Legendary Television Actor Jack Klugman Dead at 90

It is a sad day in the acting world…

Iconic television actor Jack Klugman, known best for his roles as the horridly messy Oscar Madison in “The Odd Couple” and the crime-fighting coroner Dr. R. Quincy in “Quincy, M.E.,” passed away on Christmas Eve.

According to Klugman’s son, Adam, Jack passed away suddenly with his wife by his side.  But as Adam reassured all his father’s fans, his loss is not something to be sad over:

“He had a great life and he enjoyed every moment of it and he would encourage others to do the same.”

The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, he was born in Philadelphia and began his acting career in college drama (Carnegie Institute of Technology). After serving in the Army during World War I, he went on to summer stock and off-Broadway, rooming with fellow actor Charles Bronson as both looked for paying jobs.

As time passed, Klugman started to land more and more roles, including a lead in a stage production of “Gypsy”, the role that eventually led to him being cast in the television version of “The Odd Couple”.  As Klugman explained:

“[Gary Marshall] said, ‘I saw you with Ethel Merman, and she was singing to you and spitting all over you, and you never showed it. That’s a good actor that doesn’t show the spit.’ That’s why he gave me the part.”

Soon, Jack’s resume was filled with Broadway credits, film credits that include 12 ANGRY MEN and DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES, and television credits including four classic “Twilight Zone” episodes and two hit series.

In 1989, however, in the middle of such a long and successful career, Klugman thought he would never act again after losing his voice to throat cancer.  But a random, one-night-only stage performance of “The Odd Couple” in 1991 with old friend Tony Randall gave him the motivation to strengthen his vocal cords enough to start acting again.

And lucky for us, that one performance gave us another two decades with the lovable everyman that always warmed our hearts.

Jack Klugman was 90 years old.