Tony Randall
Tony Randall | |
|---|---|
 Randall in 2003 | |
| Born | Arthur Leonard Rosenberg February 26, 1920 |
| Died | May 17, 2004 (aged 84) |
| Occupation | Actor/Comedian |
| Years active | 1940s–2003 |
| Spouse(s) | Florence Gibbs (1942-1992; her death) Heather Harlan (1995-2004; his death; 2 children) |
Tony Randall (February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor, comic, producer and director, known for his role as Felix Unger in the television adaptation of Neil Simon's play, The Odd Couple.[1][2]
Early years
Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg, to a Jewish family, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia (née Finston) and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer.[3] He attended Tulsa Central High School.[4]
Randall attended Northwestern University for a year before going to New York City to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. He studied under Sanford Meisner and choreographer Martha Graham around 1935. As Anthony Randall, he starred with Jane Cowl in George Bernard Shaw's Candida and Ethel Barrymore in Emlyn Williams's The Corn Is Green. Randall then served for four years with the United States Army Signal Corps in World War II, refusing an entertainment assignment with Special Services. After the war, he worked at the Olney Theatre in Montgomery County, Maryland before heading back to New York City. Prior to his appearance in "Candida", Randall worked as an announcer at radio station WTAG, Worcester MA.[5]
Career
Randall appeared in minor roles on Broadway, and supporting roles on tours. In the 1940s one of his first job was playing "Reggie" on the long-running radio series I Love a Mystery. In 1946, he was cast as one of the brothers in a touring production of Katharine Cornell's revival of The Barretts of Wimpole Street.[6] His first major role in a Broadway hit was in Inherit the Wind in 1955 portraying Newspaperman E. K. Hornbeck (based on real life cynic H. L. Mencken). In 1958, he played the leading role in the musical comedy Oh, Captain!, taking on a role originated on film by Alec Guinness. Oh, Captain! was a financial failure, but Randall received a Tony Award nomination for his legendary dance turn with prima ballerina Alexandra Danilova.
Television
His first major television role was as history teacher Harvey Weskit in Mr. Peepers (1952–1955). He then starred in an NBC-TV special The Secret of Freedom which was filmed during the summer of 1959 in Mount Holly, New Jersey, and broadcast on the network during the fall of 1959 and again in early 1960.
He returned to television in 1970 as Felix Unger in The Odd Couple, opposite Jack Klugman, a role lasting for five years. The names of Unger's children on The Odd Couple were Edna and Leonard, named after Randall's sister and Randall himself. In 1974, Randall and Jack Klugman appeared in television spots endorsing a Yahtzee spinoff, Challenge Yahtzee. They appeared in character as Felix and Oscar, and the TV spots were filmed on the same set as The Odd Couple.
Later he starred in The Tony Randall Show, playing a Philadelphia judge, and Love, Sidney. In the TV movie that served as the latter show's pilot, Sidney Shorr was written as a gay man, but his character's sexuality was made ambiguous when the series premiered. After failing an audition for the role of Scout in a made for television musical version of To Kill a Mockingbird, Randall refused to star in any more television shows.
Randall was the host for the October 30 – November 2, 1987 free preview of HBO's short-lived premium channel Festival.[7]
In September 1993, Randall and Jack Klugman reunited in the CBS-TV movie The Odd Couple: Together Again reprising their roles. The story began when, after Felix ruined plans for his daughter Edna's wedding, his wife Gloria threw him out of the house for 11 days, which left him no choice but to move back in with Oscar and to help him recover, getting him back in shape after throat cancer surgery left his voice very raspy.
Film
He starred as nearly all of the leading characters in the 1964 classic film 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, which was based on The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles G. Finney. The film received an Oscar for William J. Tuttle's makeup artistry. His film roles included Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957) Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957), The Mating Game (1959), Pillow Talk (1959), Let's Make Love (1960), Boys' Night Out (1962), The Brass Bottle (1964), Hello Down There (1969), The King of Comedy (1983) and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990).
Stage
In 1991, he founded the National Actors Theatre (ultimately housed at Pace University in New York City) where starred in The Inspector General(1994), Three Men on a Horse (1993), and gave his final stage performance in Luigi Pirandello's Right You Are (If You Think You Are) in 2003.
Periodically, he performed in stage revivals of The Odd Couple with Jack Klugman including a stint in London in 1996. The following year, Randall and Klugman reunited to appear on Broadway in a revival of The Sunshine Boys. From 1988 to 1990, he appeared in John Dexter's production of M. Butterfly.
