Of lately I feel like an obituary writer and it is more than disheartening.
December has been a horrible month for the entertainment industry, as far as that goes the whole year whether Musicians or Actors. One right after the next, the deaths just keep coming. Dave Brubeck, Ravi Shankar, Larry Hagman, Lee Dorman and now Jack Klugman, Charles Durning & Fontella Bass.
Klugman was something special. His role as Oscar on the TV side of the Odd Couple was a show you looked forward to every week. I grew up watching him in a variety of Movies and TV. From the “Day’s of Wine and Roses”, “Twelve Angry Men”, the earliest of the Twilight Zone episodes, from Broadway where he created the character of Herbie in 1959 stage version of “Gypsy” to The Odd Couple Broadway & TV (he replaced Walter Matthau on stage version) and back then later Quincy M.E.. Jack always played his characters convincingly and more, with passion.
He just was a likable personality that fit in to whatever project he was doing. So it was sad to hear of his death Christmas Eve. He gave us decades & decades of enjoyment and will be remembered for his gift of making us laugh. Of course me having worked in the Thoroughbred Industry all my life that was another soft spot I had with this man. He loved horse racing, gambling and was an owner of them as well.
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