Easily one of the best written, best acted sitcoms in TV history. I started watching it in middle school during its first round of syndication. I'd record episodes with a crummy little audio cassette recorder and listen to them over and over. Still a favorite to this day.
I also recorded lots of tv shows and cartoons on my tape recorder. (Did you likewise pause to leave out the commercials?) I love knowing we were all out there doing the same thing!
I loved watching this show when I was a kid in the early 70's. I even remember it was broadcast on Friday nights, usually the death spots for TV shows but the Odd Couple persevered for 5 years. RIP Jack Klugman and Tony Randall you guys were GREAT!
I agree I was not born yet but I used to watch it on syndication in the 80s the show is a legend and I’ll tell you I guarantee you Gloria within six months would have dumped Felix again
Seeing shows like this from the 70’s brings me back to binging a kid again, I did have a great childhood, no trauma, no physical or mental abuse/illness, now that I’m older and continue to get older life didn’t turn out the way I hoped it would when I was a kid but I do have good memories to help with the feelings of my disappointments and I guess that’s my take away when my time comes
The best comedy show of all time - i have goose bumps watching this - I like they liked each other in real life - God, we knew not how good we had it back then - I salute those of us who remember and pass this on to the next generations - I saw Oscar in NJ by accident outside the State Theater before he died and I was thrilled - It hurts they are gone but the show helped me psychologically get thru tough times thru pure humor - RIP and God Bless us all
It was the fact that they liked each other, nay, LOVED each other so much that the show succeeded as well as the brilliant writing and direction. The chemistry Jack and Tony had was what maybe surpassed even the iconic movie with Matthau and Lemmon and I think that's one of the finest comedy films of all time so it means something when I say that lol
@@kendallrivers1119 My thoughts exactly. But the show had the benefit of developing Felix, Oscar, & supporting cast over a five year period and 100+ episodes, whereas Matthau & Lemmon had only a couple of onscreen hours.
@@kendallrivers1119 Actually, at first, they didn't like each other. Jack loved to smoke cigars and it's well documented that Tony wouldn't tolerate smoking. They once took a limo together, and Jack lit up a cigar. The limo driver ended up dropping off Tony, upset about the cigar. From then on, they did not share a limo. Over time, they grew to like each other.
@Matthew Kaiser Well, that actually fits with their characters who couldn't stand each other yet loved each other so I guess Tony and Jack were the same lol. They became best friends over time certainly as you see from Klugman's book Tony and Me a story of friendship.
I remember this final episode from The Odd Couple in 1975 starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman on ABC it was one of the greatest successful shows of all time they was supposed to do a sixth season on ABC but I was shocked when it was cancelled after five seasons and 114 episodes!!!! Thanks so much for posting this video!!!! I love it!! I love the 70s!!! Can you dig it!!!!
I've never seen a single episode or clip prior to this but I can summarize their entire relationship based on this scene alone. And somehow, that ending is just perfect.
From the movie with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthew to the TV series Jack Klugman and Tony Randall to the cartoons series it was glorious fun and always is each time it's shown! 😂👍
Klugman was also brilliant. He convinced Tony Randall to take only a minimal salary for doing The Odd Couple and to negotiate a share of the profit sharing when the series went into syndication. After the show was canceled in 1975, it was immediately seen in reruns and became so popular that it was on every day somewhere. At one point in NYC during the 1980s, the show was seen many times a day. Klugman and Randall made a fortune for their share of the syndication profits
The way Jack Klugman and Tony Randall created this direction of their respected characters, along with the writing, and most of all, pure perfection and quality of their timing on jokes made this one of the greatest shows. I showed my 8th grade class the assume scene and they were on the floor laughing. My students wanted me to watch an episode with them every Friday as a reward for hard work.
And it showed in the series. Their off screen friendship was obvious. Under all the back and forth arguing on screen, you can see they were having a blast doing it. Great show!
Definitely one of the most perfect final scenes ever. Along with the final scenes of Magnum, PI, Everybody Loves Raymond, Barney Miller, Cheers and Frasier. Series finales rarely exceed everyone's expectations but this finale was the exact right way to end a five year gem of a series.
My favorite finale of all time is Newhart. At the time it was the most unexpected, brilliant ending they could have come up with. Even though it pulled the rug out from under the whole series, it was still hysterical.
@@chiefscheider I have to be honest never seen one episode of Newhart before but always heard about the iconic finale and saw the clip of the ending here on RUclips and it's definitely a classic. It's also been ripped off like crazy lol.
