The Odd Couple

The Odd Couple (titled onscreen Neil Simon's The Odd Couple) is an American sitcom television series broadcast from September 24, 1970, to March 7, 1975, on ABC. The show, which stars Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison, was the first of several sitcoms developed by Garry Marshall for Paramount Television. The series is based on the 1965 play The Odd Couple written by Neil Simon, which was also adapted into the 1968 film The Odd Couple. The story examines two divorced men, Oscar and Felix, who share a Manhattan apartment and whose opposite personalities inevitably lead to conflict and laughter. In 1997, the episodes "Password" and "The Fat Farm" were ranked No. 5 and No. 58, respectively, on TV Guides 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time. The show received three nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. History The success of the 1968 film version of the stage play of The Odd Couple, which starred Jack Lemmon as Felix and Walter Matthau as Oscar, catalyzed production of the television show. Mickey Rooney and Martin Balsam were also considered for the part of Oscar and Dean Martin and Art Carney for Felix (Carney had originated the role on Broadway).