Question: Which series had the characters Felix Unger and Oscar Madison?
Answer: The Odd Couple

The Odd Couple is a play by Neil Simon. Following its premiere on Broadway in 1965, the characters were revived in a successful 1968 film and 1970s television series, as well as other derivative works and spin-offs.  The plot concerns two mismatched roommates: the neat, uptight Felix Ungar and the slovenly, easygoing Oscar Madison.  Simon adapted the play in 1985 to feature a pair of female roommates (Florence Ungar and Olive Madison) in The Female Odd Couple.  An updated version of the 1965 show appeared in 2002 with the title Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple.

History

Sources vary as to the origins of the play. In Danny Simon's obituary in The Washington Post, Adam Bernstein wrote that the idea for the play came from his divorce. "Mr. Simon had moved in with a newly single theatrical agent named Roy Gerber in Hollywood, and they invited friends over one night. Mr. Simon botched the pot roast. The next day, Gerber told him: "Sweetheart, that was a lovely dinner last night. What are we going to have tonight?" Mr. Simon replied: "What do you mean, cook you dinner? You never take me out to dinner. You never bring me flowers."Bernstein, Adam.  [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/27/AR2005072702568.html "TV Comedy Writer Danny Simon Dies"]Washington Post, July 28, 2005 Danny Simon wrote a partial first draft of the play, but then handed over the idea to Neil.

However, in the Mel Brooks biography It's Good to Be the King, author James Robert Parish claims that the play came about after Simon observed Brooks, in a separation from his first wife, living with writer Speed Vogel for three months. Vogel later wrote that Brooks had insomnia, "a brushstroke of paranoia," and "a blood-sugar problem that kept us a scintilla away from insanity."

Boston tryout

Simon credited Boston critic Elliot Norton with helping him develop the final act of the play.  Norton practiced drama criticism when the relationship between the regional critic and playwrights whose shows were undergoing tryouts in their towns were not as adversarial as they were to become.

Appearing on the public television show Eliott Norton Reviews, during Simon's conversation with the critic, Elliott said that the play went "flat" in its final act.   As it appeared originally in Boston, the characters the Pigeon Sisters did not appear in the final act. 

Simon told the Boston Globe: He invited one of the stars and the writer. He loved the play and gave it a wonderful review but he said the third act was lacking something. On the show he said, 'You know who I missed in the third act was the Pigeon Sisters,' and it was like a light bulb went off in my head. It made an enormous difference in the play. I rewrote it and it worked very well. I was so grateful to Elliot ... Elliot had such a keen eye. I don't know if he saved the play or not, but he made it a bigger success. 

Plot overview

Felix Ungar, a neurotic, neat freak newswriter (a photographer in the television series), is thrown out by his wife, and moves in with his friend Oscar Madison, a slovenly sportswriter. Despite Oscar's problems – careless spending, excessive gambling, a poorly kept house filled with spoiled food – he seems to enjoy life. Felix, however, seems utterly incapable of enjoying anything and only finds purpose in pointing out his own and other people's mistakes and foibles. Even when he tries to do so in a gentle and constructive way, his corrections and suggestions prove extremely annoying to those around him. Oscar, his closest friend, feels compelled to throw him out after only a brief time together, though he quickly realizes that Felix has had a positive effect on him.

The play and the film both spell Felix's name Ungar, while the television series spells it Unger. 

Characters

*Oscar Madison: A slovenly, recently divorced sportswriter.
*Felix Ungar: A fastidious, hypochondriac photographer whose marriage is ending.
*Murray: A NYPD policeman, one of Oscar and Felix's poker buddies.
*Speed: One of the poker buddies. Gruff and sarcastic, often picking on Vinnie and Murray.
*Vinnie: One of the poker buddies. Vinnie is mild-mannered and henpecked, making him an easy target for Speed's verbal barbs.
*Roy: One of the poker buddies. Oscar's accountant. Roy has a dry wit but is less acerbic than Speed.
*Cecily and Gwendolyn Pigeon: Oscar and Felix's giggly upstairs neighbors, a pair of English sisters. The former is a divorcée, the latter a widow.

