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44-658: The National Actors Theatre (NAT) was a theatre company founded in 1991 by actor Tony Randall , who served as the company's chairman. Randall stated he had long dreamed of creating such an organization. The company was originally housed at the Belasco Theatre , New York, but then moved to the nearby Lyceum Theatre , and in 2002 was based in the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University in New York City. NAT

88-568: A Yahtzee spinoff, Challenge Yahtzee . They appeared in character as Felix and Oscar, and the TV spots were filmed on the set of The Odd Couple . During the series run, Randall took a small role in Everything 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 in Charlotte's Web , and recorded

132-616: A Mystery . In 1946, Randall was cast as one of the brothers in a touring production of Katharine Cornell 's revival of The Barretts of Wimpole Street . Randall appeared on Broadway in Cornell's production of Antony and Cleopatra (1947–48) with Cornell, Charlton Heston , and Maureen Stapleton , and in Caesar and Cleopatra (1949–50) with Cedric Hardwicke and Lilli Palmer . Randall began appearing on television, notably episodes of One Man's Family . Randall's first major television role

176-573: A collection of amusing and sometimes racy showbusiness anecdotes called Which Reminds Me , published in 1989. In keeping with his penchant for both championing and mocking the culture that he loved, during the Big 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)

220-518: A depraved monster, although the author and original director denied that the play did so. The Barretts of Wimpole Street was Rudolf Besier's only real success as a playwright. It was first staged on 20 August 1930, at the Malvern Festival in Malvern, Worcestershire . Elizabeth Barrett lived near Malvern as a child, which suggested to the director, Sir Barry Jackson , the appropriateness of opening

264-632: A drunken rage. He starred in a TV adaptation of Arsenic & Old Lace (1962), and had big-screen leading roles in Boys' Night Out (1962) and Island of Love (1963). In 1964, Randall starred in the classic MGM film, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao , which was based on The Circus of Dr. Lao by Charles 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

308-564: A final tally of $ 9,900. In 1973, Randall and Klugman recorded an album for London Records titled The Odd Couple Sings . Roland Shaw and the London Festival Orchestra and Chorus provided the music and additional vocals. The record was not a chart-topper but is a highly sought-after item for many Odd Couple fans. Randall and Klugman also collaborated on a series of television commercials for Eagle brand snacks. A noted raconteur , Randall, along with co-writer Mike Mindlin, wrote

352-446: A note for her father. Barrett, devastated, wants revenge. "A smile of indescribable ugliness flickers across his face" and he orders Elizabeth's beloved dog to be destroyed – but she has taken Flush with her. Learning from Henrietta that his cruel vengeance has been thwarted, Barrett stands perfectly still, "staring straight before him and mechanically tearing Elizabeth's letter into little pieces, which drop to his feet". Cornell revived

396-710: A secret agent; and Hello Down There (1969). Randall returned to Broadway in UTBU (1966), which had only a short run. He appeared in the TV movie The Littlest Angel (1969) with Johnny Whitaker and Fred Gwynne . Randall returned to television in 1970 as Felix Unger in The Odd Couple , opposite Jack Klugman , a role that lasted five years. The names of Felix's children in The Odd Couple were Edna and Leonard, named for Randall's sister and Randall himself. In 1974, Randall and Klugman appeared in television spots endorsing

440-583: A stint in London in 1996. Later film roles included Fatal Instinct (1994) and Down with Love (2003). Randall's last appearances on stage as an actor were in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (2002) and Right You Are (2003). On September 4, 1955, Randall and Klugman appeared together with Gena Rowlands in the episode "The Pirate's House" of the CBS anthology series Appointment with Adventure . Randall

484-559: A two-second cameo as a solemn spectator in the crowd, for a total of eight roles in the film. He played the lead in The Brass Bottle (1964) and made one last film with Hudson and Day, Send Me No Flowers (1965). Randall took the lead in Fluffy (1965), a comedy about a lion; The Alphabet Murders (1965), playing Hercule Poirot for Frank Tashlin ; Our Man in Marrakesh (1966), as

