Tony Randall | |
|---|---|
 Randall in 1976 | |
| Born | Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg (1920-02-26)February 26, 1920 Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | May 17, 2004(2004-05-17) (aged 84) New York City, U.S. |
| Burial place | Westchester Hills Cemetery,Hastings-on-Hudson, New York |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1941–2003 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
Anthony Leonard Randall[1] (bornAryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor, comedian, director, producer and singer, active in film, television and stage.
He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in the 1970–1975television adaptation of the 1965 playThe Odd Couple byNeil Simon.[2][3] In a career spanning six decades, Randall received sixGolden Globe Award nominations and sixPrimetime Emmy Award nominations, winning one Emmy.
Randall was born to aJewish family inTulsa,Oklahoma,[4] the son of Julia (née Finston) and Mogscha Rosenberg[4], an art and antiques dealer.[4] He attendedTulsa Central High School.[5]
Randall attendedNorthwestern University for a year, where he studied speech and drama,[5] before going to New York City to study at theNeighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. He studied underSanford Meisner and choreographerMartha Graham. Randall worked as an announcer at radio stationWTAG inWorcester,Massachusetts.[6] AsAnthony Randall, he starred withJane Cowl inGeorge Bernard Shaw'sCandida andEthel Barrymore inEmlyn Williams'sThe Corn Is Green.
Randall served for five years with theU.S. ArmySignal Corps duringWorld War II, including work atArlington Hall for the codebreakingSignal Intelligence Service.[7]: 207 He rose to the rank offirst lieutenant prior to his discharge.[8]
After the war, he worked at theOlney Theatre inMontgomery County,Maryland, before heading back to New York City.
One of Randall's first acting jobs was as the character Reggie York in the 1949-1952 revival of the radio adventure seriesI Love a Mystery.[9]
In 1946, Randall was cast as one of the brothers in a touring production ofKatharine Cornell's revival ofThe Barretts of Wimpole Street.[10]
Randall appeared on Broadway in Cornell's production ofAntony and Cleopatra (1947–48) with Cornell,Charlton Heston, andMaureen Stapleton, and inCaesar and Cleopatra (1949–50) withCedric Hardwicke andLilli Palmer. Randall began appearing on television, notably episodes ofOne Man's Family.
Randall's first major television role was as history teacher Harvey Weskit inMister Peepers (1952–1955). He continued to guest-star on other shows such asThe Gulf Playhouse (directed byArthur Penn),The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse,Kraft Theatre,The Motorola Television Hour,Armstrong Circle Theatre,Studio One in Hollywood,Appointment with Adventure, andThe Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse.
Randall replacedGig Young in the Broadway hitOh, Men! Oh, Women! (1954).
Randall's first major role in a Broadway hit was inInherit the Wind (1955–1957), portraying newspaperman E. K. Hornbeck (based on real-life cynicH. L. Mencken), alongsideEd Begley andPaul Muni. On television he appeared inHeaven Will Protect the Working Girl (1956), co-written by Neil Simon. He also guest-starred onThe Alcoa Hour.
Randall's success inInherit the Wind led to film offers and his first significant big-screen role inOh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957) for20th Century Fox, which promoted Randall to stardom withWill Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) alongsideJayne Mansfield. He played one of the leads inNo Down Payment (1957). He was replaced withDean Martin shortly before the filming of Fox'sThe Young Lions.[11]
In 1958, Randall played the leading role in the Broadwaymusical comedyOh, Captain!, taking on a role originated on film byAlec Guinness. The show was a financial failure, but Randall received aTony Award nomination for his dance turn with prima ballerinaAlexandra Danilova.
Randall appeared inWestinghouse Desilu Playhouse,Goodyear Theatre,The United States Steel Hour,Sunday Showcase andPlayhouse 90.
Randall co-starred withDebbie Reynolds inThe Mating Game (1959) atMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He appeared in the hit filmPillow Talk (1959) supportingDoris Day andRock Hudson, for which he was nominated for aGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. He would reunite with Day and Hudson for two more films,Lover Come Back (1961), which earned him anotherGolden Globe Best Supporting Actor nomination, andSend Me No Flowers (1964).[12]
Randall starred in an NBC-TV special,The Secret of Freedom, which was filmed during the summer of 1959 inMount Holly, New Jersey, and broadcast on the network during the fall of 1959 and again in early 1960. On TV he was also inThe Man in the Moon (1960), co-written byMel Brooks.
