Notifiblog: Kindness Day and Felix Unger Day

Here's a nice article on World Kindness Day, which is celebrated on November 13th, I just learned. It's easy! Just be kind!
Someone took me by surprise today by tweeting the first part of the first line:

"On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence; that request came from his wife. Deep down, he knew she was right, but he also knew that some day he would return to her. With nowhere else to go, he appeared at the home of his friend, Oscar Madison. Several years earlier, Madison's wife had thrown HIM out, requesting that HE never return. Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?"

Thus began the establishing scenes for the opening of The Odd Couple telly show, which ran from 1971-1975. It followed the adventures of two best friends who were polar opposites in housekeeping: the slob vs. neatnik concept actually had five seasons' scripts in it. Jack Klugman and Tony Randall became household names in our household.

The play, by Neil Simon, opened in 1965 with Walter Matthau and Art Carney in the lead roles. In 1968, a film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon was released. A cartoon version, "The Oddball Couple" ran from 1975-1976 on Saturday mornings, featuring the voices of Paul Winchell and Frank Nelson.

Oh, and that catchy, jazzy theme music: Neal Hefti.