Early years Randall was born to a
Jewish family in
Tulsa,
Oklahoma, the son of Julia (née Finston) and Mogscha Rosenberg Randall attended
Northwestern University for a year, where he studied speech and drama, As
Anthony Randall, he starred with
Jane Cowl in
George Bernard Shaw's
Candida and
Ethel Barrymore in
Emlyn Williams's
The Corn Is Green. Randall served for five years with the
U.S. Army Signal Corps during
World War II, including work at
Arlington Hall for the codebreaking
Signal Intelligence Service. He rose to the rank of
first lieutenant prior to his discharge. After the war, he worked at the
Olney Theatre in
Montgomery County,
Maryland, before heading back to New York City. One of Randall's first acting jobs was as the character Reggie York in the 1949-1952 revival of the radio adventure series
I Love a Mystery.
Broadway In 1946, Randall was cast as one of the brothers in a touring production of
Katharine Cornell's revival of
The Barretts of Wimpole Street. Randall appeared on Broadway in Cornell's production of
Antony and Cleopatra (1947–48) with Cornell,
Charlton Heston, and
Maureen Stapleton, and in
Caesar and Cleopatra (1949–50) with
Cedric Hardwicke and
Lilli Palmer. Randall began appearing on television, notably episodes of ''
One Man's Family''.
Mister Peepers Randall's first major television role was as history teacher Harvey Weskit in
Mister Peepers (1952–1955). He continued to guest-star on other shows such as
The Gulf Playhouse (directed by
Arthur Penn),
The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse,
Kraft Theatre,
The Motorola Television Hour,
Armstrong Circle Theatre,
Studio One in Hollywood,
Appointment with Adventure, and
The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse. Randall replaced
Gig Young in the Broadway hit
Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1954).
Inherit the Wind Randall's first major role in a Broadway hit was in
Inherit the Wind (1955–1957), portraying newspaperman E. K. Hornbeck (based on real-life cynic
H. L. Mencken), alongside
Ed Begley and
Paul Muni. On television he appeared in
Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl (1956), co-written by Neil Simon. He also guest-starred on
The Alcoa Hour.
Film star Randall's success in
Inherit the Wind led to film offers and his first significant big-screen role in
Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957) for
20th Century Fox, which promoted Randall to stardom with
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957) alongside
Jayne Mansfield. He played one of the leads in
No Down Payment (1957). He was replaced with
Dean Martin shortly before the filming of Fox's
The Young Lions. In 1958, Randall played the leading role in the Broadway
musical comedy Oh, Captain!, taking on a role originated on film by
Alec Guinness. The show was a financial failure, but Randall received a
Tony Award nomination for his dance turn with prima ballerina
Alexandra Danilova. Randall appeared in
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse,
Goodyear Theatre,
The United States Steel Hour,
Sunday Showcase and
Playhouse 90.
Continuing success Randall co-starred with
Debbie Reynolds in
The Mating Game (1959) at
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. He appeared in the hit film
Pillow Talk (1959) supporting
Doris Day and
Rock Hudson, for which he was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. He would reunite with Day and Hudson for two more films,
Lover Come Back (1961), which earned him another
Golden Globe Best Supporting Actor nomination, and
Send Me No Flowers (1964). Randall starred in an NBC-TV special,
The Secret of Freedom, which was filmed during the summer of 1959 in
Mount Holly, New Jersey, and broadcast on the network during the fall of 1959 and again in early 1960. On TV he was also in
The Man in the Moon (1960), co-written by
Mel Brooks. Randall was top-billed in
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from MGM in 1960. He had a
Pillow Talk-style supporting role in ''
Let's Make Love (1960) with Marilyn Monroe and Yves Montand, and Lover Come Back (1961) with Hudson and Day. Randall continued to guest on TV shows including General Electric Theater and Checkmate. In 1961, Randall played a highly dramatic role in "Hangover," an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in which he portrayed an alcoholic advertising executive spiraling into self-destruction. He starred in a TV adaptation of Arsenic & Old Lace (1962), and had big-screen leading roles in Boys' Night Out (1962) and Island of Love'' (1963). In 1964, Randall starred in the classic MGM film,
7 Faces of Dr. Lao, which was based on
The Circus of Dr. Lao by
Charles G. Finney. In addition to portraying and voicing the eponymous seven faces (Dr. Lao, the Abominable Snowman, Merlin, Apollonius of Tyana, The Giant Serpent, Pan, and Medusa), Randall also appeared without makeup in a two-second cameo as a solemn spectator in the crowd, for a total of eight roles in the film. He played the lead in
The Brass Bottle (1964) and made one last film with Hudson and Day,
Send Me No Flowers (1964). Randall took the lead in
Fluffy (1965), a comedy about a lion;
The Alphabet Murders (1965), playing
Hercule Poirot for
Frank Tashlin;
Our Man in Marrakesh (1966), as a secret agent; and
Hello Down There (1969). Randall returned to Broadway in
UTBU (1966), which had only a short run. He appeared in the TV movie
The Littlest Angel (1969) with
Johnny Whitaker and
Fred Gwynne.
The Odd Couple Randall returned to television in 1970 as Felix Unger in
The Odd Couple, opposite
Jack Klugman, a role that lasted five years. The names of Felix's children in
The Odd Couple were Edna and Leonard, named for Randall's sister and Randall himself. In 1974, Randall and Klugman appeared in television spots endorsing a
Yahtzee spinoff,
Challenge Yahtzee. They appeared in character as Felix and Oscar, and the TV spots were filmed on the set of
The Odd Couple. During the series run, Randall took a small role in
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972). In 1973, he was hired to play the voice of Templeton the gluttonous rat in ''
Charlotte's Web'', and recorded the part, but was replaced in the film by
Paul Lynde. Randall's voice was perceived as too sophisticated by co-director
Iwao Takamoto, who wanted Templeton to have a
nasal voice.