I think many people missed the final message delivered by this ending scene. It was basically a commentary on the overall nature of human beings - that people are who the way they are, and aren't going to change their nature or ways while living out their lives. Oh, they may try, but in the end will always revert back to their old ways.
This is one show I never watched as a kid because we only had one TV in the house and my mom preferred the Rockford Files which came on at the same time on NBC on Fridays. I know the series was beloved and well acted so when I retire I’ll check out the series on MeTV 🙂. It’s good to have goals in life!
At the time I don't particularly think many shows had celebrated final episodes. The Fugitive being the most famous. Many shows were just sort of cancelled. Newhart's final was a classic but was a parody of the famous Dallas "dream season." MASH I believe was the first of the celebrated final episodes.
I truly feel privileged to have lived during a time when T.V had the best series in the History of television broadcasting either as new series or in their first run in syndication. As a youngster, I had it all! Star Trek Odd Couple I Dream of Jeannie Gilligans Island Honeymooners Good Times Twilight Zone Happy Days Jefferson's Archie Bunker I'm sure I missed a few. Seriously, does it get any better than this? Me thinks not!
I remember I had this crappy black and white 19inch tv in my bedroom and always remember this awesome show and the Honeymooners back to back at 11 on WPIX 11.
I look forward to watch this show on ‘Decades’, at 5pm and 5:30pm. Then, Love Boat, Ed Sullivan Show...I would rather watch these than what they put out these days. Ed Sullivan, watching those entertainers, that music is considered ‘old’, or, ‘classic’. The entertainers, entertained. They didn’t mix politics with their entertainment. Most of these musicians are deceased. But, to hear them perform is awesome. Music is timeless. The comedy is funny. It’s clean. The people in the audience are wearing suits, hats, best dresses. Even tuxedos. Nowadays, you go to a concert, it’s flip flops, cargo shorts. I’m 53. I still crank up Ozzy, Metallica, AC/DC. I love metal. But, I enjoy the art of music. Musicians are artists. I don’t despise anyone’s choice of music. I just love the era of men in suits with hats. People are polite in public. I can do without the ‘leisure suits’, tho. Good times.
I always thought the final scene was very appropriate. It was a great show overall. They relied too much on celebrity guest stars in the final season, though.
Felix was acting quite irrationally during the party that proceeded with his leaving.(he scolded his child Leonard for eating chocolates, was anxious and irrational with some of the guests, etc). It wouldn't have been long before Gloria threw him out again. I think ABC wanted to keep the possibility open for a return
Easily one of the best written, best acted sitcoms in TV history. I started watching it in middle school during its first round of syndication. I'd record episodes with a crummy little audio cassette recorder and listen to them over and over. Still a favorite to this day.
Preach!!! Great show!!!
all 5 years are on dvd
You sound a lot like we had similar experiences 😂 I also recorded honeymooners and Johnny Carson monologues
I did the same ... They were like Odd Couple radio comedies!
I also recorded lots of tv shows and cartoons on my tape recorder. (Did you likewise pause to leave out the commercials?) I love knowing we were all out there doing the same thing!
I loved watching this show when I was a kid in the early 70's. I even remember it was broadcast on Friday nights, usually the death spots for TV shows but the Odd Couple persevered for 5 years. RIP Jack Klugman and Tony Randall you guys were GREAT!
Same here I was a kid when this was shown , great memories
One of the best memories of my childhood, back in the 70's!
I agree I was not born yet but I used to watch it on syndication in the 80s the show is a legend and I’ll tell you I guarantee you Gloria within six months would have dumped Felix again
Seeing shows like this from the 70’s brings me back to binging a kid again, I did have a great childhood, no trauma, no physical or mental abuse/illness, now that I’m older and continue to get older life didn’t turn out the way I hoped it would when I was a kid but I do have good memories to help with the feelings of my disappointments and I guess that’s my take away when my time comes
@W B Channel 7 in Chicago had 7pm-Brady Bunch, 7:30pm-Partridge Family, 8pm-Room 222, 8:30pm-Odd Couple, 9pm-Love American Style.
The whole series in one scene 😃
This is one series that deserved a final episode. One of the best!