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528-491: Is unthinkable". To Moulton-Barrett, love entails "cruelty and loathing and degradation and remorse ... With the help of God, and through years of tormenting abstinence, I strangled it in myself. And so long as I have breath in my body, I'll keep it away from those I was given to protect and care for". When Bella arrives, Elizabeth confesses that she too has an admirer – the handsome young poet Robert Browning. Invigorated by his renewed declaration of love, she gets up and walks for

572-645: The Late Show with David Letterman , making 70 appearances, according to his obituary in The Washington Post . Letterman said that Randall was one of his favorite guests, along with Regis Philbin . On November 7, 1994, Randall appeared on the game show Jeopardy! , as part of a celebrity episode, playing on behalf of the National Actors Theatre. He came in second place behind General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. but ahead of actress Stefanie Powers , with

616-578: The CBS -TV movie The 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 included Night Must Fall (1999) and Judgment at Nuremberg (2001). Periodically, he performed in stage revivals of The Odd Couple with Klugman, including

660-589: The Malvern Festival in August 1930, the play transferred to the West End , where it ran for 528 performances. An American production, produced by and starring Katharine Cornell , opened in 1931 and ran on Broadway for 370 performances. The play has subsequently been revived onstage and adapted for television and the cinema. The play caused some protests from the descendants of one of the central characters, Edward Moulton-Barrett, objecting to what they saw as his depiction as

704-835: The Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts because of his opposition to the Vietnam War , he donated the remainder of his contract fee to the McCarthy campaign. During the U.S. presidential primaries in 1972 , he appeared as the featured celebrity at numerous fundraising house parties for Democratic Party candidate George McGovern . His name was featured on the master list of Richard Nixon's political opponents . Randall died in his sleep on May 17, 2004, at NYU Medical Center of pneumonia that he had contracted following coronary bypass surgery in December 2003. He had been hospitalized since

748-553: The U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War II , including work at Arlington Hall for the codebreaking Signal Intelligence Service . He rose to the rank of first lieutenant prior to his discharge. After the war, he worked at the Olney Theatre in Montgomery County , Maryland , before heading back to New York City. One of Randall's first acting jobs was playing "Reggie" in the long-running 1940s radio series I Love

792-430: The vibrato style of Carmen Lombardo , and the two had once sung a duet of Lombardo's signature song "Boo Hoo (You've Got Me Crying for You)" on The Tonight Show . In the 1980s, Randall served as off-camera narrator for several video productions by the Metropolitan Opera , announcing performers to the television audience as they appeared on stage during curtain calls and providing brief descriptions of scenes. For

836-490: The 1990 sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch , Randall voiced the Brain Gremlin. Randall was married to his high school sweetheart, Florence Gibbs, 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, an understudy from the production of The School for Scandal in which Randall was starring at National Actors Theatre ;

880-746: The Broadway hit Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1954). Randall's first major role in a Broadway hit was in Inherit the Wind (1955–57), portraying newspaperman E. K. Hornbeck (based on real-life cynic H. L. Mencken ), alongside Ed Begley and Paul Muni . On television he appeared in Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl (1956), co-written by Neil Simon. He also guest-starred on The Alcoa Hour . Randall's success in Inherit

924-604: The Dog! (1988), and The Man in the Brown Suit (1989). From October 30 to November 2, 1987, he hosted the free preview of HBO 's short-lived premium channel Festival . In 1989, Randall returned to Broadway as a replacement in M. Butterfly . In 1991, Randall founded the National Actors Theatre , ultimately based at Pace University in New York City. Their productions included The Crucible (1991), A Little Hotel on

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968-591: The NBC series Love, 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 in Sunday Drive (1986) for Disney, Save

1012-615: 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), and The Gin Game (1997). In 1997, he performed in The Sunshine Boys with Klugman to great success. In September 1993, Randall and Klugman reunited in

1056-515: The Wind led to film offers and his first significant big-screen role in Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957) for 20th Century Fox , which promoted Randall to stardom with Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) alongside Jayne Mansfield . He played one of the leads in No Down Payment (1957). He was replaced with Dean Martin shortly before the filming of Fox's The Young Lions . In 1958, Randall played