Productions

The Odd Couple premiered on Broadway at the Plymouth Theatre on March 10, 1965 and transferred to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre where it closed on July 2, 1967 after 964 performances and two previews. Directed by Mike Nichols, the cast starred Walter Matthau as Oscar Madison and Art Carney as Felix Ungar.[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id
3230 The Odd Couple] Internet Broadway database, accessed April 12, 2012 The production gained Tony Awards for Walter Matthau, Best Actor (Play), Best Author (Play), Best Direction of a Play, and Best Scenic Design (Oliver Smith), and was nominated for Best Play.

Matthau was replaced with Jack Klugman, starting in November 1965 and later Pat Hingle, starting in February 1966. Carney was replaced with Eddie Bracken starting in October 1965 and later Paul Dooley. 

Stage revivals

In 1970, the McMaster Shakespearean Players performed The Odd Couple with Martin Short as Felix, Eugene Levy as Oscar, and Dave Thomas as Murray – before any of these performers were famous.

In 1994, a version of the play moved to Glasgow and toured Scotland, starring Gerard Kelly as Felix, Craig Ferguson as Oscar and Kate Anthony as Gwendolyn Pigeon. Kelly reprised the role of Felix at the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe, opposite Andy Gray.

In 1996, Klugman and Tony Randall reprised their roles from the TV series for a three-month run at the Theatre Royal in Haymarket, London.   The production was an effort to raise money to support Randall's National Actors Theatre. (Klugman had previously played Oscar in London opposite Victor Spinetti as Felix.)

In a 1997 issue of Premiere Magazine, Billy Crystal and Robin Williams announced a possible stage revival, in anticipation of success of their film Fathers' Day.  When that film failed at the box office, the Crystal-Williams revival was quickly forgotten.

Also in 1997, a tour of the US and Canada was mounted by Troupe America and Lake Pepin Players starring Jamie Farr as Oscar, William Christopher as Felix, and William Richard Rogers as Murray. The production was directed by Curt Wollan.

In 2001, "Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak and Hawaii TV News anchor Joe Moore (Sajak's Viet Nam roommate and close friend) played Felix and Oscar at the Hawaii Theatre Center as a benefit for Hawaii's Manoa Valley Theater.

In 2002, Simon wrote an updated version of The Odd Couple, titled Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple.  This version incorporated updated references and elements into the original storyline. This production ran at the Geffen Playhouse (Los Angeles) from June 2002 to July 21, 2002 with a cast that starred Gregory Jbara (Vinnie ), John Larroquette (Oscar), Joe Regalbuto (Felix) and María Conchita Alonso (Ynes) and was directed by Peter Bonerz.   The revival opened on Broadway at The Brooks Atkinson Theatre on October 27, 2005, and closed on June 4, 2006 after 249 performances. Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane played Felix and Oscar, respectively.   Lane was replaced for three performances in January 2006 due to illness by Brad Garrett who had previously played Murray. 

A reading featuring Ethan Hawke and Billy Crudup was staged at the Cherry Lane Theatre on January 9, 2011. 

A Venezuelan production appeared at the Trasnocho Cultural Theater in 2009. It was Directed by Armando Alvarez and featured Armando Cabrera (Oscar), Luigi Sciamanna (Felix), Juan Carlos Ogando (Richard), Alezander Slorzano (Murray), Alexandra Malave (Clementina), and Stephanie Cardone (Cecilia).

The all-female Takarazuka Revue Company performed the show under the title  in September 2011 in Takarazuka, Japan. It starred Yu Todoroki as Oscar and Misa Noeru as Felix. 

In 2011, Cezary Żak and Artur Barciś (popular actors from the Polish hit TV series Ranczo) performed as Oscar and Felix in Dziwna Para, a Polish rendition of The Odd Couple. The play was performed in the U.S and in Toronto, Canada and received good reviews.

In 2013, The Dallas Theater Center performed a revival of The Odd Couple that was directed by Kevin Moriarty.

Female version

In 1985, Neil Simon revised The Odd Couple for a female cast. The Female Odd Couple was based on the same story line and same lead characters, now called Florence Ungar and Olive Madison. The poker game became Trivial Pursuit with their friends becoming the girlfriends: Mickey, Sylvie, Vera, and Renee. The Pigeon sisters became the Costazuela brothers, Manolo and Jesus.

The Female Odd Couple opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on June 11, 1985, and closed on February 23, 1986, after 295 performances and nine previews. Directed by Gene Saks the cast starred Sally Struthers and Rita Moreno as Florence (Felix) and Olive (Oscar), with Lewis J. Stadlen and Tony Shalhoub (in his Broadway debut) as the Costazuela brothers.  

A London production of this version ran at the Apollo Theatre in 2001 and starred Paula Wilcox (Florence) and Jenny Seagrove (Olive).   

Film and TV adaptations 

Neil Simon sold film and TV rights to Paramount Pictures in 1967. Paramount produced two theatrical films, three live-action TV series and an animated series based upon the play. Rights are now split between Paramount and CBS, the result of Paramount owner Viacom's purchase of and eventual spinoff from the latter company.

1968 film 

In 1968, The Odd Couple was made into a highly successful film starring Jack Lemmon as Felix and Walter Matthau (once more) as Oscar. Most of the script from the play is the same, although the setting is expanded: instead of taking place entirely in Oscar's apartment, some scenes take place at various outside locations.  The film was also written by Simon (who was nominated for an Academy Award) and was directed by Gene Saks.

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

1970–1975 ABC sitcom 

The success of the film was the basis for the 1970–75 ABC television sitcom, starring Tony Randall as Felix and Jack Klugman as Oscar. Klugman was familiar with the role as he had replaced Walter Matthau in the original Broadway run. Neil Simon originally disapproved of this adaptation, but by the series' final season, he reassessed the show positively to the point of appearing in a cameo role.

Randall and Klugman also reunited in 1993 for a made-for-TV reunion film based upon the series. The movie was initially broadcast on CBS on September 24, 1993. Robert Klane was the writer and director, with a cast that included Barbara Barrie as Felix's wife, Penny Marshall as  Myrna and Dick Van Patten. The Jack Klugman's throat-cancer surgery was written into the script, when Felix (Tony Randall) stays with Oscar and helps with his rehabilitation. 

1975 ABC cartoon 

In the fall of 1975, ABC aired a cartoon version of the play entitled The Oddball Couple, produced by Paramount and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises. The roles were played by a cat and dog named Spiffy and Fleabag.

1982–1983 ABC sitcom 

In 1982, ABC aired a new version of the series, entitled The New Odd Couple. Produced by Garry Marshall, the premise of the new version has two black actors, Ron Glass as Felix and Demond Wilson as Oscar. The New York Times reviewer noted  "What may be surprising is how little the spine of the show has changed. The dialogue has been updated a little, but the plots are essentially the same. The New Odd Couple bounces along nicely. It adds nothing new to the craft of situation comedy, but it does provide employment and a good showcase for talented black actors, who generally don't have an easy time of it on television these days."  This new version was not successful and was canceled after just 13 episodes.

2015 CBS sitcom 

In December 2013, it was announced that Matthew Perry would be starring in, co-writing, and executive-producing a remake of The Odd Couple. The multi-camera comedy premiered on February 19, 2015.  Perry stars as Oscar while Thomas Lennon stars as Felix. The show also features Wendell Pierce as Teddy, Oscar's agent, Yvette Nicole Brown as Dani, Oscar's assistant, Dave Foley as Roy (a holdover from the original play), and Leslie Bibb and Lindsay Sloane as Casey and Emily (taking over for the Pigeon sisters).

The Odd Couple (TV Series 1970–1975) - IMDb
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Two men, a neat freak and a slob separated from their wives, have to live together despite their differences.
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Oscar and Felix appear together on Password and Felix is sure that they can win.
8.7
Oscar, on the advice from girlfriend Nancy, tries being nicer to Felix. In trying too hard to be so, it causes him to sleepwalk and hit Felix on the head with a rolled up newspaper every night.
8.7
Felix and Oscar appear on Let's Make a Deal to get a new bed for Felix after Oscar set his on fire.
8.6
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Won         1         Golden Globe. Another       5 wins & 14 nominations. See more awards  »
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Storyline
Felix and Oscar are an extremely odd couple: Felix is anal-retentive, neurotic, precise, and fastidiously clean. Oscar, on the other hand, is the exact opposite: sloppy and casual. They are sharing an apartment together, and their differing lifestyles inevitably lead to some conflicts and laughs. Written by Murray Chapman <muzzle@cs.uq.oz.au>
24 September 1970 (USA) See more  »
Also Known As:
La extraña pareja See more  »
Filming Locations:
Did You Know?
Trivia
The original Broadway production of "The Odd Couple" by Neil Simon opened at the Plymouth Theater on March 10, 1965, ran for 966 performances and was nominated for the 1965 Tony Award as Best Play. See more »
Goofs
In the opening credits for the entire series, the type of luggage Felix is carrying changes. When he is indoors (leaving his apartment or arriving at Oscar's) he is carrying a white suitcase. But when he is walking outside he is not carrying the white suitcase. See more »
Quotes
(Claremont,USA) – See all my reviews
Great comedic concept from Neil Simonthe slob and the neat freak, two divorced men living together in a small Manhattan apartment. But it's really Klugman and Randall that make the premise work so welltheir chemistry is simply superb. Klugman seems a natural for Oscar the slob, with his sour expression and grouchy manner. Then there's Randall as Felix, with his no-fat body and absurdly picky manner. You just know he never played with mud pies or put on dirty socks.
It's amazing the writers get so many hilarious variations on the same themeFelix carrying on with his finicky obsessions to an annoying degree. He just can't seem to help himself. At the same time, we can't help sympathizing with poor Oscar who retaliates by turning his bedroom into a city dump. Actually actor Randall pulls off a really difficult trick: he manages to make Felix annoying without being dislikable. Any hint of the latter and the show would have fallen flat.
And who can forget the superb supporting cast, especially hawk-nosed Al Molinaro as Murray, the New York City policeMAN. He fits amiably right in with whatever the shenanigans might be, maybe too amiably for a cop. Then there're the rest of the poker playing characters, plus the girls led by Klugman's real life wife Brett and Father Knows Best's Elinor Donahue. Since nearly all the hijinks occur in the small apartment, the writers have their work cut out for them, and rise to the occasion they do, with only an occasional misfire. My favorite parts are when some poor put-upon old lady gets enough of Felix's extremes and swats him with her pursehe always looks so surprised, like he can't figure out why. Anyway, it's one of the best character-based comedies of the 70's or any TV decade.
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The Odd Couple TV Show Opening Theme Season Two 1970 - YouTube
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Based on the Broadway play by Neil Simon, this tells the story of two mismatched friends, Felix Unger and Oscar Madison. Felix is a neat, tidy, and healthy nut, a photographer at a portrait studio, and a connoisseur of classical music. Because of this, his wife divorced Felix and threw him out of his apartment for good. Desperately in the need of a place to live, he moves in with his longtime childhood friend, Oscar Madison, a sports journalist for the New York Times. What he realizes is that Oscar is the exact opposite of him: sloppy, messy, and doesn't eat the right foods. Felix's cleaning, hygienic tips, and healthiness annoys Oscar while Oscar's crazy world of living like a pig upsets Felix. But in the process they'll learn that love, trust, and friendship are more important than living in different worlds Tony Randall and Jack Klugman star.Al Molinaro 1970
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Felix Unger | The Odd Couple Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
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Felix Unger, played by Thomas Lennon , is a professional photographer and recent divorcee. He moves in with his old college friend Oscar Madison after his wife Ashley kicks him out of the house. Felix is a bit of a neat-freak and is extremely neurotic and fussy, especially when compared to Oscar. In his free time, he does yoga. He also fancies cooking and baking. Throughout the series, he often gets mistaken to be gay by several characters. Him and Ashley were good friends with Oscar and Gaby when both couples were still together.
He is the seventh incarnation of Felix Unger following Art Carney in the original 1965 play, Jack Lemmon in the 1968 film and its 1998 sequel, Tony Randall in the 1970s television series and its made-for-tv film The Odd Couple: Together Again, a cartoon adaptation named Spiffy the Cat in The Oddball Couple, Ron Glass in The New Odd Couple, and Sally Struthers as Florence in The Female Odd Couple.

