
11/26 - Man with a Plan - Season Four
12/01 - The Neighborhood - Season Two
12/15 - Avenue 5 - The Complete First Season
More TV DVD Releases / DVD Reviews Archive / SitcomsOnline Digest
Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts
