Jack Klugman

Jack Klugman (April 27, 1922 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor of stage, film, and television.

Jack Klugman
Publicity photo for The Twilight Zone, 1963
Born(1922-04-27)April 27, 1922
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedDecember 24, 2012(2012-12-24) (aged 90)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placePierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary in Los Angeles
EducationCarnegie Mellon University
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • director
  • screenwriter
Years active1950–2012
Spouses
  • (m. 1953; div. 1977)
  • Peggy Crosby
    (m. 2008)
Children2, including Adam
RelativesBrian Klugman (grand-nephew)
Awards

He began his career in 1950 and started television and film work with roles in 12 Angry Men (1957) and Cry Terror! (1958). During the 1960s, he guest-starred on numerous television series. Klugman won his first Primetime Emmy Award for his guest-starring role on The Defenders in 1964.[1] He also made a total of four appearances on The Twilight Zone from 1960 to 1963. In 1965, Klugman replaced Walter Matthau as Oscar Madison in the Broadway play The Odd Couple. Five years later, he reprised that role in the television adaptation of The Odd Couple opposite Tony Randall. The series aired from 1970 to 1975. Klugman won his second and third Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award for his work on the series.[1][2] From 1976 to 1983, he starred in the title role in Quincy, M.E., for which he earned four Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Early life and education

Klugman was born in Philadelphia,[3] the youngest of six children born to Rose, a milliner, and Max Klugman, a house painter.[4] His parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants.[5] Klugman served in the United States Army during World War II.[6][7]

He attended Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh.[8] While there, his drama teacher told him, "Young man, you are not suited to be an actor. You are suited to be a truck driver."[9] After the war, he pursued acting roles in New York City while sharing an apartment with friend, and fellow ex-GI turned actor Charles Bronson.[7]

Career

1950s and 1960s

Klugman was active in numerous stage, television, and film productions during the 1950s and '60s. In 1950, he had a small role in the Mr. Roberts road company production at the Colonial Theatre in Boston. Later that same year, he made his television debut in an episode of Actors Studio. In March 1952, Klugman made his Broadway debut in Golden Boy as Frank Bonaparte.

In 1954, he played Jim Hanson on the soap opera The Greatest Gift.[10] The following year, he appeared in the live television broadcast of Producers' Showcase in the episode "The Petrified Forest" with Humphrey Bogart and Henry Fonda. Klugman later said the experience was the greatest thrill of his career. He went on to appear in several classic films, including as juror number five in 12 Angry Men (1957), of which he was the last surviving cast member. In 1959, he returned to Broadway in the original production of Gypsy: A Musical Fable. In 1960, Klugman was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor (Musical) for his role in the show but lost to Tom Bosley in Fiorello!.[11] He remained with Gypsy until it closed in March 1961.

From 1960 to 1963, Klugman appeared in four episodes of The Twilight Zone series: "A Passage for Trumpet" (1960), "A Game of Pool" (1961), "Death Ship" (1963), and "In Praise of Pip" (1963), tying Burgess Meredith for the most appearances in a starring role on the series. In 1964, he won his first Primetime Emmy Award for his guest-starring role on The Defenders. The same year, Klugman was cast in the starring role in the situation comedy Harris Against the World. The series was a part of an experimental block of sitcoms that aired on NBC entitled 90 Bristol Court. Harris Against the World, along with the other sitcoms that aired in the block, were cancelled the following year due to low ratings.

Klugman continued the decade with multiple guest roles on television, including appearances on The F.B.I., Ben Casey, The Name of the Game, The Fugitive, and Insight. He also appeared on Broadway in Tchin-Tchin from October 1962 to May 1963. From 1960 to 1963, Klugman appeared in two episodes of the series The Untouchables: "Loophole" (1961) and "An Eye for an Eye" (1963).

The Odd Couple

Tony Randall and Klugman in the publicity photo for The Odd Couple, 1972

In 1965, Klugman replaced Walter Matthau in the lead role of Oscar Madison in the original Broadway production of The Odd Couple.[12] He reprised the role when the play was adapted as a television series, which was broadcast on ABC from 1970 to 1975. Over the course of the show's five-year, 114-episode run, Klugman won two Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on the series. In 1973, during the run of the series, Klugman and Odd Couple co-star Randall recorded an album titled The Odd Couple Sings for London Records. Roland Shaw and The London Festival Orchestra and Chorus provided the music and additional vocals.[13]