New 'Odd Couple' comes to CBS in sitcom reboot - Celebrities - NorthJersey.com
© 2016 North Jersey Media Group
February 19, 2015
Last updated: Thursday, February 19, 2015, 9:22 AM
New 'Odd Couple' comes to CBS in sitcom reboot
By JIM BECKERMAN
The Record
THE ODD COUPLE: 8:30 tonight, CBS
Thomas Lennon, left, and Matthew Perry are the newest reincarnations of Felix Unger and Oscar Madison.
You don't own the role of Felix Unger, Thomas Lennon discovered. You just keep it clean for the next guy.
Lennon, at first, was dubious about taking on the role of the neat freak played to perfection by Tony Randall in the original 1970s "Odd Couple" sitcom, based on Neil Simon's play and movie. But Lennon, who plays the new Felix to Matthew Perry's new Oscar Madison in the new CBS reboot of "The Odd Couple," premiering at 8:30 tonight, has come to take the long view.
"My first thought was, 'You cannot play Felix Unger; that can't be done,' " says Lennon, who created his own iconic character, Lt. Jim Dangle, in the long-running "Reno 911!" series on Comedy Central. "Tony Randall locked that up a long time ago."
But then he began to think about the history of the character — who, after all, had been played pre-Randall by Art Carney (Broadway, 1965) and Jack Lemmon (the 1968 movie), and was played post-Randall by Frank Nelson (voice talent in the 1975 cartoon series "The Oddball Couple"), Ron Glass (in the 1982 reboot "The New Odd Couple") and Sally Struthers (in Simon's distaff version, "The Female Odd Couple," which opened on Broadway in 1985).
"So I'm seventh," Lennon says. "Well, that's good. Lucky number seven. But I thought, you know what, maybe there is actually something new that I could bring if I don't get it in my head where I'm just trying to re-create what Tony Randall did."
Related: Neil Simon's brother, roomie inspired a 50-year phenomenon
The familiarity of the original show is both a blessing and a curse to the team who have created this redo, complete with a funky update of the original Neal Hefti theme music by New Orleans musician Trombone Shorty, and supporting roles for Wendell Pierce ("Treme"), Lindsay Sloane ("Sabrina, the Teenage Witch") and Yvette Nicole Brown ("Community").
On the one hand, the premise is pre-sold: everyone knows that "The Odd Couple" is about two divorced men, fussy Felix and sloppy Oscar, who drive each other crazy when they share an apartment. On the other hand, viewers have very specific expectations about these characters, played definitively for most people by the late actors Randall and Jack Klugman, respectively.
"It's either gonna grab you right away, or it's gonna be a divider, based on your passion for Tony Randall," Lennon says. "But you should know that my passion for Tony Randall is probably unrivaled in the world. There's no bigger 'Odd Couple' fan than me."
What Lennon brings to the part of Felix is — bluntly — himself. He's the first to say that the overlap is frightening.
"The Venn diagram between me and Felix Unger looks a lot like a circle," he says. "The two circles would combine to be one ball. It's the OCD thing."
Beyond all this, "The Odd Couple" depends on the chemistry between the two leads for its success. Again, Lennon says, they have realism on their side. His relationship with Matthew Perry ("Friends"), who spearheaded this reboot, has a natural Felix-and-Oscar component.
"We are good friends," says Lennon, who worked with Perry before in the film "17 Again." "But there's also — and he will positively deny this, but it's true — I know that the Felix-isms in my natural life bug him a little bit."
The true Odd Couple relationship in Lennon's life is with his writing partner of more than 20 years, Robert Ben Garant, co-creator of "Reno 911!" (he also played Travis Junior in the series). The two have been, so to speak, one of the power couples of Hollywood: among their other credits are the shows "The State" and "Viva Variety," and their screenplays for the "Night at the Museum" films.
"That relationship is between two Felixes," says Lennon, 44, originally from Oak Park, Ill. "That's what's called the Double-Felix. He and I are absolutely Type A, OCD guys … We're both absolutely compulsive writers. Literally we write anytime we're sitting down."
Even so, some of the most brilliant stuff in "Reno 911!," the inspired sendup of the "Cops" reality show featuring a team of spectacularly inept police officers, was made up on the spot. On this show, unlike "The Odd Couple," improv was king.
"There's one weird one people quote to me a lot," he recalls. "I was wearing these brand-new white ostrich cowboy boots, and I started doing this weird little dance in the parking lot, and I said, 'I'm just goofin'. I'm just new-boot goofin' .' It was the most offhanded thing. And now people say 'new-boot goofin' ' to me like some sort of mantra. I got this email from Ben Stiller and the whole subject of the email was, 'New-boot goofin.' ' Haha."
Partly, that line was funny because of the character: Lt. Dangle, the nearly-unstereotypical gay cop (the short-shorts, now a popular Halloween costume, are the giveaway). Which brings us back to "The Odd Couple," whose premise of two guys sharing an apartment has always raised eyebrows. "Homosexuals will enjoy it — for obvious reasons," wrote The New York Times in its 1965 review of the play. In the new version, the subject is for the first time mentioned directly. "He seems a little gay," Pierce's Teddy says of Lennon's Felix. "No, he seems incredibly gay," Perry's Oscar corrects him.
At the end of the day, the two guys in the 2015 "Odd Couple" redux are still straight. But between Felix and Lt. Dangle, Lennon (he's married to actress Jenny Robertson; they have one child) has built himself some serious gay cred.
"I'm sort of an accidental gay icon," he says. "Certainly on Halloween."
Email: beckerman@northjersey.com

