The Odd Couple - Definition and Overview

The Odd Couple was a 1965 play by Neil Simon. The play concerns two mismatched roommates.

Felix Unger, a neurotic, neat-freak commercial photographer, is thrown out by his wife, and moves in with Oscar Madison, who is a slovenly sportswriter. In the premiere, Unger was played by Art Carney and Madison by Walter Matthau. Matthau was later replaced with Jack Klugman.

In 1968 The Odd Couple was made into a movie starring Jack Lemmon as Felix and Walter Matthau as Oscar.

It was later the basis for a 1970-75 ABC prime time television show of the same name, this time starring Tony Randall as Felix and Jack Klugman as Oscar. In 1982, there was a short lived new version of the series, The New Odd Couple, with Ron Glass playing Felix Unger and Demond Wilson playing Oscar Madison.

In 1998 Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau resurrected their roles for the film Odd Couple II, produced by Neil Simon.

The Odd Couple was revised by Neil Simon in 1985 for a female cast. It was based on the same story line and same character sketch, now called Florence Unger and Olive Madison.

Example Usage of Couple