A CANDID INTERVIEW WITH FILM STAR ACTOR JACK KLUGMAN
As Baby Boomer Womenâs Editor, I interviewed film star Jack Klugman, who has been in our lives and homes since we were very young. Starting from the early days of live television, his TV and movie credits occupy more than eight pages and span every decade from the 1950s through the present. They include such important movies as 12 Angry Men and Days of Wine and Roses, and popular television shows like Playhouse 90, Kraft Television Theatre, The Alcoa Hour, General Electric Theatre, Naked City, The Twilight Zone, Ben Casey, The Fugitive, The Dean Martin Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, The Mike Douglas Show, The Carol Burnett Show, This is Your Life, The Love Boat, Quincy and many others.
Mr. Klugman is perhaps best remembered for his lovable, true-to-life portrayal of the character of Oscar Madison in the 1970s TV hit series, The Odd Couple, for which he won two Emmy Awards. After losing his longtime acting partner and best friend, Tony Randall, in the spring of 2004, Mr. Klugman decided to write Tony and MeâA Story of Friendship, the subject of this interview. Here is a glimpse of Jack Klugmanâs new book and a peek inside the life and mind of this remarkable celebrity.
Linda: I searched all the county libraries for your new book, Tony and Me, but found that every copy was taken with a one-month waiting list to receive the book. Then I called three or four Borders BookStores. Every store was sold out; until I finally located one remaining copy 15 miles away. How does it feel to be the author of a book that is rapidly gaining such popularity and what is your reaction to all of this?
Jack Klugman: Itâs very exciting that the book is starting to take off, of course. But what has been even more satisfying is the response Iâve been getting from the people. I just finished a 19-city book tour and everywhere I went there was this tremendous out-pouring of love. People not only remember Tony and me, thereâs still a lot of affection for us. At 83, itâs incredibly gratifying to know that you are not only still remembered, but loved and respected. That has been a tremendous gift.
Linda: Why did you decide to write Tony and me, was it difficult, and how did you first go about it?
Jack Klugman: It wasnât as much a decision to write the book as it was a working through of my feelings about Tonyâs death. When your best buddy in the foxhole next to you gets hit, it immediately raises the issue of your own mortality. Suddenly youâre on a short list that is getting shorter all the time. I wanted to make sure that I had told the world what my friendship with Tony Randall had done for my life before my own number came up.
Linda: The DVD of The Odd Couple out-takes is hilarious. How did you select clips for this DVD and why did you decide to include a DVD with the book?
Jack Klugman: I included the DVD with Tony and Me because I thought fans would get a big kick out them. My son Adam, who also published the book with me, was a film editor for many years and so he and I put it together in his studio. We had so much fun that we laughed ourselves sick during the process.
Linda: As pioneers of early television, you and Tony Randall are icons to the baby boomer generation. Youâve been in our living rooms for decades. We grew up watching you both on Playhouse 90, The Kraft Television Theatre, The Alcoa Hour, Mr. Peepers, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, The Johnny Carson Show, Whatâs My Line, The Odd Couple, Quincy, and a host of other programs too lengthy to mention. Can you describe to us what the early days of âliveâ television were likeâperhaps tell us about a most memorable live show or a moment that you remember?
Jack Klugman: There was nothing in the world like the early days of live television. It combined everything I love about the theatre with the potential to reach millions of people. It really was amazing. I was young and building a career in a fledgling industry. It was the most exciting time in my life.
Linda: In the book you talk about being the tough guy from South Philadelphia who ended up studying acting at Carnegie Tech just to get out of town to escape a gambling debt. You mention your first acting experience at school and how you were so nervous before going on stage. But then you discovered that when you stepped out onto the stage you felt more comfortable there than you were in real life. You say that thatâs still true today. Can you tell us what you mean by this and why it is so?
Jack Klugman: Iâve never been comfortable in my own skin, especially when it comes to social things. Iâm truly a loner and for many, many years I refused to trust anyone completely. That made it difficult for me to be around people. A lot of that has changed now, largely because of my relationship with Tony. But at the time I discovered acting, it was like being unchained from my personality. I was free. Acting had made me free because I was more comfortable on the stage than I ever been in life. It never occurred to me I would make my living as an actor. I would have done it for nothing.
Linda: When people talk about why the TV show, The Odd Couple, was so successful they often mention how true-to-character you and Tony Randall seemed to be. He was the straight-laced, artsy fusspot and you were the messier, bold, tell-it-like-it-is guy. People saw the two of you as portraying complete oppositesâand very convincingly. But in the book you say that it was not the differences between you and Tony that made the show a success, but your similarities. What did you mean by that? In what ways were you and Tony Randall similar?
Jack Klugman: We were opposite in a million ways, many of them consistent with the characters we played on The Odd Couple. But we were similar in one, very important way: we both loved acting. We were both trained actors who had spent many years learning our craft and it bonded us in spite of our differences. It gave us a way to work together that lasted a lifetime.