1970s and 1980s

After the cancellation of The Odd Couple in 1975, Klugman returned to television in 1976 in Quincy, M.E., initially broadcast as part of the NBC Mystery Movie umbrella series, before becoming a weekly program. Klugman portrayed Dr. Quincy, a forensic pathologist who worked for the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office and solved crimes. He was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards for his work on the series and also wrote four episodes. A total of 148 episodes of Quincy aired over eight seasons, ending in 1983. In 1984, Klugman starred in Lyndon, a one-man show based on Prideaux's script, inspired in part by Merle Miller's taped conversations and directed by George Schaefer. In 1986, Klugman starred in the sitcom You Again? co-starring John Stamos as Klugman's character's son. The series was broadcast on NBC for two seasons before being cancelled. During the show's run, Klugman also appeared on Broadway in I'm Not Rappaport. The show closed in 1988. The following year, he co-starred in the television miniseries Around the World in 80 Days.[14]

1990s to 2010s

In 1989, Klugman's throat cancer (with which he was first diagnosed in 1974) returned. His illness sidelined his career for the next four years. He returned to acting in a 1993 Broadway revival of Three Men on a Horse, with Tony Randall.[15] That same year, he again reunited with Tony Randall in the television film The Odd Couple: Together Again. The next year, Klugman co-starred in the television film Parallel Lives.

In 1993, he appeared on a special "celebrity versus regulars" version of the British quiz show Going for Gold, emerging as the series winner.[16]

In 1996, he co-starred in The Twilight of the Golds and the comedy film Dear God. He resumed his television career with guest appearances on Diagnosis: Murder. He also starred in The Outer Limits episode "Glitch" and appeared in an episode of the TV series Crossing Jordan. Klugman starred in both the 1997 Broadway revival and the 2007 off-Broadway revival of The Sunshine Boys.[17][18]

In 2005, Klugman co-starred in the comedy film When Do We Eat?. That same year, he published Tony and Me: A Story of Friendship, a book about his long friendship with his The Odd Couple co-star Tony Randall.[19][20] Klugman gave the eulogy at Randall's memorial service in 2004.[19] A fan of the New York Mets (whose cap he wore as Oscar Madison), Klugman started an MLB.com PRO Blog called Klugman's Korner to talk about baseball and Randall.[21]

Klugman in August 2005

In 2008, he sued NBC Television over missing profits from his show Quincy M.E.[22] The lawsuit was filed in California state court, with Klugman requesting NBC to show him the original contract.[22] Klugman argued that his production company, Sweater Productions, should have received 25% of the show's net profits. NBC Universal and Klugman settled the lawsuit on undisclosed terms in August 2010.[22]

His last on-screen role was in the 2010 horror film Camera Obscura.[23] Klugman was originally supposed to play Juror #9 in a stage production of Twelve Angry Men at the George Street Playhouse that was set to open on March 13, 2012.[24] However, he had to withdraw from the production because of illness.[25]

Personal life

Marriage and children

Klugman in November 2009

Klugman married actress Brett Somers in 1953. The couple had two children, Adam (who had a cameo as Oscar Madison as a child in two flashbacks on The Odd Couple) and David. He had a stepdaughter, Leslie Klein, from Somers's first marriage. (Klein was married to Jim Fyfe, an actor and theater director.) The couple separated in 1974 and divorced in August 1977; they did not make their divorce public.[26][27] In 2007, Somers died from cancer at age 83.[28] Because Klugman did not remarry until after Somers died (nor did Somers ever remarry), it was erroneously reported that the two had remained married but separated for the rest of Somers's life.[29]

Klugman's 18-year relationship with actress Barbara Neugass ended in 1992 and led to a palimony suit that Neugass ultimately lost.[30]

Klugman began living with Peggy Crosby[31] in 1988. They married in February 2008, shortly after Somers's death.[32][33]

Business interests

Klugman was an avid Thoroughbred racing fan. He owned Jaklin Klugman, who finished third in the 1980 Kentucky Derby behind the great filly Genuine Risk and Grade 1 stakes winner Akinemod. Klugman said Jaklin Klugman's success was the biggest thrill of his life.[34] His farm where he kept up to 100 horses was called El Rancho De Jaklin named after his horse.[35]

In the 1980s, Klugman licensed his name for use by a popcorn franchise named "Jack's Corn Crib".[36]

Health and death

Klugman was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1974.[37] In 1988, he lost a vocal cord to throat cancer surgery but continued to act on stage and television, though he was left with a quiet, raspy voice.[38] In later years subsequent to his operation, he regained limited strength in his voice.[39]