Guest appearances
On September 4, 1955, Randall and Jack Klugman appeared together with Gena Rowlands in the episode "The Pirate's House" of the CBS anthology series, Appointment with Adventure.
Randall was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and often spoke of his love of opera, saying it was due in no small part to the salaciousness of many of the plotlines. He also admitted to sneaking tape recorders into operas to make his own private recordings. He chided Johnny Carson for his chain-smoking, and was generally fastidious. At the time of his death, Randall had appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show 105 times, more often than any other celebrity.
Randall appeared frequently on What's My Line?, Password, The Hollywood Squares, and the $10,000 and $20,000 Pyramids. He also parodied his pompous image with an appearance as a "contestant" on The Gong Show in 1977.
First aired on October 11 of 1980, Randall was a guest star on the 5th and final season of The Muppet Show. This was the 100th episode of the show.
Randall, along with John Goodman and Drew Barrymore was one of the first guests on the debut episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien on 13 September 1993. He would also appear in Conan's 5th Anniversary Special with the character PimpBot 5000. Randall was also a frequent guest on both of David Letterman's late-night shows Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Show with David Letterman, making 70 appearances, according to his obituary in the Washington Post; Letterman said that Randall was one of his favorite guests, along with Regis Philbin.
On November 7, 1994, Randall appeared on the game show Jeopardy!, as part of a Special Edition Celebrity Jeopardy! episode, playing on behalf of the National Actors Theatre. He came in second place after General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. and before Actress Stefanie Powers, with a final score of $9,900.[8]
In 1999, Randall was featured in the Simpsons episode "Maximum Homerdrive" (season 10, episode 17). A picture of Randall is seen on a wall of fame in a steakhouse, displaying the only two persons who have finished a 16-lb. steak called "Sir Loinalot".
Other creative activities
In 1973, Tony Randall and Jack Klugman recorded an album called "The Odd Couple Sings" for London Records. Roland Shaw and The London Festival Orchestra and Chorus provided the music and additional vocals.[9] The record was not a chart-topper but is a highly sought-after item for many Odd Couple fans.[10]
A noted raconteur, Randall co-wrote with Mike Mindlin a collection of amusing and sometimes racy show business anecdotes called Which Reminds Me, published in 1989.
In keeping with his penchant for both championing and mocking the culture that he loved, during the Big Band era revival in the mid-1960s he produced a record album of 1930s songs, Vo Vo De Oh Doe, inspired by (and covering) The New Vaudeville Band's one-hit wonder, "Winchester Cathedral." He mimicked (and somewhat exaggerated) the vibrato style of Carmen Lombardo, and the two of them once sang a duet of Lombardo's signature song "Boo Hoo (You've Got Me Crying for You)" on The Tonight Show.
Activism
Randall was an advocate for the arts. During the summer of 1980, he served as the celebrity host of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra's concerts in Central Park, New York City.
He was politically liberal. During the U.S. presidential primaries in 1972, he appeared as the featured celebrity at numerous fundraising house-parties for Democratic candidate George McGovern.[11]
Personal life
Randall was married to Florence Gibbs from 1942 until her death from cancer in 1992. The following year, he said, "I wish I believed I'd see my parents again, see my wife again. But I know it's not going to happen."[12] He remarried on November 17, 1995, to Heather Harlan, an intern in one of his theatrical programs. At the time, Tony was 75, Heather 25. The two of them later had two children. They remained married until his death in May 2004.