Linda: You mention in the book that Walter Matthau played the first Oscar in The Odd Couple on Broadway, with Art Carney. He received fifty-eight hundred dollars a week (and you say he deserved it). But when he had to leave to do a movie, Neil Simonâs brother asked you to do the part. Although you were packing the house, the producer refused to give you the five hundred dollars a week raise you wanted. So you quit the show. It takes a lot of guts to quit a big Broadway show. In your various acting roles you often portrayed a tough guy with a lot of confidence. Do you feel you have that kind of confidence? How did you walk away from the role and, looking back, would you do it again?
Jack Klugman: Absolutely. An actor has to stand for what he/she thinks sheâs worth. Itâs a tough business that chews people up by constantly making them feel unworthy. If you want to be successful, in any business, you have to be willing to blow the job if youâre not getting what you think you are worth. Set your own value and then be willing to walk away. Iâve lost some opportunities that way, but I always remained in control of my own value. In the end, itâs the most attractive thing in the world.
Linda: You describe how you eventually landed the role of Oscar Madison in the 1970s TV show, The Odd Couple. Co-Executive Producer Garry Marshall saw you on stage opposite the great Ethel Merman in Gypsey. She was singing to you and spitting in your face, on your clothes and in your eyes, but you never flinched. That is how he decided you were a âgood actorâ and gave you the role. Weâd like to know what itâs like to do a Broadway play, especially with someone like Ethel Merman. How did your on-stage Broadway performances compare with later TV and movie roles?
Jack Klugman: Itâs all acting to me! It doesnât matter what Iâm working on, I take the same approach. However, I prefer the theatre because I can rehearse. Rehearsal is for actors what re-writing is for writersâa chance to perfect your art. For actors, the only place you can do that is in the theatre.
Linda: You humorously describe how you and Tony Randall could not even share the same limo when you first got together to do the TV series, The Odd Coupleâyou were smoking and Tony was violently against it, so you each threatened to quit. But the relationship that developed between the two of you quickly became one of mutual respect and true friendship. In the book you are very complimentary of Tony Randall in every respectâas an actor, a family man, and a human being. You say that Tony taught you about good improvisationâit is about provoking the other actor into a response. Can you tell us how the two of you went from a couple who were truly âat oddsâ to a couple completely âin syncâ?
Jack Klugman: We were never really at odds, although our styles were very different. The trust we established over time was the result of professional attitudes and the respect we showed one another. When I got throat cancer, however, is when I found out the kind of friend Tony was. If there was any turning point in our friendship, it would have been the moment he walked into the hospital after my throat operation. He made a commitment to stand by my side and he never left.
Linda: You describe Tony Randallâs roll in designing your comeback after throat cancer. He was your first visitor in the hospital and was deeply concerned with your getting back your voice and returning to work. You seemed surprised at Tonyâs compassion and say that it changed your life. He coaxed you into an on-stage performance of The Odd Couple to benefit the National Actors Theatre (which Tony founded). You were uncertain that you could do it, but you worked on getting your voice back and managed to get through the performance with Tonyâs help. You describe how Tonyâs eyes lit up every time you got a laugh; how he âpulled you throughâ your comeback performance. In your words, âyou never trusted another person as much as you did Tony that night.â Can you tell us a little about what this meant to you and why it was such an important moment in your life?
Jack Klugman: Iâm going to let people read the book to get that answer.
Linda: I marvel at the many compliments you give to your best friend, Tony Randall, in the book. You say that he had a âpresenceââa presence that you canât fake, you canât learn, you either have it or you donât. You say that âTony had it in spades.â What do you mean by that?
Jack Klugman: Talent, presence, charismaâthese are natural gifts that canât be taught. Technique made the most of Tonyâs God-given abilities, but he was a compelling person to watch perform not because of anything he learned. It was because he had a performerâs gift in his bones.
Linda: Growing up in a tough Philadelphia neighborhood with repressed Jewish immigrants, you learned to protect yourself. You say in the book that only Tonyâs friendship gave you the capacity to truly trust another human being. You mention âliving in a shellâ before knowing him and say you canât help wondering what you missed for all those lost years. You regret that you didnât get to tell Tony what he meant to you before he died. You say that he made you a better father, that now you let your children âinside,â and youâre ânot afraid to let them see you as you are.â Those are all powerful words and a great tribute to what your acting partner and dearest friend, Tony Randall. meant to you. Can you tell us the one thing about him that meant the most to you?
Jack Klugman: Loyalty. Tony was the most loyal man I ever knew. And there is no single ingredient more important to a successful friendship than loyalty.
Linda: Thank you for your time and sincerity in speaking to us. Weâve always loved the person you played in your roles, we love the real person weâve gotten to know from your new book, Tony and Me, and we celebrate your poignant story of how true friendship can be life-changing, far surpassing fame, fortune, and any other of lifeâs successes. We hope to see you on TV again soon, promoting this book and acting in new roles. We wish you continued good health and longevity, good fortune and perhaps another great book in the near future.
Linda Sittler is a freelance writer whose bio and articles appear on Boomers International Website, http://www.bookstoretoday.com/
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