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Rating:  -
The book "Tony and Me: A Story Friendship" is Jack Klugman's loving tribute to his long time co-star and dear friend the late Tony Randall. The book covers the extent of their decades long friendship from their first meeting on the set of a 1950's TV show, to their days on "The Odd Couple", to Mr. Klugman's battle with cancer and ultimately with the passing of Mr. Randall in 2004.
Although the book is not autobiographical Mr. Klugman, nonetheless, does spend the first couple of chapters detailing the path he took to become an actor. If you are a fan of "The Odd Couple" or Jack Klugman these chapters will provide some interesting incite into the man. The author spends the balance of the book recounting various stories and anecdotes of their career together.
The book is short (less than 150 pages) and I was able to read it in a single sitting. It is an at times a funny and very touching book. I found myself laughing out loud more than once and even getting choked up on a couple of occasions. The love Jack Klugman feels for Tony Randall is palpable as you read through portions of this book.
As a bonus, the book comes with a DVD containing out takes from the "The Odd Couple". This 15 minute DVD, introduced by Jack Klugman, contains some extremely funny out takes from the series. It alone is worth the price of the book.
If you are a fan of "The Odd Couple", or Jack Klugman, or Tony Randall or just of classic TV I highly recommend this book. The investment of time needed to read it is minor compared with the enjoyment you with derive.
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Any long time fan of the Odd Couple TV series or Klugman's work will appreciate this wonderful account of Jack's friendship with the late, great Tony Randall. Affectionate and heartwarming, this book is a fast read that tells of their friendship and work relationship that spanned decades. Best of all, the DVD included in the book is worth the price of admission alone. Hilarious outtakes. If Paramount never gets off it's lazy behind to issue the Odd Couple TV series in its full, unedited, originally aired form, then these outtakes might be the only DVD we get! Jack champions Tony's National Theater cause and it is a rousing endorsement for Tony's hard work and dedication to the art and craft. A definite MUST BUY.
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Jack Klugman really captures the special relationship that he and Tony Randall developed that resulted in some of the most memorable epsiodes in TV history. The book is a short -one sitting read with great photos of both men at different stages of their careers. The bonus is the DVD of outtakes from the series that is very amusing and makes one long for the series itself to be released on DVD. For any fan of the show this book is a must and would make a great gift for the Odd Couple addict in your life.
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Jack Klugman. Tony Randall. Those are two names known to anyone over 35, and to plenty of people younger, thanks to the legendary TV series, "The Odd Couple." Fewer of us know about their extended career acting on stage before and long after the series. In between those years, a complex relationship was built that did not follow the Hollywood style.
"Tony And Me: A Story of Friendship" gives Jack Klugman's point of view on how they interacted and grew closer. Beginning before anyone heard of them, and ending with Tony's death in May 2004, it developed a richness that I envy.
Klugman self-published "Tony and Me," knowing that more profit would be made available for Randall's beloved National Actors Theater. The fact that Klugman did not rely on a bevy of editors and marketers shape what he said created a personal voice that avoids patting himself on the back and indulging in name-dropping. Instead, he comes across conversational and friendly.
Klugman explains how he and Randall saw life differently, not too dissimilarly as Oscar and Felix, but that it was their common love and training in theater that connected them.
He never delves into kiss and tell, sparing us from any lurid gossip that may have surrounded either in the heyday. Like a eulogy, he tells fond stories of the two of them together, and, most of all, why Randall mattered in his life.
One significant story Klugman tells is about his throat cancer, and subsequent surgery that dealt a blow to his voice. Randall was the one who encouraged him most to return to theater. Without a decent voice, this would be impossible, but Randall let Klugman know he would help him get back on stage if he wanted to try. Klugman tried, and they eventually starred together in "The Sunshine Boys" in the National Actors Theater. More than a professional victory, this personal triumph humbled Klugman in a new way. He realized the formation of a solid friendship, that after 30-some years of working together, they were more than a team.
Jack Klugman does not gush, or gab. A short book, it focuses on friendship more than the events that surrounded them. At the book's end, he admonishes readers to set aside grudges and to realize that friendship and the bond it creates is bigger than pride.
The "Odd Couple" outtakes DVD is a collection of goof ups from the series. Klugman adds to his book with this, giving the reader an immediate reminder of what put both of them on the map, and the kind of connection they had in the in-between times.
I fully recommend "Tony and Me: A Story of Friendship" by Jack Klugman.
Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com
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When you meet someone larger than life, you hope the public icon bears some resemblence to the private man. Jack Klugman is the icon you can get to know. Reading his book is like hearing him speak--straightforward, spare and genuine. It seems like a rare thing these days, but then Jack is a champion veteran of a bona fide golden age of acting and a horrific bout with throat cancer. His words about Tony are moving as only a best friend's can be. Jack is as tough and loveable as ever. He's lost none of the wit, strength and courage that made him famous and kept him alive. It's a good read about a man who feels like an old friend.
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