In his book Which Reminds Me, he said that any publicity an actor generates should be about his work, not himself. "The public knows only one thing about me: I don't smoke." In 1995 he made his engagement and marriage to Harlan and his fatherhood public.[13]
Death
Randall died in his sleep on May 17, 2004, at NYU Medical Center of pneumonia that he had contracted following coronary bypass surgery in December 2003. His remains are interred at the Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York State.[1][2]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Oh, Men! Oh, Women! | Cobbler | |
| 1957 | Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? | Rockwell P. Hunter/Himself/Lover Doll | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
| 1957 | No Down Payment | Jerry Flagg | |
| 1959 | The Mating Game | Lorenzo Charlton | |
| 1959 | Pillow Talk | Jonathan Forbes | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture |
| 1960 | The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | The King of France | |
| 1960 | Let's Make Love | Alexander Coffman | |
| 1961 | Lover Come Back | Peter 'Pete' Ramsey | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture |
| 1962 | Boys' Night Out | George Drayton | |
| 1962 | Two Weeks in Another Town | Ad Lib in Lounge | (uncredited) |
| 1963 | Island of Love | Paul Ferris | |
| 1964 | 7 Faces of Dr. Lao | Dr. Lao / Merlin / Pan / Abominable Snowman / Medusa / Giant Serpent / Himself | |
| 1964 | The Brass Bottle | Harold Ventimore | |
| 1964 | Robin and the 7 Hoods | Hood | (uncredited) |
| 1964 | Send Me No Flowers | Arnold | |
| 1965 | Fluffy | Prof. Daniel Potter | |
| 1965 | The Alphabet Murders | Hercule Poirot | |
| 1966 | Our Man in Marrakesh | Andrew Jessel | |
| 1969 | Hello Down There | Fred Miller | |
| 1972 | Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) | The Operator | |
| 1979 | Scavenger Hunt | Henry Motley | |
| 1980 | The Gong Show Movie | Performer in Tuxedo | |
| 1980 | Foolin' Around | Peddicord | |
| 1983 | The King of Comedy | Himself | |
| 1986 | My Little Pony: The Movie | The Moochick | (voice) |
| 1987 | The Gnomes' Great Adventure | Gnome King/Ghost of the Black Lake | (voice) |
| 1988 | The Man in the Brown Suit | Rev. Edward Chicester/Miss Wilke/Stewardess | Agatha Christie TV Movie |
| 1989 | It Had to Be You | Milton | |
| 1989 | That's Adequate | Host | |
| 1990 | Gremlins 2: The New Batch | Brain Gremlin | (voice) |
| 1991 | The Boss | Narrator | (voice) |
| 1993 | Fatal Instinct | Judge Skanky | |
| 1996 | How the Toys Saved Christmas | Mr. Grimm | (voice) |
| 2003 | Down with Love | Theodore Banner | |
| 2005 | It's About Time | Mr. Rosenberg |
Awards and nominations
Randall was nominated for five Golden Globe awards and six Emmy Awards, winning one Emmy in 1975 for his work on the sitcom The Odd Couple. In 1993, he received The Hundred Year Association of New York's Gold Medal Award "in recognition of outstanding contributions to the City of New York." Pace University granted him an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree in 2003.
References
- ^ a b Severo, Richard (19 May 2004). "Tony Randall, 84, Dies; Fussbudget Felix in 'Odd Couple,' He Loved the Stage". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ a b Shales, Tom (10 May 2004). "Tony Randall, Bright, Zestful And Always Endearing". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
- ^ "Tony Randall Biography". filmreference. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
- ^ Thomas Conner, "Randall's dreams of acting started in Tulsa", Tulsa World, 19 May 2004.
- ^ Broadcasting magazine, August 18, 1941
- ^ Mosel, "Leading Lady: The World and Theatre of Katharine Cornell
- ^ Festival Free Preview Oct 13-Nov 2, 1987 promotional mailer
- ^ "J! Archive". Retrieved 2011-10-03.
- ^ Ankeny, Jason. The Odd Couple Sings at AllMusic. Retrieved 2011/12/20.
- ^ WLNY-TV. The Odd Couple marathon. January 1, 2013
- ^ Invitation letter for "Together for McGovern at the Garden, June 14, 1972" (producer: Warren Beatty)
- ^ Washington Post, September 25, 2003
- ^ Judith Newman (July 2008). "The Odd Couple: Tony Randall and Heather Randall - May December Romance". Marie Claire. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
Further reading
- Memoirs: Which Reminds Me by Tony Randall and Michael Mindlin. (New York: Delacorte Press, 1989), ISBN 0-385-29785-8
External links
- Tony Randall at Find a Grave
- Tony Randall at the Internet Broadway Database
- Please use a more specific IOBDB template. See the template documentation for available templates.
- Tony Randall at IMDb
- Archive of American Television Interview with Tony Randall April 28, 1998
- Pace University's tribute to Tony Randall
- Tony Randall interview: Performance Working in the Theatre CUNY-TV video by the American Theatre Wing, September 1989
- Jack Klugman & Tony Randall-Infopage
- Unofficial Odd Couple TV Show Website
Template:Oscars hosts 1941-1960
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- 1920 births
- 2004 deaths
- American film actors
- American radio actors
- American stage actors
- Primetime Emmy Award winners
- American television actors
- American Jews
- American military personnel of World War II
- Imperial Records artists
- Burials at Westchester Hills Cemetery
- Columbia University alumni
- Deaths from pneumonia
- Infectious disease deaths in New York
- Jewish American actors
- Actors from Oklahoma
- Hercule Poirot
- People from Tulsa, Oklahoma