The Tony Randall Show Beginning in 1976, Randall starred for two seasons in
The Tony Randall Show, playing Philadelphia judge Walter Franklin. He had roles in
Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid (1978),
Scavenger Hunt (1979), and ''
Foolin' Around'' (1980).
Love, Sidney Randall starred in the NBC series
Love, Sidney from 1981 to 1983. In the TV movie that served as the show's pilot, ''
Sidney Shorr: A Girl's Best Friend'', Sidney Shorr was written as a middle-aged homosexual man; the character's sexuality was made ambiguous for the series. After the show was canceled in 1983, Randall refused to star in another television series, favoring the Broadway stage as his medium. Randall continued to appear in TV movies. He starred in
Sunday Drive (1986) for Disney,
Save the Dog! (1988), and
The Man in the Brown Suit (1989). From October 30 to November 2, 1987, he hosted the
free preview of
HBO's short-lived premium channel
Festival. In 1989, Randall returned to Broadway as a replacement in
M. Butterfly.
National Actors Theatre In 1991, Randall founded the
National Actors Theatre, ultimately based at
Pace University in New York City. Their productions included
The Crucible (1991),
A Little Hotel on the Side (1992),
The Master Builder (1992),
The Seagull (1992),
Saint Joan (1993),
Three Men on a Horse (1993),
Timon of Athens (1993),
The Government Inspector (1993),
The Flowering Peach (1994),
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1994),
The School for Scandal (1995),
Inherit the Wind (1996), and
The Gin Game (1997). In 1997, he performed in
The Sunshine Boys with Klugman to great success. In September 1993, Randall and Klugman reunited in the
CBS-TV movie
The Odd Couple: Together Again, reprising their roles. The story began when, after Felix ruined plans for his daughter Edna's wedding, his wife Gloria threw him out of the house for 11 days, which left him no choice but to move back in with Oscar and to help him recover, getting him back in shape after throat cancer surgery had left his voice very raspy. Randall's later stage productions included
Night Must Fall (1999) and
Judgment at Nuremberg (2001). Periodically, he performed in stage revivals of
The Odd Couple with Klugman, including a stint in London in 1996. Later film roles included
Fatal Instinct (1994) and
Down with Love (2003). Randall's last appearances on stage as an actor were in
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (2002) and
Right You Are (2003).
Guest appearances On September 4, 1955, Randall and Klugman appeared together with
Gena Rowlands in the episode "The Pirate's House" of the
CBS anthology series Appointment with Adventure. Randall was a frequent guest on
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and often spoke of his love of
opera and the salaciousness of many of its plotlines. He also admitted to sneaking tape recorders into operas to make his own private recordings. He chided
Johnny Carson for his chain smoking and was generally fastidious. At the time of his death, Randall had appeared as a guest on
The Tonight Show 105 times, more often than any other celebrity had appeared. Randall was well-known for being a guest panelist on the game show
What’s My Line?, from 1958 to 1967,
Password,
The Hollywood Squares, and the
$10,000 and $20,000 Pyramids. He also parodied his pompous image with an appearance as a "contestant" on
The Gong Show in 1977. Randall was a guest star on the fifth and final season of
The Muppet Show in an episode that first aired on October 11, 1980. This was the 100th episode of the show. Randall, along with
John Goodman and
Drew Barrymore, was among the first guests on the debut episode of ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' on September 13, 1993. He would also appear in
Conan O'Brien's
5th Anniversary Special with the character PimpBot 5000. Randall was a frequent guest as well on both of
David Letterman's late-night shows
Late Night with David Letterman and the
Late Show with David Letterman, making 70 appearances, according to his obituary in
The Washington Post. Letterman said that Randall was one of his favorite guests, along with
Regis Philbin. On November 7, 1994, Randall appeared on the game show
Jeopardy!, as part of a celebrity episode, playing on behalf of the National Actors Theatre. He came in second place behind General
Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. but ahead of actress
Stefanie Powers, with a final tally of $9,900.
Other creative activities In 1973, Randall and Klugman recorded an album for
London Records titled
The Odd Couple Sings. Roland Shaw and the London Festival Orchestra and Chorus provided the accompaniment and additional vocals. The record was not a chart-topper but is a highly sought-after item for many
Odd Couple fans. Randall and Klugman also collaborated on a series of television commercials for Eagle brand snacks. A noted
raconteur, Randall, along with co-writer Mike Mindlin, wrote a collection of amusing and sometimes racy show business anecdotes called
Which Reminds Me, published in 1989. In keeping with his penchant for both championing and mocking the culture that he loved, during the
Big Band-era revival in the mid-1960s, Randall produced a record album of 1930s songs,
Vo, Vo, De, Oh, Doe, inspired by (and covering)
the New Vaudeville Band's one-hit wonder, "
Winchester Cathedral." He mimicked (and somewhat exaggerated) the
vibrato style of
Carmen Lombardo, and the two had once sung a duet of Lombardo's signature song "Boo Hoo (You've Got Me Crying for You)" on
The Tonight Show. In the 1980s, Randall served as off-camera narrator for several video productions by the
Metropolitan Opera, announcing performers to the television audience as they appeared on stage during curtain calls and providing brief descriptions of scenes. For the 1990 sequel
Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Randall voiced the Brain Gremlin. ==Personal life==