Randall was top-billed inThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from MGM in 1960. He had aPillow Talk-style supporting role inLet's Make Love (1960) withMarilyn Monroe andYves Montand, andLover Come Back (1961) with Hudson and Day. Randall continued to guest on TV shows includingGeneral Electric Theater andCheckmate. In 1961, Randall played a highly dramatic role in "Hangover," an episode ofThe Alfred Hitchcock Hour in which he portrayed an alcoholic advertising executive spiraling into self-destruction. He starred in a TV adaptation ofArsenic & Old Lace (1962), and had big-screen leading roles inBoys' Night Out (1962) andIsland of Love (1963).
In 1964, Randall starred in the classic MGM film,7 Faces of Dr. Lao, which was based onThe Circus of Dr. Lao byCharles G. Finney. In addition to portraying and voicing the eponymous seven faces (Dr. Lao, the Abominable Snowman, Merlin, Apollonius of Tyana, The Giant Serpent, Pan, and Medusa), Randall also appeared without makeup in a two-second cameo as a solemn spectator in the crowd, for a total of eight roles in the film.
He played the lead inThe Brass Bottle (1964) and made one last film with Hudson and Day,Send Me No Flowers (1964). Randall took the lead inFluffy (1965), a comedy about a lion;The Alphabet Murders (1965), playingHercule Poirot forFrank Tashlin;Our Man in Marrakesh (1966), as a secret agent; andHello Down There (1969).
Randall returned to Broadway inUTBU (1966), which had only a short run. He appeared in the TV movieThe Littlest Angel (1969) withJohnny Whitaker andFred Gwynne.
Randall returned to television in 1970 as Felix Unger inThe Odd Couple, oppositeJack Klugman, a role that lasted five years. The names of Felix's children inThe Odd Couple were Edna and Leonard, named for Randall's sister and Randall himself.[citation needed]
In 1974, Randall and Klugman appeared in television spots endorsing aYahtzee spinoff,Challenge Yahtzee. They appeared in character as Felix and Oscar, and the TV spots were filmed on the set ofThe Odd Couple.[citation needed]
During the series run, Randall took a small role inEverything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972).
In 1973, he was hired to play the voice of Templeton the gluttonous rat inCharlotte's Web, and recorded the part, but was replaced in the film byPaul Lynde. Randall's voice was perceived as too sophisticated by co-directorIwao Takamoto, who wanted Templeton to have anasal voice.[13]
Beginning in 1976, Randall starred for two seasons inThe Tony Randall Show, playing Philadelphia judge Walter Franklin. He had roles inKate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid (1978),Scavenger Hunt (1979), andFoolin' Around (1980).
Randall starred in the NBC seriesLove, Sidney from 1981 to 1983. In the TV movie that served as the show's pilot,Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend, Sidney Shorr was written as a middle-aged homosexual man; the character's sexuality was made ambiguous for the series. After the show was canceled in 1983, Randall refused to star in another television series, favoring the Broadway stage as his medium.
Randall continued to appear in TV movies. He starred inSunday Drive (1986) for Disney,Save the Dog! (1988), andThe Man in the Brown Suit (1989). From October 30 to November 2, 1987, he hosted thefree preview ofHBO's short-lived premium channelFestival.[14]
In 1989, Randall returned to Broadway as a replacement inM. Butterfly.
In 1991, Randall founded theNational Actors Theatre, ultimately based atPace University in New York City. Their productions includedThe Crucible (1991),A Little Hotel on the Side (1992),The Master Builder (1992),The Seagull (1992),Saint Joan (1993),Three Men on a Horse (1993),Timon of Athens (1993),The Government Inspector (1993),The Flowering Peach (1994),Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1994),The School for Scandal (1995),Inherit the Wind (1996), andThe Gin Game (1997). In 1997, he performed inThe Sunshine Boys with Klugman to great success.
In September 1993, Randall and Klugman reunited in theCBS-TV movieThe 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 had left his voice very raspy.
Randall's later stage productions includedNight Must Fall (1999) andJudgment at Nuremberg (2001).
Periodically, he performed in stage revivals ofThe Odd Couple with Klugman, including a stint in London in 1996. Later film roles includedFatal Instinct (1994) andDown with Love (2003).
