Series Description

The Odd Couple TV show was a 30 minute comedy series on ABC about two men who shared an apartment. One was a neat freak and the other was just about the biggest slob the world has ever seen! And that's just one thing where they were total opposites! They were the best of friends occasionally and at each other's throats the rest of the time!

The Odd Couple Cast

Tony Randall .... Felix Unger
Jack Klugman .... Oscar Trevor Madison
Al Molinaro .... Murray Greshler
Brett Somers .... Blanche Madison
Larry Gelman .... Vinnie
Carole Shelley .... Gwendolyn Pigeon (First Season)
Monica Evans .... Cecily Pigeon (First Season)
Ryan McDonald .... Roy (First Season)
Archie Hahn .... Roger (Fourth Season)
Garry Walberg .... Speed (Episodes 1-4)
Pamelyn Ferdin .... Edna Unger (Episodes 1-2)
Joan Hotchkis .... Dr. Nancy Cunningham (Episodes 1-2)
Elinor Donahue .... Miriam Welby (Episodes 3-4)
Penny Marshall .... Myrna Turner (Episodes 2-5)
Janis Hansen .... Gloria Unger (Episodes 2-5)
Doney Oatman .... Edna Unger (Episodes 3-5)
Bill Quinn .... Dr. Melnitz (Episodes 3-5)
William Woodson .... Narrator

The Odd Couple Theme Song

Title: "The Odd Couple"

By: "Sammy Cahn and Neal Hefti"

No matter where they go
They are known as the couple.
They're never seen alone
So they're known as the couple.

As I've indicated
They are never quite separated,
They are peas in a pod.
Don't you think that it's odd.

Their habits, I confess
None can guess with the couple.
If one says no it's yes
more or less, with the couple.
But they're laugh provoking;
Yet they really don't know they're joking.
Don't you find
When love is blind
It's kind of odd.

The Odd Couple Trivia

The Odd Couple TV show was based upon a hit Broadway play written by Neil Simon. There was also an Odd Couple theatrical movie in 1968 which starred Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.

In the first season the Odd Couple was produced in the same apartment that was used in the movie. It was shot with just one camera and incorporated a laugh track. That all changed in season two when the filming moved to a studio with the standard three cameras and a live audience providing the laughs.

For the first few episodes, the series title was "Neil Simon's The Odd Couple". Neil was upset about that because it erroneously gave the impression that he was the script writer for the TV series. The title was shortened to "The Odd Couple" but Neil continued to receive credit as the writer of the play. After a couple of seasons, Neil came to like the TV version and even appeared as himself on one episode!

Monty Hall who is perhaps best known as the host of the hit game show, "Let's Make A Deal", appeared on the Odd Couple. While he played himself, his appearance was explained by the writers having him be the old college roommate of Oscar Madison.

Felix's father was an optometrist and one of his patients was Oscar's father. Felix's kids on the show were neame Edna and Leonard. Tony Randall's real-life sister was named Edna and Tony's real first name was Leonard.

Blanche Madison was Oscar's ex-wife and was played by Brett Somers who was Jack Klugman's wife in real life! Unfortunately, real life followed fantasy because Jack and Brett broke up during the Odd Couple's time on the air!

Oscar was a sports writer for the "New York Herald". There had once been a real newspaper titled the "New York Herald-Tribune" but it went out of business several years before the Odd Couple TV show hit the air.

Oscar Madison had a real hate relationship going on with TV sports personality Howard Cosell who played himself on a couple of the Odd Couple episodes. Both Oscar Madison's fictional abrasive personality and Howard Cosell's real-life harsh character made for some very entertaining arguments! Those two episodes substantially increased the show's ratings and Howard Cosell found himself guest-starring on many other TV series!

Tony Randall won an Emmy Award for his role as Felix Unger after the Odd Couple had ended. Perhaps he was experiencing being "typecast" as many actors do after a long-run TV series. As he was accepting the Emmy he said that he wished he had a job!

Typecasting certainly didn't seem to hurt Jack Klugman's career! Within nineteen months after the final episode of the Odd Couple aired, Jack appeared in a TV movie as a medical examiner named "Doctor Quincy". After three more TV movies, the "Quincy, M.E." became its own weekly TV series that aired for another 144 episodes! Jack also starred in a two season series titled, "You Again?" just a few years after Quincy, M.E. ended.

The Odd Couple writers just couldn't get it straight when trying to explain how Felix and Oscar had met. The opening narration stated that they were friends as kids. Then, on several episodes, it was said that they met in the Army! One of the episodes inferred that they had served on a jury together for a sensationalized murder trial! That was a reference to the 1957 film, "12 Angry Men" where Jack Klugman played the role as a juror. So take your pick as to how they met. At least they did remove the reference to meeting as kids from the opening narrative in the third season.

In another goof, on one episode Felix and Oscar's address is mentioned as "74th Street and Central Park West". Then on another episode, it's stated as "1049 Park Avenue"!

There were two actors who made the transition from the 1968 movie to the TV series. Monica Evans and Carole Shelley played the "Pigeon Sisters" in both but only stayed for the first season of the TV show.

The Odd Couple's time slot was changed five times during its five season run. It was fortunate in that it didn't find itself competing with any real hit series on the other networks until its final season when CBS aired "The Waltons" in its slot!