The best comedy show of all time - i have goose bumps watching this - I like they liked each other in real life - God, we knew not how good we had it back then - I salute those of us who remember and pass this on to the next generations - I saw Oscar in NJ by accident outside the State Theater before he died and I was thrilled - It hurts they are gone but the show helped me psychologically get thru tough times thru pure humor - RIP and God Bless us all
It was the fact that they liked each other, nay, LOVED each other so much that the show succeeded as well as the brilliant writing and direction. The chemistry Jack and Tony had was what maybe surpassed even the iconic movie with Matthau and Lemmon and I think that's one of the finest comedy films of all time so it means something when I say that lol
I wouldn't say it was "the best sitcom of all time" but it was still a terrific show. My pick for "best?" The Dick Van Dyke Show! 😁
@@kendallrivers1119 My thoughts exactly. But the show had the benefit of developing Felix, Oscar, & supporting cast over a five year period and 100+ episodes, whereas Matthau & Lemmon had only a couple of onscreen hours.
@@kendallrivers1119 Actually, at first, they didn't like each other. Jack loved to smoke cigars and it's well documented that Tony wouldn't tolerate smoking. They once took a limo together, and Jack lit up a cigar. The limo driver ended up dropping off Tony, upset about the cigar. From then on, they did not share a limo. Over time, they grew to like each other.
@Matthew Kaiser Well, that actually fits with their characters who couldn't stand each other yet loved each other so I guess Tony and Jack were the same lol. They became best friends over time certainly as you see from Klugman's book Tony and Me a story of friendship.
The best comedy ever The Odd Couple! They don’t make brilliant shows like this RIP Tony, Jack, and Al.....😔❤️💜🎞
The entire cast made the show a success. My favorite comedy. 💕
One of the greatest comedy shows of all time. Love watching the reruns when I was a kid every summer when I could stay up.
I remember this final episode from The Odd Couple in 1975 starring Tony Randall and Jack Klugman on ABC it was one of the greatest successful shows of all time they was supposed to do a sixth season on ABC but I was shocked when it was cancelled after five seasons and 114 episodes!!!! Thanks so much for posting this video!!!! I love it!! I love the 70s!!! Can you dig it!!!!
This show is the ultimate classic. Bought the DVD box set and watch it all the time.
A mutilated episodes of The odd couple.
I've never seen a single episode or clip prior to this but I can summarize their entire relationship based on this scene alone. And somehow, that ending is just perfect.
Time to start watching the show!
Tony Randall was 8 years younger than my grandmother exactly. Both were born on February 26. He was born in 1920, and my grandmother was born in 1912.
Love this series so much brings me back to happier times
From the movie with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthew to the TV series Jack Klugman and Tony Randall to the cartoons series it was glorious fun and always is each time it's shown! 😂👍
Quite possibly the BEST ending to a sitcom ever, with a profound message, too!
what was the message?
Back in the 80s channel 11 (WPIX) in New York ran this at 7, 7:30, 11, and 11:30 for over a year. And I watched as often as I could.
Long live the old PIX!
and Randall and Klugman "raked up" the money from syndication profits each time it was shown
R.I.P.: Al Molinaro and Penny Marshall.
R.I.P.: Tony Randall and Jack Klugman 😢
Klugman was also brilliant. He convinced Tony Randall to take only a minimal salary for doing The Odd Couple and to negotiate a share of the profit sharing when the series went into syndication. After the show was canceled in 1975, it was immediately seen in reruns and became so popular that it was on every day somewhere. At one point in NYC during the 1980s, the show was seen many times a day. Klugman and Randall made a fortune for their share of the syndication profits
@@bufnyfan1
The residuals must've been that good for those two.
What a perfect way to end the series which pretty much summed it up.
Tony Randall won the Emmy for Best Actor for the final season and had the perfect acceptance speech:
"I'm glad I won. Now if I only had a job."
Haha really?
@@nickhill8612 It's true. I watched the Emmy's that night. They showed Jack Klugman in the audience and he was laughing harder than anyone.
😂
This show was the one of the top 5 that I would watch. I used get some serious laughs watching Felix. RIP Jack Klugman and Tony Randall
I knew he wouldn’t clean it up😂 One of the best written shows ever
The perfect way for the series to end, loved that show
The way Jack Klugman and Tony Randall created this direction of their respected characters, along with the writing, and most of all, pure perfection and quality of their timing on jokes made this one of the greatest shows.
I showed my 8th grade class the assume scene and they were on the floor laughing. My students wanted me to watch an episode with them every Friday as a reward for hard work.
They were best friends in real life, as were their film counterparts, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.
And it showed in the series. Their off screen friendship was obvious. Under all the back and forth arguing on screen, you can see they were having a blast doing it. Great show!
Definitely one of the most perfect final scenes ever. Along with the final scenes of Magnum, PI, Everybody Loves Raymond, Barney Miller, Cheers and Frasier. Series finales rarely exceed everyone's expectations but this finale was the exact right way to end a five year gem of a series.
