Jack Klugman, best known for his perfect portrayal of Oscar Madison in the ABC comedy, The Odd Couple (1970 - 1975) 
and for playing, with extraordinary excellence, a crime fighting medical examiner in the NBC drama, Quincy, M.E. (1976 - 1983),
passed away on Monday, December 24th, 2012. He was 90 years old.
I had the great pleasure of meeting Jack, backstage, following a performance in 1998 of the Broadway show, The Sunshine Boys, which Jack starred in with his buddy from The Odd Couple, the terrific Tony Randall.
I spent two very special years working with Tony on the NBC/Warner Bros. sitcom, Love, Sidney. Tony and I became good friends during the show's run from 1981 to 1983; and our friendship and fondness for each other lasted for 23 years until he passed away on May 17th, 2004.
When Tony and Jack starred together in the National Actors Theatre production of The Sunshine Boys at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City, Tony invited me to come see the smash hit show. He warmly extended the invitation to include my mom (Peg), my sister (Deborah) and my brother-in-law (Jeff).
Tony founded the National Actors Theatre in 1991. It was his dream to create such an organization. We often talked about his passionate desire to accomplish his goal to conceive and develop a national theatre company. Tony was chairman until his death in 2004.
To say the least, Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys with Tony and Jack was fabulous; and it deserved all the outstanding accolades and standing ovations that the show and these two theatre giants received.
After the play, Tony had welcomed my family and me backstage to visit with him and to meet Jack. Unfortunately, Tony needed to leave before Jack stopped by and so we were unable to take a picture with both of them together; but photographs were taken with my family, Tony and me plus with my family, Jack and me. They are pictures that I will always treasure.
Tony was as wonderful to me that night, as he always was; and Jack was marvelous. My family and I truly enjoyed their company. Being a friend, though...having fun with Tony was not anything unusual. There was no way to not have fun with Tony Randall. But meeting Jack Klugman that night was an extra special treat.
I know my family had a grand old time. My sister has The Sunshine Boys poster, which both Tony and Jack autographed, framed and hanging in my brother-in-law's and her home, with the pictures we took with The Sunshine Boys themselves.
During our two-year run of Love, Sidney, I once asked Tony why Jack hadn't done our show. Tony said, "A guest starring appearance by Jack would need to be exactly right for both of us." Tony told me, "Unless Jack's part is perfect...neither one of us want it."
As Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, Tony and Jack's characters - the fussy photographer Felix Unger and the sloppy sportscaster Oscar Madison - may have battled on screen as roommates; but in real life, Tony Randall and Jack Klugman were the best of friends who loved each other very much.
In the delightful book, Tony and Me...Jack writes, "The real gift that Tony's friendship gave me was the capacity to truly trust another human being completely. And that single act changed my life. What I didn't get the chance to tell him was that our friendship had made me a better human being."
Jack was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1974 and lost a vocal cord in 1989. After losing his voice, Tony was very supportive and encouraging to Jack that he return to acting. It took several years, but Jack trained himself to speak again.
Before his stardom in television's The Odd Couple and Quincy, M.E., I became a fan of Jack's when he appeared in an all-star cast, led by the Oscar-winning superstar, Henry Fonda in the classic 1957 motion picture crime drama, 12 Angry Men, which focuses on the deliberations of twelve jurors in a first degree murder trial. Jack plays Juror #5
in this brilliantly directed film by Sidney Lumet, which was superbly written by Reginald Rose. If you've never seen 12 Angry Men, I strongly encourage you to get a copy of this cinematic masterpiece on DVD or in some other digital format. I recommend it most thoroughly. It's one of the best movies you will ever see.The cause of Jack Klugman's death was not immediately known. This three-time Emmy Award winner leaves his wife, Peggy, who reportedly was at his bedside when Jack passed away. My thoughts, sympathies and prayers are with Peggy at this difficult time, as well as with Jack's two sons and two grandchildren.
It's always sad when someone you know has passed on. Although I was not friends with Jack Klugman, as I was with Tony Randall, I'm sorry to see this remarkable talent and gracious gentleman go off to the big television and movie studio in the sky. But now..."The Odd Couple" are back together.
And that's The Controversy for today.
I'm Gary B. Duglin.
Copyright 2012 Gary B. Duglin and TheControversy.net. All Rights Reserved.
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