Klugman died from prostate cancer at his home in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles on December 24, 2012, aged 90.[8] A New York Times profile described him as an "extraordinary actor ennobling the ordinary."[40] His obituary in the Huffington Post referred to him as a "character actor titan."[41] Klugman's ashes were interred in a columbarium at Westwood Memorial Park cemetery in Los Angeles.[8]

Stage credits

Date Production Role
March 12 – April 6, 1952 Golden Boy Frank Bonaparte
November 14 – 17, 1956 A Very Special Baby &"Time Table" Carmen
May 21, 1959 – March 25, 1961 Gypsy: A Musical Fable Herbie
Apr 22, 1963 – May 18, 1963 Tchin-Tchin Caesario Grimaldi (Replacement)
November 8, 1965 – July 2, 1967 The Odd Couple Oscar Madison (Replacement)
December 18, 1968 – December 21, 1968 The Sudden & Accidental Re-Education of Horse Johnson Horse Johnson
February 26, 1984 – March 11, 1984 Lyndon[42] Lyndon Johnson
November 19, 1985 – January 17, 1988 I'm Not Rappaport Nat (Replacement)
April 13 – May 16, 1993 Three Men on a Horse Patsy
December 8, 1997 – June 28, 1998 The Sunshine Boys Willie Clark

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1952 Grubstake Alternative title: Apache Gold
1956 Time Table Frankie Page
1957 12 Angry Men Juror No. 5
1958 Cry Terror! Vince, a thug
1962 Days of Wine and Roses Jim Hungerford
1963 I Could Go On Singing George
1963 The Yellow Canary Lt. Bonner
1963 Act One Joe Hyman
1965 Hail, Mafia Phil Alternative title: Je vous salue, mafia!
1968 The Detective Dave Schoenstein
1968 The Split Harry Kifka
1969 Goodbye, Columbus Ben Patimkin
1971 Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow! Barney
1976 Two-Minute Warning Sandman
1996 The Twilight of the Golds Mr. Stein
1996 Dear God Jemi
2005 When Do We Eat? Artur
2010 Camera Obscura Sam (final film role)
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1950 Suspense Louie Episode: "Murder at the Mardi Gras"
1953 Colonel Humphrey Flack 2 episodes
1954 Rocky King Detective Episode: "Return for Death"
1954 Inner Sanctum Various roles 3 episodes
1954–1956 Justice 4 episodes
1955 Producers' Showcase Jackie Episode: "The Petrified Forest"
1955 Treasury Men in Action Episode: "The Case of the Betrayed Artist"
1955–1956 Goodyear Television Playhouse 2 episodes
1955–1956 Armstrong Circle Theatre 2 episodes
1957 Alfred Hitchcock Presents George Benedict Season 3 Episode 2: "Mail Order Prophet"
1957 General Electric Theater Peter Tong Episode: "A New Girl In His Life"
1958 Gunsmoke Earl Ticks Episode: "Buffalo Man"
1958 General Electric Theater Murphy Episode: "The Young and Scared"
1958 Kiss Me, Kate Gunman Television film
1959 The Walter Winchell File Allie Sunshine Episode: "Death Comes in a Small Package: File #37"
1959 Naked City Mike Greco ABC-TV,
S1-Ep 19: "The Shield"
1960–1963 The Twilight Zone Joey Crown,
Jesse Cardiff,
Captain Ross,