1100-612: The ceremony was officiated by Rudy Giuliani . They lived in a Manhattan apartment and bought a vacation apartment in Key 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. In his book Which 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." Randall

1144-497: The first time in years. Some months later, Elizabeth is so much better that she is planning a trip to Italy, on her doctor's advice. Her father cannot bear to let her go. When Browning begs her to marry him and leave for Italy together, Elizabeth pleads for time. When Barrett discovers that Henrietta has an admirer, he is so angry that he assaults her and makes her swear never to see him again. Elizabeth, realising that she must act, secretly marries Browning and elopes with him, leaving

1188-590: The hit film Pillow Talk (1959) supporting Doris Day and Rock Hudson ; he would reunite with Day and Hudson for two more films. Randall starred in an NBC-TV special, The Secret of Freedom , which was filmed during the summer of 1959 in Mount Holly, New Jersey , and broadcast on the network during the fall of 1959 and again in early 1960. On TV he was also in The Man in the Moon (1960), co-written by Mel Brooks . Randall

1232-662: The leading role in the Broadway musical comedy Oh, Captain! , taking on a role originated on film by Alec Guinness . The show was a financial failure, but Randall received a Tony Award nomination for his dance turn with prima ballerina Alexandra Danilova . Randall appeared in Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse , Goodyear Theatre , The United States Steel Hour , Sunday Showcase and Playhouse 90 . Randall co-starred with Debbie Reynolds in The Mating Game (1959) at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer . He appeared in

1276-600: The operation. His remains are interred at the Westchester Hills Cemetery in Hastings-on-Hudson , New York . The Barretts of Wimpole Street The Barretts of Wimpole Street is a 1930 play by the Dutch/English dramatist Rudolf Besier , based on the romance between Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett , and her domineering father's unwillingness to allow them to marry. Presented first at

1320-613: The part, but was replaced in the film by Paul Lynde , as Randall's voice was perceived as too sophisticated by the director, who wanted Templeton to have a nasal voice . Beginning in 1976, Randall starred for two seasons in The Tony Randall Show , playing Philadelphia judge Walter Franklin. He had roles in Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid (1978), Scavenger Hunt (1979), and Foolin' Around (1980). Randall starred in

1364-471: The play on 14 October 1951, starring Pauline Jameson as Elizabeth, Griffith Jones as Browning and D. A. Clarke-Smith as Edward Moulton-Barrett. On 2 April 1956 NBC 's Producers' Showcase aired a production featuring Cornell as Elizabeth. A 1982 TV film of the play was made by the BBC starring Jane Lapotaire as Elizabeth, Joss Ackland as her father and Jeremy Brett as Browning. The play also spawned

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1408-556: The play takes place in Elizabeth Barrett's bed-sitting room in her father's house. She is an invalid, taking comfort from her pet spaniel , Flush. Her sister Henrietta tells her that their father is in a fury because of the impending visit of their cousin Bella, who is about to marry – something Barrett will not allow his daughters to do: "So long as Papa's alive none of us will ever be able to marry with his consent – and to marry without it

1452-587: The play there before presenting it in the West End . The production starred Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies as Elizabeth Moulton-Barrett and Scott Sunderland as Robert Browning. The production was later seen in Birmingham before opening, with the original cast unchanged, at the Queen's Theatre in London on 23 September 1930, where it ran until 2 January 1932, a total of 528 performances. The production provoked protests from some of Edward Moulton-Barrett's grandchildren about

1496-758: The play twice on Broadway: at the Martin Beck Theatre (1935) and the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (1945). There was a West End revival of the play in 1948 at the Garrick Theatre , starring Margaret Johnston , Alec Clunes and Tom Walls . It was filmed in 1934, starring Fredric March , Norma Shearer and Charles Laughton . That film was remade scene-for-scene and almost shot-for-shot, in colour, in 1957, starring Bill Travers , Jennifer Jones and John Gielgud . Both films were directed by Sidney Franklin . BBC television broadcast an adaptation of

