RIP, Jack Klugman

[best12bars]

I'll be seein' ya, Herbie.

[canmark]

Here's Jack in 12 Angry Men (movie): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhl1U6CG2pg

Loved him (and Tony Randall) so much in The Odd Couple. And Jack was great in Quincy, M.E., too. So many great performances, on TV, movies and the stage. He will be missed.

Some Odd Couple clips:

w/Howard Cosell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVnXe0p8IWo
w/Monty Hall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B8LFZ2Kgog
w/Brett Somers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhvL7XXak84

[best12bars]

Together, wherever we go.

[Addison D.]

Awww--sh*t.

Watching 'Odd Couple' re-runs on Ch. 11 every night after the 11:00 news is such a powerful memory of place/time--the East Village/my youth--for me.

Rest in Peace, Jack.

[devonian.t]

I'll always be grateful for the gifts he brought us

[SNAFU]

Used to see him al the time at the Riviera Cafe in the West Village in the late 80's about the time he was starting up his pop corn chain. I think he was still recovering from his throat cancer. A down to earth unassuming guy.
Funny, Tony Radall always told him that his smoking would kill him but he ended up living 6 years longer then Tony. RIP!
He was in three Twilight Zone episodes. On was with Billy Mumy as his son Pip, one where he was a pool shark playing Minnesota Fats, anyone remember the third?

[Gothampc]

He played Ali MacGraw's father in "Goodbye Columbus"

[Addison D.]

Jack Klugman on 'Twilight Zone':

1960: A Passage for Trumpet--as Joey Crown a suicidal trumpet player

1961: A Game of Pool--as Jesse Cardiff the frustrated pool champ

1963: Death Ship--as Captain Paul Ross, whose space ship finds an exact duplicate crashed on a planet

1963: In praise of Pip--As Small-time bookie Max Phillips

[SNAFU]

Wasn't there one where he spent on last night with his son Pip who died in the war as a small child? Played by Billy Mumy?

In Praise of Pip 1963

[best12bars]

I think Klugman might hold the record with the most guest-starring appearances on the original Twilight Zone series. There are a few other actors like Billy Mumy, who were in three.

But Klugman starred in four.

[SNAFU]

Billy Mumy was in the one about Pip with Klugman, The one about the kid who would send people to the cornfield and the one where he talked to his dead grandmother on the toy phone (the season Serling toyed with video.

[Addison D.]

Interesting obit in the NYT.

He seems to have led a rich, full life.

The obit ends with the story of how Garry Marshall determined that Klugman was the right man to play opposite Tony Randall--who apparently wanted Micky Rooney to play Oscar.

"It took the producer, Garry Marshall, to persuade Mr. Randall that Mr. Klugman was right for the part. He had seen Mr. Klugman do comedy, Mr. Marshall said, referring to his performance in “Gypsy.”

“He said, ‘I saw you with Ethel Merman, and she was singing to you and spitting all over you,’ ” Mr. Klugman said, recalling Mr. Marshall’s explanation for casting him. “ ‘And you never showed it. That’s a good actor that doesn’t show the spit.’ "



NYT Obituary

[Len Gersten]

I never had the pleasure of seeing him perform on a Broadway stage, but my wife and I did see him a number of years ago at the Helen Hayes Theater in Nyack, NY (since closed), in the play, "The Value of Names." I don't remember much about the plot and may not even be correctly remembering the exact title of the production, but I do remember being totally captivated by Jack Klugman's performance, in spite of the difficulty he had delivering his lines due to his damaged vocal cords.

I enjoyed his many film appearances including 12 Angry Men, Days of Wine and Roses, and I Could Go On Singing, as well as his work on his two hit television series, The Odd Couple and Quincy, ME.

Rest in peace.

[GavestonPS]

Jack was obviously a talented film and TV actor, and a fine comic actor.

But he did ALL MY SONS with Sada Thompson (and a very young Joanna Merlin in a supporting role) at the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale and the Doolittle in Los Angeles. I thought he and the production were absolutely stunning!

So Jack was no slack as a tragedian either, considering he held his own with Miss Thompson.

[trixigold]

Jack was a fantastic dramatic actor. He did some episodes of "Naked City," which were rerun on RTV (Retro TV cable network) that were as good or better than his Twilight Zones, performance-wise.

I looked up his credits on IBDB and didn't realize that he had replaced Walter Matthau as Oscar Madison during the original Broadway run of "The Odd Couple." So, he was well-qualified to play Oscar to begin with, although the tone of the play and TV series were very different. Oscar on the TV show was more likable than the play character. I can't imagine Mickey Rooney playing the part in either stage or TV series. Garry Marshall knew what he was doing when he cast Jack.