Max Phillips
Episode #32: "A Passage for Trumpet"
Episode #70: "A Game of Pool"
Episode #108: "Death Ship"
Episode #121: "In Praise of Pip"
1961 Follow the Sun Steve Bixel Episode: "Busman's Holiday"
1961 Target: The Corruptors! Otto Dutch Kleberg, Greg Paulson 1x02 Pier 60, 1x18 Chase the Dragon
1961 Straightaway Buddy Conway Episode: "Die Laughing"
1962 The New Breed Floyd Blaylock Episode: "All the Dead Faces"
1962 Cain's Hundred Mike Colonni Episode: "Women of Silure"
1962 Naked City Peter Kannick Episode: "King Stanislaus and the Knights of the Round Stable"
1963 The Untouchables Solly Girsch Episode: "An Eye for An Eye"
1963 Naked City Arthur Crews Episode: "Stop the Parade! A Baby Is Crying!"
1963 Arrest and Trial Celina Episode: "The Quality of Justice"
1963 The Fugitive Buck Harmon Episode: "Terror at High Point", Season 1, Episode 13
1964 The Virginian Charles Mayhew Episode: "Roar from the Mountain"
1964 The Defenders Joe Larch Episode: "Blacklist"
1964 The Great Adventure John Brown Episode: "The Night Raiders"
1964 Insight Carny Episode: "The Kid Show"
1964–1965 Harris Against the World Alan Harris 13 episodes
1965 Kraft Suspense Theatre Ozzie Keefer Episode: "Won't It Ever Be Morning? "
1965 Ben Casey Dr. Bill Justin Episode: "A Slave Is on the Throne"
1965 The Fugitive Gus Hendricks Episode: "Everybody Gets Hit in the Mouth Sometimes", Season 2, Episode 24
1965 Insight Weiss Episode: "The Prisoner"
1966 Fame Is the Name of the Game Ben Welcome Television film
1967 Garrison's Gorillas Gus Manners Episode: "Banker's Hours"
1969 Then Came Bronson Dr. Charles Hanrahan Episode: "The Runner"
1970 The Bold Ones: The New Doctors Leland Rogers Episode: "The Diamond Millstone"
1970 The Name of the Game Captain Garrig Episode: "The Time Is Now"
1970–1975 The Odd Couple Oscar Madison 114 episodes
1972 Banyon Episode: "The Lady Killers"
1973 Poor Devil Burnett J. Emerson Television film
1974 The Underground Man Sheriff Tremaine Television film
1976 One of My Wives Is Missing Inspector Murray Levine Television film
1976–1983 Quincy, M.E. Dr. R. Quincy, M.E. 147 episodes
1979 Password Plus Himself Game Show Participant / Celebrity Guest Star
1979 Insight Packy Rowe Episode: "Rebirth of Packy Rowe"
1986–1987 You Again? Henry Willows 26 episodes
1989 Around the World in 80 Days Capt. Bunsby Miniseries
1993 The Odd Couple: Together Again Oscar Madison Television film
1994 Parallel Lives Senator Robert Ferguson Television film
1995 Shining Time Station: Second Chances Max Okowsky Television film
1997 Diagnosis: Murder Dr. Jeff Everden Episode: "Physician, Murder Thyself"
1999 Diagnosis: Murder Lt. Harry Trumble Episode: "Voices Carry"
1999 Brother's Keeper Jack Episode: "An Odd Couple of Days"
2000 The Outer Limits Joe Walker Episode: "Glitch"
2000 Third Watch Stan Brandolini Episode: "Run of the Mill"
2002 Crossing Jordan Dr. Leo Gelber Episode: "Someone to Count On"