1540-466: The portrayal of their grandfather as a monster with "unspeakable vices". Besier and Jackson issued a statement that neither when writing the play nor in its production was there any intention to portray Barrett as a man with incestuous impulses, and that such interpretation of the play was erroneous and unfounded. The text of the play was published by Victor Gollancz in 1931. It is dedicated to Hugh Walpole . In search of an American production, Besier

1584-476: Was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and often spoke of his love of opera and the salaciousness of many of its plotlines. He also admitted to sneaking tape recorders into operas to make his own private recordings. He chided Johnny Carson for his chain smoking and was generally fastidious. At the time of his death, Randall had appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show 105 times, more often than any other celebrity had appeared. Randall

1628-584: Was an advocate for the arts. During the summer of 1980, he served as the celebrity host of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra's concerts in Central Park , New York City. Randall was politically liberal . He was an active supporter of Eugene McCarthy during the 1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries . When he was dropped as a regular panelist on the Opera Quiz intermission feature of

1672-536: Was as history teacher Harvey Weskit in Mister Peepers (1952–1955). He continued to guest-star on other shows such as The Gulf Playhouse (directed by Arthur Penn ), The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse , Kraft Theatre , The Motorola Television Hour , Armstrong Circle Theatre , Studio One in Hollywood , Appointment with Adventure , and The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse . Randall replaced Gig Young in

1716-1088: Was born to a Jewish family in Tulsa , Oklahoma , the son of Julia (née Finston) (April 28, 1889 – October 3, 1950) and Moescha Rosenberg (August 6, 1875 – November 16, 1939), an art and antiques dealer. He attended Tulsa Central High School . Randall attended Northwestern University for a year before going to New York City to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre . He studied under Sanford Meisner and choreographer Martha Graham . Randall worked as an announcer at radio station WTAG in Worcester , Massachusetts . As Anthony Randall , he starred with Jane Cowl in George Bernard Shaw 's Candida and Ethel Barrymore in Emlyn Williams 's The Corn Is Green . Randall served for five years with

1760-595: Was rebuffed by 27 producers before the actress Katharine Cornell took an interest in the play and had it staged at the Hanna Theatre in Cleveland , Ohio on 29 January 1931. The play then went to Broadway, where it opened on 9 February, at the Empire Theatre , starring Cornell and Brian Aherne , running for 370 performances. The Stage commented in 1974 that Elizabeth was Cornell's most famous part. The action of

1804-474: Was the 100th episode of the show. Randall, along with John Goodman and Drew Barrymore , was among the first guests on the debut episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien on September 13, 1993. He would also appear in Conan O'Brien 's 5th Anniversary Special with the character PimpBot 5000. Randall was a frequent guest as well on both of David Letterman 's late-night shows Late Night with David Letterman and

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1848-912: Was the only professional theatre company housed in a university in New York City . The company was dissolved following Randall's death in May, 2004. Productions included such stars as Al Pacino , Matthew Broderick , Lynn Redgrave , Jack Klugman , Martin Sheen , John Goodman , Charles Durning , Jeff Goldblum , George C. Scott , Len Cariou , Maximilian Schell , Paul Giamatti , Steve Buscemi , Rob Lowe , Fritz Weaver , George Grizzard , Marthe Keller , Julie Harris , Robert Foxworth , Chazz Palminteri , Michael York , Michael Hayden , Billy Crudup , Dominic Chianese , Linda Emond , Earle Hyman , Roberta Maxwell , Michael O'Hare , Joseph Wiseman , Brennan Brown and Michael Stuhlbarg . Tony Randall Randall

1892-625: Was top-billed in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from MGM in 1960. He had a Pillow Talk -style supporting role in Let's Make Love (1960) with Marilyn Monroe and Yves Montand , and Lover Come Back (1961) with Hudson and Day. Randall continued to guest on TV shows including General Electric Theater and Checkmate . In 1961, Randall played a highly dramatic role in "Hangover," an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in which he portrayed an alcoholic business executive who strangles his wife in

1936-422: Was well-known for being a guest panelist on the game show What’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" on The Gong Show in 1977. Randall was a guest star on the fifth and final season of The Muppet Show in an episode that first aired on October 11, 1980. This

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