Episodes List With Original Air Dates

Season 1

1. The Laundry Orgy (9/24/1970)
2. The Fight of the Felix (10/1/1970)
3. Felix Gets Sick (10/8/1970)
4. The Jury Story (10/15/1970)
5. The Breakup (10/22/1970)
6. Oscar's Ulcer (10/29/1970)
7. I Do, I Don't (11/5/1970)
8. Oscar the Model (11/12/1970)
9. The Big Brothers (11/19/1970)
10. It's All Over Now, Baby Bird (12/3/1970)
11. Felix is Missing (12/10/1970)
12. Scrooge Gets an Oscar (12/17/1970)
13. The Blackout (12/24/1970)
14. They Use Horseradish, Don't They? (1/7/1971)
15. The Hideaway (1/14/1971)
16. Lovers Don't Make House Calls (1/29/1971)
17. Engrave Trouble (2/5/1971)
18. Bunny is Missing Down by the Lake (2/12/1971)
19. You've Come a Long Way, Baby (2/19/1971)
20. A Taste of Money (2/26/1971)
21. Oscar's New Life (3/5/1971)
22. What Makes Felix Run (3/12/1971)
23. What Does a Naked Lady Say to You? (3/19/1971)
24. Trapped (3/26/1971)

25. Natural Childbirth (9/17/1971)
26. Felix's Wife's Boyfriend (9/24/1971)
27. Hospital Mates (10/1/1971)
28. Sleepwalker (10/8/1971)
29. A Grave for Felix (10/15/1971)
30. Murray the Fink (10/29/1971)
31. Does Your Mother Know You're Out, Rigoletto? (11/5/1971)
32. The Fat Farm (11/12/1971)
33. The Odd Couple Meet Their Host (11/19/1971)
34. Win One for Felix (12/3/1971)
35. Being Divorced is Never Having to Say I Do (12/10/1971)
36. Surprise, Surprise! (12/17/1971)
37. Felix the Calypso Singer (12/24/1971)
38. And Leave the Greyhound to Us? (12/31/1971)
39. Security Arms (1/7/1972)
40. Speak for Yourself (1/14/1972)
41. You Saved My Life (1/21/1972)
42. Where's Grandpa (1/28/1972)
43. Partner's Investment (2/4/1972)
44. Good, Bad Boy (2/11/1972)
45. A Night to Dismember (2/18/1972)
46. Oscar's Promotion (2/25/1972)
47. Psychic, Shmychic (3/3/1972)

48. Gloria, Hallelujah (9/15/1972)
49. Big Mouth (9/22/1972)
50. The Princess (9/29/1972)
51. The Pen is Mightier Than the Pencil (10/6/1972)
52. The Odd Monks (10/13/1972)
53. I'm Dying of Unger (10/20/1972)
54. The Odd Couples (10/27/1972)
55. Felix's First Commercial (11/3/1972)
56. The First Baby (11/10/1972)
57. Oscar's Birthday (11/17/1972)
58. Password (12/1/1972)
59. The Odd Father (12/8/1972)
60. Don't Believe in Roomers (12/22/1972)
61. Sometimes a Great Ocean (1/5/1973)
62. I Gotta Be Me (1/12/1973)
63. The Ides of April (1/19/1973)
64. Myrna's Debut (2/2/1973)
65. The Hustler (2/9/1973)
66. My Strife in Court (2/16/1973)
67. Let's Make a Deal (2/23/1973)
68. The Odyssey Couple (3/2/1973)
69. Take My Furniture, Please (3/9/1973)
70. The Murray Who Came to Dinner (3/23/1973)

71. Gloria Moves In (9/14/1973)
72. Last Tango in Newark (9/21/1973)
73. The Odd Decathalon (9/28/1973)
74. That Was No Lady (10/5/1973)
75. The Odd Holiday (10/12/1973)
76. The New Car (10/19/1973)
77. That is the Army Mrs. Madison (10/26/1973)
78. The Songwriter (11/2/1973)
79. Felix Directs (11/9/1973)
80. The Pig Who Came to Dinner (11/16/1973)
81. Maid for Each Other (11/23/1973)
82. The Exorcists (12/7/1973)
83. A Barnacle Adventure (12/21/1973)
84. The Moonlighter (1/4/1974)
85. Cleanliness is Next to Impossible (1/11/1974)
86. The Flying Felix (1/18/1974)
87. Vocal Girl Makes Good (1/25/1974)
88. Shuffling Off to Buffalo (2/8/1974)
89. A Different Drummer (2/22/1974)
90. The Insomniacs (3/1/1974)
91. New York's Oddest (3/8/1974)
92. One for the Bunny (3/22/1974)

93. The Rain in Spain (9/12/1974)
94. To Bowl or Not to Bowl (9/19/1974)
95. The Frog (9/26/1974)
96. The Hollywood Story (10/3/1974)
97. The Dog Story (10/10/1974)
98. Strike Up the Band or Else (10/17/1974)
99. The Odd Candidate (10/24/1974)
100. The Subway Story (10/31/1974)
101. The Paul Williams Show (11/7/1974)
102. Our Fathers (11/21/1974)
103. The Big Broadcast (11/28/1974)
104. Oscar in Love (12/12/1974)
105. The Bigger They Are (12/14/1974)
106. Two on the Aisle (12/19/1974)
107. Your Mother Wears Army Boots (1/16/1975)
108. Felix the Horse Player (1/23/1975)
109. The Rent Strike (1/31/1975)
110. Two Men on a Hoarse (2/7/1975)
111. The Roy Clark Show (2/14/1975)
112. Old Flames Never Die (2/21/1975)
113. Laugh, Clown, Laugh (2/28/1975)
114. Felix Remarries (3/7/1975)

The Odd Couple: Together Again (9/24/1993)