Posted on 05/18/2004 10:55:03 AM PDT by Reagan Man
Edited on 05/18/2004 11:10:59 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
NEW YORK — Tony Randall (search), the comic actor best known for playing fastidious photographer Felix Unger on "The Odd Couple," (search) has died. He was 84.
Randall died in his sleep Monday night at NYU Medical Center of complications from a long illness, according to his publicity firm, Springer Associates. The actor developed pneumonia after undergoing heart bypass surgery in December.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Tony Randall was a favorite of mine. Served 4 years in WWII. A good guy.
Yeah. A real peach.
RIP Tony.
That's his right. It's a free country.
Yes, just like Andy Warhol, whose death was purportedly due to a medical screw-up....
I enjoyed Randall's performances, but it always bothered me that he had children so late in life. Obviously these little kids were going to lose their dad while they were young. I feel for them.
Thats the way I want to go..Die in my sleep , just like my grandpa. Not screaming like the people in the back seat of his car.
No surprise there.
| 'Odd Couple' Actor Tony Randall Dies at 84 |
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| Posted by BulletBobCo On News/Activism 05/18/2004 10:23:17 AM EDT with 6 comments Fox News ^ | May 18, 2004 | FOX |
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| Tony Randall, dead at 84 |
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| Posted by Hillary's Lovely Legs On News/Activism 05/18/2004 10:19:42 AM EDT with 12 comments |
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| Actor Tony Randall Passes Away |
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| Posted by Howlin On News/Activism 05/18/2004 10:18:40 AM EDT with 146 comments MSNBC | May 18, 2004 |
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I respect his service, but Randall was an intolerably pompous ass. The kind of guy who would sit next to a table where you're smoking, and come take your cigarette away from you. He could be very funny, but every interview I ever saw with him, he wound up totally pissing me off, offending me, or both.
I respect his service, but Randall was an intolerably pompous ass. The kind of guy who would sit next to a table where you're smoking, and come take your cigarette away from you. He could be very funny, but every interview I ever saw with him, he wound up totally pissing me off, offending me, or both.
Next time you might consider searching under 'tony' or 'randall'.
What a bunch of sourpuss pissants!
PS- The search engine isn't functioning properly.
I was shocked to find out he fathered a child at age 77...I'd always assumed he was gay.
Very strange though that I was thinking about Tony Randall just last night with nothing prompting a thought about him.
He is a comedian I've always enjoyed. RIP.
I did, mister smartass!
Its my right, Its a free country.
At least he wasn't as vocal as an Ed Assinine or Alec Baldwin. My tolerance for these types increases when they don't try to use there fame as a platform for political expression.
About 15 years ago, Tony Randall appeared in a corporate instructional video series I wrote, and I got to spend a weekend working around him. He and Steve Allen were the two nicest, most gracious celebrities I ever met, and my job has brought me in contact with a lot of them, good and bad. He was funny and friendly to everyone, answering all our dumb questions, joking flirtatiously with the shy script girl, etc. We had set up a luxurious dressing room for him to have a private lunch, and he said, "Aw, no! I want to eat with the guys!" and he ate at the cafeteria table with the crew, regaling us all with hilarious stories. He even complained that the 4-star hotel suite we provided for him was far more than he needed, and he would have been fine with a room at the Ramada.
He did all this while very worried about his first wife, who had been extremely ill for a long time. I once escorted him to a private office to call her, and he explained to me that he was only taking short jobs like ours so he didn't have to be away from her for long. I'll never forget how he seemed so worried, then the second his wife came on the line, he was up and happy, asking her how she was and telling her how nice everyone was here as he tried to lift her spirits. Then the second he hung up the phone, the mask dropped, his shoulders sagged and his sadness returned. So if he found happiness and a new family after she passed away, I don't begrudge it to him. He earned some happiness in his personal life.
I told him I loved his two LPs of 1920s songs and had played them to death. He not only autographed them for me, he said, "If you've really played them to death, I have the master tapes. I'd be happy to send you a dub." I never imagined he would, but a few days later, I received a package with a cassette (that formerly had opera on it) with a dub of the masters, including unreleased tracks. It also included a personal handwritten note, complimenting me on my own comedy demo tape I'd given him.
A couple years later, I went to New York in hopes of achieving my dream of writing for David Letterman. As a poor kid from Texas with no agent or contacts, I couldn't get in the door. But I knew Tony Randall was a regular guest. So I wrote to the address on the envelope, reminding him who I was and asking if he had any suggestions. It was just a shot in the dark, and I never expected a reply.
But a few days later, I got back another personal note from him with the inside phone number of David Letterman's head writer. The note said, "Give him a call, he's waiting to hear from you. Good luck!" We had an hour-long conversation, and while I never got the job (there was a prolonged writer's strike on, and I moved back to Texas to be with my cancer-stricken parents before it ended), I will never forget the multiple times this world-famous, wealthy celebrity went out of his way to be helpful to a young comedy writer from Texas that nobody'd ever heard of.
Granted, I disagree with his politics, which are typical of the Manhattan acting set. But it's too easy to get obsessed with things like that in an election year and let them blind us to more important attributes. As both a comedic talent and a human being, Tony Randall (and Steve Allen, who also helped me in a similar fashion) stood head and shoulders above every other celebrity I've ever dealt with. Considering what he did for me, I can only imagine how many other people he helped over his long career. I send my prayers and condolences to his family, and my greatest respect to him.
I've always liked his work and enjoyed him as an actor. Never heard anything of his politics until reading this thread.
The fact that he was selfish enough to have kids at his age, knowing that, at best, they'd be in their teens when he died tells me all I need to know about the guy.
You've (at least mostly) redeemed him in my eyes.
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