Randall's last appearances on stage as an actor were inThe Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (2002) andRight You Are (2003).
On September 4, 1955, Randall and Klugman appeared together withGena Rowlands in the episode "The Pirate's House" of theCBSanthology seriesAppointment with Adventure.
Randall was a frequent guest onThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and often spoke of his love ofopera and the salaciousness of many of its plotlines. He also admitted to sneaking tape recorders into operas to make his own private recordings. He chidedJohnny Carson for his chain smoking and was generally fastidious. At the time of his death, Randall had appeared as a guest onThe Tonight Show 105 times, more often than any other celebrity had appeared.[citation needed]
Randall was well-known for being a guest panelist on the game showWhat’s My Line?, from 1958 to 1967,Password,The Hollywood Squares, and the$10,000 and$20,000 Pyramids. He also parodied his pompous image with an appearance as a "contestant" onThe Gong Show in 1977.
Randall was a guest star on the fifth and final season ofThe Muppet Show in an episode that first aired on October 11, 1980. This was the 100th episode of the show.
Randall, along withJohn Goodman andDrew Barrymore, was among the first guests on the debut episode ofLate Night with Conan O'Brien on September 13, 1993. He would also appear inConan O'Brien's5th Anniversary Special with the character PimpBot 5000. Randall was a frequent guest as well on both ofDavid Letterman's late-night showsLate Night with David Letterman and theLate Show with David Letterman, making 70 appearances, according to his obituary inThe Washington Post.[15] Letterman said that Randall was one of his favorite guests, along withRegis Philbin.[citation needed]
On November 7, 1994, Randall appeared on the game showJeopardy!, as part of a celebrity episode, playing on behalf of the National Actors Theatre. He came in second place behind GeneralNorman Schwarzkopf Jr. but ahead of actressStefanie Powers, with a final tally of $9,900.[16]
In 1973, Randall and Klugman recorded an album forLondon Records titledThe Odd Couple Sings. Roland Shaw and the London Festival Orchestra and Chorus provided the accompaniment and additional vocals.[17] The record was not a chart-topper but is a highly sought-after item for manyOdd Couple fans.[18] Randall and Klugman also collaborated on a series of television commercials for Eagle brand snacks.
A notedraconteur, Randall, along with co-writer Mike Mindlin, wrote a collection of amusing and sometimes racy show business anecdotes calledWhich Reminds Me, published in 1989.
In keeping with his penchant for both championing and mocking the culture that he loved, during theBig Band-era revival in the mid-1960s, Randall 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) thevibrato style ofCarmen Lombardo, and the two had once sung a duet of Lombardo's signature song "Boo Hoo (You've Got Me Crying for You)" onThe Tonight Show.
In the 1980s, Randall served as off-camera narrator for several video productions by theMetropolitan Opera, announcing performers to the television audience as they appeared on stage during curtain calls and providing brief descriptions of scenes.[citation needed]
For the 1990 sequelGremlins 2: The New Batch, Randall voiced the Brain Gremlin.[19]
Randall was married to his high school sweetheart, Florence Gibbs,[20] from 1938 until her death from cancer on April 18, 1992. They had no children. On November 17, 1995, at the age of 75, he married 25-year-old Heather Harlan,[21] an understudy from the production ofThe School for Scandal in which Randall was starring atNational Actors Theatre; the ceremony was officiated byRudy Giuliani.[22] They lived in a Manhattan apartment and bought a vacation apartment inKey Biscayne, Florida, in 2003. The couple had two children, Julia, born on April 11, 1997, and Jefferson, born on June 15, 1998, and remained married until Randall's death in May 2004.[23]
In his bookWhich Reminds Me, Randall maintained that any publicity that an actor generates should be about his work, not himself: "The public knows only one thing about me: I don't smoke."[24]
Randall was an advocate for the arts. During the summer of 1980, he served as the celebrity host of theNew York Philharmonic Orchestra's concerts inCentral Park, New York City.