The Odd Couple | The Odd Couple Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia
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Felix Unger and Oscar Madison meet at college in the late 1980s and quickly became friends. Years later, Felix is a news writer and photographer and Oscar is a sports talk show host, but both are divorced from their wives. Felix's wife Ashley kicked him out and Oscar's wife Gaby left him, and now the two friends have to live in the same apartment in spite of their differences. Felix is extremely neurotic and fussy in contrast to Oscar who is slovenly and easy-going. In the middle of all this, Felix and Oscar are trying to date Casey and Emily , two sisters who coincidentally are roommates in the same building. Lucky for the divorcees, both women also have recently exited unhealthy relationships. Felix is pretty insecure because of his remaining feelings for Ashley, but Oscar feels better off away from his ex.
Cast

The Odd Couple / Characters - TV Tropes
Timeline
Felix Unger
Played by: Art Carney (stage), Jack Lemmon (film), Tony Randall (1970-'75 series), Ron Glass (New), Thomas Lennon (2015 series)
Adorkable : Felix takes practically everything, from his habits to his pastimes to his relationships, to extremes, which is why he often finds himself being called a lunatic. In the end, though, his childlike enthusiasm and good heart win out over any annoyance he causes. Felix is especially adorkable when he's happy or excited. In "I'm Dying of Unger", he rolls on the bed like a little kid after tricking Oscar's agent into giving him three more days.
All Men Are Perverts : Inverted. He's more innocent than even the FEMALE characters, most of whom aren't even particularly lustful. When photographing nudes for Playboy, he's easily able to maintain a businesslike attitude about the whole affair.
Ambiguous Disorder : It seems quite evident that he has raging OCD.
Animals Hate Him : Averted with dogs but played straight with wild animals. During "I'm Dying of Unger", Felix gets bitten by three animals that we know of ï¿½ a chipmunk, a rabbit, and a frog ï¿½ and his bandaged fingers testify to other cases. However, this is only due to his status as the show's Butt Monkey and not for any lack of innocence on his part. In fact, he's shown to love the animals who attack him, so this could also be considered a subversion of Friend to All Living Things .
Dork Knight : Gentlemanly? Check. Idealistic? Check. Adorkable ? Double check!
A Fool for a Client : Felix always wants to represent himself in court and is nearly always incompetent at it. There is one spectacular exception when he questions an assuming accuser. And even then, Felix doesn't know when to quit until he has angered the judge enough for him to indict both Felix and Oscar with contempt of court.
Friend to All Living Things : Zig zagged. He loves all animals, and a few episodes involve him helping them. However, whether or not they love him back depends on the episode. See Animals Hate Him for more details. Moments where he plays this straight include owning and caring deeply about a pet parrot named Albert in one of the early episodes, rescuing Silver the Wonder Dog from the abusive owner, pampering a grayhound that Oscar won in a poker game, tending to an injured frog, and setting worms free to save them from being used as bait by Oscar.
In the 2015 series episode "The Birthday Party", he receives a pet cockatiel as a present, and seems very happy about it. He remarks that she is "adorable" and "beautiful" and names her Hope . Things quickly go wrong, however.
Heroes Love Dogs : Felix adores dogs (and animals in general), if the fact that he owned one while married, pampered a racing greyhound in "Leave the Greyhounds to Us", and took a dog from an abusive owner says anything.
Heroic B.S.O.D. : Felix has one in the 2015 series' episode "The Birthday Party". After having spent his entire birthday party getting over his ex-wife (named Ashley in this version), an old friend of his notices her absence and asks him where she is, proceeding to tell him what a good couple he thought they were and that they looked so happy together, sending Felix spiraling into a depression, which culminates in him returning to the roller skate park where the two first met (on his birthday, no less) in the hopes he'll find her again.