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
1969 British Academy Film Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role Goodbye, Columbus Nominated
1971 Golden Globe Awards Best Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy The Odd Couple Nominated
1973 Won
1964 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role The Defenders Won
1971 Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series The Odd Couple Won
1972 Nominated
1973 Won
1974 Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated
1975 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series Nominated
1977 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Quincy, M.E. Nominated
1978 Nominated
1979 Nominated
1980 Nominated
1960 Tony Awards Best Featured Actor in a Musical Gypsy Nominated
2004 TV Land Awards Quintessential Non-Traditional Family The Odd Couple
(Shared with Tony Randall)
Won

References

  1. McLellan, Dennis (December 24, 2012). "Jack Klugman dies at 90; star of TV's 'The Odd Couple,' 'Quincy'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
  2. "Awards Search". HFPA. Archived from the original on May 25, 2006. Retrieved August 7, 2012.
  3. "Jack Klugman Interview Part 1 of 5 - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. May 1, 1998. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  4. "Russian-American Heritage Museum: Jack Klugman".
  5. Feinberg, Scott (May 8, 2012). "Jack Klugman Turns 90, Reflects on Life and Legendary Stage, Film and TV Career (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
  6. "Jack Klugman - WWII Enlistment Record Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania". www.wwii-army.mooseroots.com. Retrieved November 29, 2017.
  7. "Jack Klugman dies at 90". Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 26, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  8. Weber, Bruce (December 24, 2012). "Jack Klugman, Actor of Everyman Integrity, Dies at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved March 2, 2015. Jack Klugman, the rubber-mugged character actor who leapt to television stardom in the 1970s as the slovenly sportswriter Oscar Madison on 'The Odd Couple' and as the crusading forensic pathologist of 'Quincy, M.E.', died on Monday at his home in the Woodland Hills section of Los Angeles. He was 90. ... Mr. Klugman's path to success was serendipitous. He was born in Philadelphia on April 27, 1922, the youngest of six children of immigrants from Russia. Most sources indicate that his name at birth was Jacob, though Mr. Klugman said in an interview that the name on his birth certificate is Jack.
  9. TV Guide. January 7-13, 2013 pg. 8.
  10. TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes and Noble. 2004. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-7607-7572-1.
  11. Morrow, Lee Allen (1987). The Tony Award Book. Abbeville Press. p. 226. ISBN 978-0-8965-9771-6. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  12. The Odd Couple by Neil Simon (St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture Summary). Retrieved February 20, 2009. ... 1965 play The Odd Coupleand the subsequent 1967 movie starring Walter Matthau as the sloppy sportswriter Oscar Madison... In the television series, Oscar was played by Jack Klugman (who had taken over the role from Matthau on Broadway)...
  13. Ankeny, Jason. The Odd Couple Sings at AllMusic. Retrieved December 20, 2011.
  14. "Around the World in 80 Days: Season 1". Radio Times. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  15. "Veteran actor Jack Klugman dies in Los Angeles". USA Today. December 24, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  16. "Obituaries: Jack Klugman". The Daily Telegraph. London. December 25, 2012. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022.
  17. Kuchwara, Michael (December 10, 1997). "Old pros key in revival of 'The Sunshine Boys'". The Courier-News. Bridgewater, NJ. Associated Press. p. C-5. Retrieved March 6, 2018.
  18. Westhoven, William (November 2, 2007). "Klugman, Dooley perfectly cast in Simon's 'The Sunshine Boys'". TGIF Theater. Daily Record. Morristown, NJ. p. TGIF 14. Retrieved March 6, 2018 via Newspapers.com.
  19. Friedman, Roger (May 31, 2004). "Klugman, Family and Friends Say Goodbye to Tony Randall". Fox News. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
  20. Klugman, Jack (May 31, 2004). "Eulogy: Tony Randall". Time. Vol. 163, no. 22. p. 24. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008.
  21. Schrader, Steve (November 8, 2005). "Morning line: Quick hits". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved March 6, 2018 via Newspapers.com.
  22. Belloni, Matt (August 9, 2010). "Klugman, NBC Universal settle 'Quincy' profits lawsuit". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  23. McCartney, Anthony (December 25, 2012). "Jack Klugman, 1922–2012: S. Philly native had 2 famous TV roles". Philadelphia Inquirer. Associated Press. pp. B1, B5. Retrieved March 6, 2018 via Newspapers.com.
  24. Gans, Andrew (February 17, 2012). "Jack Klugman, Gregg Edelman, David Schramm, Jonathan Hadary, James Rebhorn Will Be George Street's Angry Men". Playbill. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  25. Bacalzo, Dan (March 9, 2012). "Terry Layman to Now Play Juror 9 in George Street Playhouse's Twelve Angry Men". Theatermania. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  26. "Ancestry Library Edition". Interactive.ancestrylibrary.com. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  27. "California Divorce Index/1966-1984 (Jack Klugman)". Ancestry.Com/State of California. Retrieved September 10, 2016.(subscription required)
  28. "'Match Game's' Brett Somers dies at 83". CNN. Archived from the original on September 18, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  29. "Jack Klugman dies". CNN. December 24, 2012; accessed July 9, 2015.
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  31. "Peggy J. Crosby-Klugman is Odd Couple Actor Jack Klugman's Wife". ShowBizDaily. December 25, 2012. Archived from the original on December 28, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  32. "Jack Klugman Gets Married – at 85". People. February 8, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  33. "Jack Klugman Is a Newlywed". TV Guide. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  34. Legged, William (March 24, 1980). "The Odd Couple: A Hot Tip". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  35. Ryan, Ruth (April 10, 1994). "Odd' Man Out of Ranch Life". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  36. "And Now There's Even Pizza Popcorn". The New York Times. August 18, 1983. p. D4.
  37. "Jack Klugman profile". Biography. Archived from the original on March 26, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  38. Gliatto, Tom (May 31, 2004). "A Neat Guy". People. Vol. 61, no. 21. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
  39. Engstrom, John (September 24, 1993). "Jack Klugman returns: Throat cancer battle ends in triumph". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. 8EV. Retrieved March 6, 2018 via Newspapers.com.
  40. Genzlinger, Neil (December 26, 2012). "AN APPRAISAL; Remembering Jack Klugman and Charles Durning". The New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  41. "Charles Durning, Jack Klugman Deaths Bring New Appreciation For Character Actor Titans". The Huffington Post. December 25, 2012. Retrieved December 27, 2012.
  42. "'Lyndon:' Klugman's salty one-man show". The Christian Science Monitor. February 24, 1984. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
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