My favorite finale of all time is Newhart. At the time it was the most unexpected, brilliant ending they could have come up with. Even though it pulled the rug out from under the whole series, it was still hysterical.
@@chiefscheider That Newhart finale was insanely epic.
@@chiefscheider I have to be honest never seen one episode of Newhart before but always heard about the iconic finale and saw the clip of the ending here on RUclips and it's definitely a classic. It's also been ripped off like crazy lol.
when they went on the password the game show ....hilarious ...betty white was really hot back in the 60's-70's
So, so good!
I think many people missed the final message delivered by this ending scene. It was basically a commentary on the overall nature of human beings - that people are who the way they are, and aren't going to change their nature or ways while living out their lives. Oh, they may try, but in the end will always revert back to their old ways.
No. It was just funny.
Triangle of perfection. Gary marshal , Tony Randal and Jack klugman. RIP ,
The rebooted version with Matthew Perry was awful--it wasn't funny whatsoever
This is one show I never watched as a kid because we only had one TV in the house and my mom preferred the Rockford Files which came on at the same time on NBC on Fridays. I know the series was beloved and well acted so when I retire I’ll check out the series on MeTV 🙂. It’s good to have goals in life!
At the time I don't particularly think many shows had celebrated final episodes. The Fugitive being the most famous. Many shows were just sort of cancelled. Newhart's final was a classic but was a parody of the famous Dallas "dream season." MASH I believe was the first of the celebrated final episodes.
I truly feel privileged to have lived during a time when T.V had the best series in the History of television broadcasting either as new series or in their first run in syndication. As a youngster, I had it all!
Star Trek
Odd Couple
I Dream of Jeannie
Gilligans Island
Honeymooners
Good Times
Twilight Zone
Happy Days
Jefferson's
Archie Bunker
I'm sure I missed a few. Seriously, does it get any better than this? Me thinks not!
...and Oscar Troy Madison lived messily ever after. 😊
WPIX marathon every New Years Day!
This was a brilliant sitcom from beginning to end.
Top 10 show
This ending was perfection.
I remember I had this crappy black and white 19inch tv in my bedroom and always remember this awesome show and the Honeymooners back to back at 11 on WPIX 11.
Best closing of a series ever.
They were wonderful. GOD BLESS THEM
I look forward to watch this show on ‘Decades’, at 5pm and 5:30pm. Then, Love Boat, Ed Sullivan Show...I would rather watch these than what they put out these days.
Ed Sullivan, watching those entertainers, that music is considered ‘old’, or, ‘classic’. The entertainers, entertained. They didn’t mix politics with their entertainment. Most of these musicians are deceased. But, to hear them perform is awesome. Music is timeless. The comedy is funny. It’s clean. The people in the audience are wearing suits, hats, best dresses. Even tuxedos. Nowadays, you go to a concert, it’s flip flops, cargo shorts.
I’m 53. I still crank up Ozzy, Metallica, AC/DC. I love metal. But, I enjoy the art of music. Musicians are artists. I don’t despise anyone’s choice of music. I just love the era of men in suits with hats. People are polite in public. I can do without the ‘leisure suits’, tho.
Good times.
I wonder if they considered a sixth season with Felix thrown out again. No way in the world Gloria would put up with him long term.
I never knew Felix remarried Gloria. Anyone have a link to this episode?
I always thought the final scene was very appropriate. It was a great show overall. They relied too much on celebrity guest stars in the final season, though.
Probably the only TV whose last line ends with a preposition.
MRTREK,
How about,
Taxi and MTM?
Also, in the mid 60's to early 70's; Saturday morning cartoons.
"Graphite."
Aristophanes?
The original 2.5 men
Blech lol two and half men even in its better seasons was never anywhere near this show's league imo.
Both men WW2 Veterans. Hardly anyone today in Hollywood was in the military
Felix was acting quite irrationally during the party that proceeded with his leaving.(he scolded his child Leonard for eating chocolates, was anxious and irrational with some of the guests, etc). It wouldn't have been long before Gloria threw him out again. I think ABC wanted to keep the possibility open for a return
Perfect ending
It's the Brain Gremlin!!!
Funny how men didn't hug back then. No Chandler and Joey love.
What a perfect ending. Every show including Seinfeld screwed it up
NYPD Blue was good. And The Shield.
They were smart and just kept it to a half hour, the regular runtime, instead of the bloated affairs that Cheers, MASH, and Seinfeld had.
🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
It was a great show until they went to a studio audience. After that, well let's just say, it jumped the shark.