Tony Randall

Overview (4)

Date of Birth	26 February 1920, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
Date of Death	17 May 2004, New York City, New York, USA  (pneumonia following heart surgery)
Birth Name	Arthur Leonard Rosenberg
Height	5' 8" (1,73 m)

Mini Bio (1)

Tony Randall was born on February 26, 1920 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA as Arthur Leonard Rosenberg. He was an actor, known for The Odd Couple (1970), The Tony Randall Show(1976) and Pillow Talk (1959). He was married to Heather Harlan and Florence Mitchell. He died on May 17, 2004 in New York City, New York, USA.

Spouse (2)

Heather Harlan	(17 November 1995 - 17 May 2004) (his death) (2 children)
Florence Mitchell	(1942 - 18 April 1992) (her death)

Trade Mark (2)

Tony always played the clean straight man.

His sardonic, commanding voice.

Trivia (34)

Attended Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois), where he majored in speech and drama.

11 April 1997: first child born at 12:00am EST, named Julia Laurette Randall. She was named after his mom Julia and actress Laurette Taylor, whom Tony says is "the best actress I've ever seen in my life."

Was militantly opposed to smoking.

Met his wife Heather in a play in New York. She was 50 years his junior.

Founder of the National Actors' Theater, New York.

He was originally cast as the voice of "Templeton the Rat" in the movie Charlotte's Web(1973) without an audition. When Joseph Barbera realised he wasn't right for the voice, they paid him and hired Paul Lynde instead.

Suffered from tinnitus, a chronic ringing in the ears. In 1996, he and Jerry Stillerappeared in a public service announcement for the American Tinnitus Association, encouraging viewers to seek diagnosis and treatment.

Second child: Jefferson Salvini Randall, born on June 15, 1998. Named after comic actorJoseph Jefferson and Italian tragic actor Tommasso Salvini.

Studied acting at New York City's prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse, under the direction of legendary acting coach Sanford Meisner.

The two children of Felix and Gloria Unger in The Odd Couple (1970) were named Leonard and Edna, the real-life names of Tony Randall and his late sister, Edna.

Had taken ballet classes and danced at a semi-professional level.

Appeared on Late Show with David Letterman (1993) a record 70 times.

The son of an art dealer, he graduated from Tulsa (OK) Central High School.

A member of the Metropolitan Opera Association from 1972.

National chairman of the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation, which is an incurable neuromuscular disease.

Dropped out of Northwestern University in Illinois, majoring in speech and drama, in order to study acting with Sanford Meisner and dancer Martha Graham at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. Later, Tony received a Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 2002 from Pace University.

An avid art collector, his father was an art and antiques dealer.

Studied voice for 32 years but did not act on it, quipping, "I have a nice healthy tone, but it's not terribly musical. If beautiful voices are golden, mine is aluminum.".

Originated the role of E.K. Hornbeck in the Broadway production of "Inherit the Wind," which ran for 806 performances from April 21, 1955, to June 22, 1957, at the National Theater (now the Nederlander Theater). He was still working on his Mister Peepers(1952) series at the beginning of the run of show, filming episodes on Sundays when the theater was dark. His role was played by Gene Kelly in the 1960 film Inherit the Wind(1960). In 1996, his National Actors' Theater company put on a Broadway revival of "Inherit the Wind" that ran for 45 appearances. He was a stand-in for both Anthony Heald as E.K. Hornbeck and George C. Scott as Henry Drummond, taking over the latter role when Scott had to leave the play. Scott was nominated for a 1996 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for the role.

Was asked in the 1970s if there had been anyone in his career whom he had really disliked. After saying he hated to criticize the dead, he revealed that he had animosity against the late Ethel Barrymore. As a young actor, Randall had appeared in a play with her, and he was offended by her imperious manner, which included a demand that her fellow actors observe absolute silence in the vicinity of her dressing room.

Was nominated for Broadway's Tony Award five times: as Best Actor (Musical) in 1958 for "Oh, Captain!" and, later, as co-producer with his National Actors' Theater of four nominated plays: as Best Revival, in 1993 for "St. Joan" and as Best Revival (Play) in 1994 for "Timon of Athens"; in 1996 for "Inherit the Wind" and in 1997 for "The Gin Game.".

Won an Emmy Award for the TV series The Odd Couple (1970) after the show had been canceled. At his acceptance speech, he said, "Thank you. Now, if I only had a job.".

A liberal Democrat, in September 2003 he joked in a speech that President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney would be turned away if they tried to attend his funeral.

Contracted pneumonia following heart bypass surgery in December 2003.

Biography in "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives," Volume 7, 2003-2005, pp. 444-446. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.

Father was an art dealer. Mother's name was Julia Finston.

Avid collector of modern art, opera recordings, and antiques.

He recalled the making of 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964) in an interview in the book "A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde" (McFarland & Co., 2010) by Tom Weaver.

He and Jack Klugman performed together in Appointment with Adventure: The Pirate's House (1955) from "The Golden Age of Television" period 15 years before they did the classic The Odd Couple (1970).

In an effort to bring back classic theater to Broadway, he founded and was artistic director of the nonprofit National Actors Theatre in 1991, using $1 million of his own money and $2 million from corporations and foundations.

Best remembered by the public for his starring role as Felix Unger on The Odd Couple(1970).

Randall appeared in both the 1954 stage version of Edward Chodorov's "Oh, Men! Oh, Women! as well as the 1957 screen adaptation but in different roles.

He acted in three Broadway shows during the run of Mister Peepers (1952), working on the show on Tuesdays through its Sunday telecast (Broadway shows at the time were dark on Sundays). At one point he worked for 365 consecutive days without a taking a day off.

A private man.

Personal Quotes (3)

Compassion is a luxury of the affluent.

Comedy's a serious business. You've got to be true and funny and not look as though you're trying.

[In a 1986 interview] Katharine Cornell was a lovely, warm, helpful, friendly, dear colleague. She took an interest in the younger people in the company and tried to help them get jobs. She actively tried to get me a job--as if she were my agent.