Hypochondria : Felix is a self-confessed hypochondriac, though it's more of an Informed Attribute since every time a doctor is called to treat Felix, it's because he really is sick (typically something allergy-related). The trait is downplayed as the original series goes on, but is dialed back Up to Eleven for the 2015 revival.
The Idealist : He finds joy and beauty in everyday things, and doesn't hesitate to express it. In one episode, he even writes poems about it.
Incorruptible Pure Pureness : He's one of the most, if not THE most innocent characters on the show. He's shown to always want to do the right thing, and often serves as a moral compass to the others. Even when Oscar tried to get him to lie to help someone, he was extremely hesitant. He DID end up doing it, but he felt so guilty about it that he cried, and later he couldn't stand the guilt, and went and told the truth. There are several other instances where he outright refuses to do morally questionable things.
Innocently Insensitive : Sometimes. He has very high standards, so when someone doesn't meet them, he's quick to point out their shortcomings. Even though he usually tries to be very polite about it, he sometimes ends up hurting their feelings unintentionally.
Man Child : His enthusiasm, excitability, innocence, optimism, and goofy sense of humor solidify him as this. He also occasionally sings or quotes lines from kids' songs, and sometimes throws tantrums when he's upset. The latter is usually his reaction to things involving Gloria.
Men Can't Keep House : averted, Felix keeps house better than any other character in the story.
Moment Killer : Felix would sometimes arrive home early "not feeling well" and disrupt the romantic mood, much to Oscar's consternation. At the end of "Felix Gets Sick", Oscar pretends he's ill to return the favor but finds that Felix is too nice about the disruption for revenge to be sweet.
Neat Freak : When he was married, his wife would clean the house and a maid would come in once a week to clean some more, but he still felt compelled to get up in the middle of the night and clean everything all over again.
Nice Guy : He's friendly, cheerful, innocent, polite, and tries to always do the right thing. Even when he gets carried away sometimes, he seems to genuinely care about the other character's feelings.
The Nose Knows : When Oscar smuggles deli food into a fat farm, Felix can smell and identify every item.... as well as a can opener.
The Pollyanna : For the most part. He gets depressed sometimes, but he also tries to look on the bright side, and he always believed deep down that someday, he and his wife would be together again. It pays off in the end, when he and Gloria remarry in the finale of the 70s series.
Precision F-Strike : In the 2015 episode "The Unger Games".
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man : The Sensitive Guy to Oscar's Manly Man. He loves opera, cooking, and other refined things.
Sickly Neurotic Geek : Especially the TV series which Flanderized his allergies (at first - as the series went on this aspect of the character became less prominent).
Single-Target Sexuality : Towards his ex-wife. Downplayed in the original series, as he still has a few other girlfriends and crushes throughout the series, but he ultimately loves and desires Gloria the most. The 2015 series played this straight — he loves Ashley (his ex wife's name in the 2015 series) so much that the idea of being with anyone else seems to confuse and horrify him — until his neighbor Emily finally confesses her feelings toward him and they become an item in the season finale "The Audit Couple".
Spell My Name with an "S" : The original play, both films, and The New Odd Couple spell his last name "Ungar" while the 1970-75 series and 2015 revival spell it "Unger".
Oscar Madison
Played by: Walter Matthau (stage/film), Jack Klugman (stage/1970-'75 series), Demond Wilson (New), Matthew Perry (2015 series)
All Men Are Perverts : Although it's not usually explored much due to the series' PG rating, Oscar makes it abundantly clear that his interest in women is decidedly far more than old-fashioned romance.