Randall was politicallyliberal. He was an active supporter ofEugene McCarthy during the1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries.[25] When he was dropped as a regular panelist on theOpera Quiz intermission feature of theMetropolitan Opera radio broadcasts because of his opposition to theVietnam War, he donated the remainder of his contract fee to the McCarthy campaign.[26] During theU.S. presidential primaries in1972, he appeared as thefeatured celebrity at numerous fundraising house parties forDemocratic Party candidateGeorge McGovern.[27] His name was featured on themaster list of Richard Nixon's political opponents.[28]
Randall died in his sleep on May 17, 2004, atNYU Medical Center ofpneumonia that he had contracted followingcoronary bypass surgery in December 2003. He had been hospitalized since the operation.[29] His remains are interred at theWestchester Hills Cemetery inHastings-on-Hudson,New York.[2][3]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Saboteur | Cameraman | Uncredited |
| 1957 | Oh, Men! Oh, Women! | Cobbler | |
| 1957 | Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? | Rockwell P. Hunter/Himself/Lover Doll | |
| 1957 | No Down Payment | Jerry Flagg | |
| 1959 | The Mating Game | Lorenzo Charlton | |
| 1959 | Pillow Talk | Jonathan Forbes | |
| 1960 | The Man in the Moon | TV movie | |
| 1960 | The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn | The King of France | |
| 1960 | Let's Make Love | Alexander Coffman | |
| 1960 | Hooray for Love | TV movie | |
| 1960 | Open Windows | TV movie | |
| 1961 | Lover Come Back | Peter 'Pete' Ramsey | |
| 1962 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Hadley 'Had' Purvis | Episode: "Hangover" |
| 1962 | Arsenic & Old Lace | Mortimer Brewster | TV movie |
| 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 / Apollonius of Tyana | |
| 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 | Alternate title:Bang! Bang! You're Dead! |
| 1969 | Hello Down There | Fred Miller | Alternate title:Sub-A-Dub-Dub |
| 1969 | The Littlest Angel | Democritus | TV movie |
| 1970-1975 | The Odd Couple | Felix Unger | TV sitcom (114 episodes) |
| 1972 | Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) | The Operator | |
| 1973 | The All-American Boy | Uncredited | |
| 1976-1978 | The Tony Randall Show | Walter Franklin | TV sitcom (44 episodes) |
| 1978 | Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid | Lord Seymour Devery | TV movie |
| 1979 | Scavenger Hunt | Henry Motley | |
| 1980 | The Gong Show Movie | Himself | |
| 1980 | Foolin' Around | Peddicord | |
| 1981 | Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend | Sidney Shorr | TV movie |
| 1981-1983 | Love, Sidney | Sidney Shorr | TV sitcom (44 episodes) |
| 1982 | The King of Comedy | Himself | |
| 1984 | My Little Pony: Rescue at Midnight Castle | The Moochick (voice) | TV movie |
| 1984 | Off Sides (Pigs vs. Freaks) | Rambaba Organimus | TV movie |
| 1985 | The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal | Himself | |
| 1985 | Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil | Putzi | TV movie |
| 1986 | My Little Pony: The Movie | The Moochick (voice) | |
| 1986 | Sunday Drive | Uncle Bill | TV movie |
| 1987 | Lyle, Lyle Crocodile: The Musical - The House on East 88th Street | Narrator / Signor Valenti (voice) | TV movie |
| 1987 | The Gnomes' Great Adventure | Gnome King / Ghost of the Black Lake (voice) | |
| 1988 | Save the Dog! | Oliver Bishop | TV movie |
| 1989 | The Man in the Brown Suit | Rev. Edward Chicester | TV movie |
| 1989 | It Had to Be You | Milton | |
| 1990 | That's Adequate | Host | Mockumentary |
| 1990 | Gremlins 2: The New Batch | Brain Gremlin (voice) | |
| 1991 | The Boss | Narrator (voice) | Short |
| 1991 | Dragon and Slippers | Merlin (voice) | |
| 1993 | The Odd Couple Together Again | Felix Unger | TV movie |
| 1993 | Fatal Instinct | Judge Skanky | |
| 1995 | The Magic School Bus | Radius Ulna 'R.U.' Humerus (voice) | Episode: "Flexes Its Muscles" |
| 1996 | How the Toys Saved Christmas | Mr. Grimm (voice) | |
| 2003 | Down with Love | Theodore Banner | |
| 2005 | It's About Time | Mr. Rosenberg | Posthumous release |
There was the actor Tony Randall – later famous as Felix Unger in The Odd Couple – clowning around (at one point he danced on a table) as he waited for the intelligence summary to be taken to the Pentagon.
