Biography for
Jack Klugman More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

27 April 1922, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Birth Name

Jacob Joachim Klugman

Height

5' 8½" (1.74 m)

Mini Biography

As a film character actor, Klugman was the epitome of the everyman. He was one of the pioneers of television acting in the 1950s, and is best remembered for his 1970s TV work as Oscar Madison on "The Odd Couple" (1970) and as the medical examiner on "Quincy M.E." (1976).

IMDb Mini Biography By: Ray Hamel

Spouse

Peggy Crosby	(2 February 2008 - present)
Brett Somers	(1953 - 15 September 2007) (her death) 2 children

Trivia

Serves on the board of directors of New York's National Actor's Theatre.

Diagnosed with throat cancer, he had parts of his larynx removed, leaving his voice extremely rough and gruff in later movies, such as Dear God (1996). [1994]

Lived with Barbara Neugass from 1978 to 1992. 1 December 1999: A Los Angeles jury rejected an $881,000 palimony claim by her. She claims Jack promised her lifetime support. Their relationship ended in 1992.

Won two Emmies for "The Odd Couple" (1970).

Lives with Peggy Crosby. She is the ex-wife of Bing Crosby's son, Phillip Crosby.

Father of sons Adam Klugman and David Klugman. Stepfather of Leslie Klein.

Attended Carnegie-Mellon University.

He was once part owner of a racehorse named "Jaklin Klugman".

He reunited with Tony Randall on Broadway in 1998 for Neil Simon's "The Sunshine Boys".

Was nominated for Broadway's 1960 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Musical) for "Gypsy".

Brother of Deborah Klugman and Maurice Klugman.

Appears in the original film, 12 Angry Men (1957), which was remade with Jack Lemmon. Klugman later appeared in the television series, "The Odd Couple" (1970), which was based on the film The Odd Couple (1968) in which Lemmon co-starred as Felix Unger. In April 2012 he performed "12 Angry Men" at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick in another role.

As of April 2011, he is the only one of the 12 Angry Men (1957) who is still alive.

As a film character actor, Klugman was the epitome of the everyman. He was one of the pioneers of television acting in the 1950s and is best remembered for his 1970s television work as Oscar Madison on "The Odd Couple" (1970) and as the medical examiner on "Quincy M.E." (1976).

In 2005, wrote "Tony And Me: A Story of Friendship".

Best remembered by the public for his starring role as "Oscar Madison" on "The Odd Couple" (1970).

Was believed to have been involved in a long and bitter feud with actor Norman Fell that lasted over 40 years. However, it was later revealed by Klugman that he and Fell got along fine and the feud was nothing more than a friendly rivalry.

Although he separated from Brett Somers in 1974, neither ever filed for divorce.

Wed girlfriend Peggy Crosby at The Little Brown Church in Studio City, California (2 February 2008).

Diagnosed with throat cancer in 1974, finally culminating with vocal surgery in 1989, leaving his voice quite harsh and raspy. His cancer and scratchy voice were written into several of his later film and television roles, including The Odd Couple: Together Again (1993) (TV), Dear God (1996), and "Diagnosis Murder" (1993).

The last surviving juror from the cast of the original 12 Angry Men (1957), Juror number five.

Diagnosed with throat cancer in 1974, leading to vocal surgery in 1989, left Klugman's very harsh and raspy. His cancer and scratchy voice were written into several of his later film and television roles, including The Odd Couple: Together Again (1993) (TV), Dear God (1996), and "Diagnosis Murder" (1993).

Jack Klugman and Tony Randall performed together in "Appointment with Adventure: The Pirate's House (#1.23)" (1955), from the Golden Age of television, 15 years before they did the classic sit-com, "The Odd Couple" (1970).

Competed in Celebrity Challenge of the Sexes in billiards. He won the match but lost by default because he forgot to call the final shot as per the rules.

Personal Quotes

[on attending rival and decades old enemy Norman Fell's funeral]: Best funeral I've ever been to. I've never laughed so hard in years. I had the time of my life.

[on people comparing him to "Oscar Madison" from "The Odd Couple" (1970)]: People think I'm like Oscar. When they find out I'm not, they seem disappointed.

[on his show "Quincy M.E." (1976)]: We were the first CSI. All these other shows just took what we did and made it bloodier and sexier. Our show was actually about something, we had a message and a moral. You can't compare gold to tin foil. I was a one man CSI.

[on his dear friend Tony Randall]: The best friend a man could ever have. I loved him dearly. He was a gentleman in the truest sense of the word. I will miss him for the rest of my days.

[on Charles Bronson]: You remembered him. He had an amazing presence.

Salary

12 Angry Men (1957)

$3,600

Where Are They Now

(September 2003) Performing one-man show "An Evening with Jack Klugman" at the Falcon Theatre in Burbank, California. Sept. 12 - Oct. 19 2003

(November 2006) Currently appearing in James Sweet's "The Value of Names" at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ.

(October 2007) Currently appearing in "The Sunshine Boys" at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, NJ.