The 2015 series makes no attempt to hide this — if anything, it takes this Up to Eleven .
Characterization Marches On : While the main facets of Felix and Oscar's respective personalities (Felix being a compulsive neat freak, and Oscar being a slob) have always remained intact, their demeanors have pretty much flip-flopped from the movie to the series. To wit: instead of Felix being an uptight killjoy and Oscar being fun-loving and carefree, it's Felix who is more a bright-eyed and easygoing guy (for the most part), while Oscar is more of an irritable, quick-tempered grump (mainly because Felix gets on his nerves so much).
Extreme Omnivore : Oscar once ate a plastic hot dog.
The Gambling Addict : He's perennially broke due to all the money he loses, so he repeatedly borrows and, on rare occasions, outright steals large sums from Felix.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold : Oscar is cynical, insensitive, hot-tempered, occasionally vindictive and habitually dishonest. The latter is due to irresponsibility rather than malice, however, and under his thoughtless exterior is a loyal, caring, tolerant and very forgiving man.
Love Informant : Felix falls madly in love with Gloria and wants to marry her, but he becomes such a nervous wreck that he loses his voice before he can propose to her, and he practically begs Oscar to propose to her on his behalf, even going so far as writing down very specific instructions on what to do and say. Oscar, wanting to get out of there, basically cuts to the chase and asks Gloria to marry Felix, to which she agrees.
Men Can't Keep House : Oscar practically never cleans. Surprisingly downplayed some in The New Odd Couple.
Pirates Who Don't Do Anything : Oscar is rarely seen performing his job, which makes sense, since he's a perpetual slacker.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech : Oscar criticizes Felix's perfectionist attitude in one episode, uttering "Felix, the perfect!"
Oscar also calls out others who make Felix upset . In "The Rent Strike", he calls out the other tenants for trying to drive Felix out while forgetting all the things he's done for them and in "The Subway Story", he scalds the insensitive subway riders and says that Felix is the only person trying to improve the situation.
Trash of the Titans : Oscar's room is usually in a state of disarray.
Felix: Oscar, you have a blue stain on your rug.
Oscar: No, that's the original color.
True Companions : For all the frustrations and irritations Felix causes, Oscar somehow always comes through for him. Many times Oscar has kicked Felix out, and he always (eventually) feels guilty about it, resulting in him bringing Felix back. Likewise, if anyone else starts giving Felix a hard time, Oscar is quick (for the most part) to defend his buddy. Tony Randall and Jack Klugman being such close friends in Real Life certainly helped Felix and Oscar's on-screen chemistry as well.
Tsundere : Towards his ex-wife, especially in the 2015 pilot.
Uptight Loves Wild : In a platonic way. Why else would the prim-and-proper Felix stay with the casual Oscar?
Vitriolic Best Buds : Oscar is often cross at Felix for one reason or another, but if anyone else tries to do anything bad to him, Oscar will be on top of them in an instant.
Murray Greschler
Played by Herb Edelman (film), Al Molinaro (1970-'75 series), John Schuck (New)
Ascended Extra : Murray was originally listed as one of "The Poker Players" but he began to appear more frequently as the series progressed, and not only to play poker.
Gag Nose : Murray's nose is the source of many jokes.
Lovable Coward : He tries to avoid violent situations. During "The Subway Story", Oscar tells a joke about how "last night, I saw three cops standing in our lobby. They were afraid to go outside." Murray quickly protests that he was cold.
Myrna Turner
Adorkable : She just wants to be loyal and helpful to Oscar.
Annoying Laugh : She laughs in a slow monotone which is both irritating and hilarious.
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    Characters Introduced in the  2015 Series  
Teddy
Played by Wendell Pierce
Big Eater : Implied. He seems disgusted with Felix's meatless food and, after being on a juice cleanse for an entire episode, eats a prop burger with no hesitation.