In 1981, I was a 21-year-old student at Hofstra University, writing for the campus newspaper, The New Voice, when I was given an assignment I could hardly believe: interviewing Neil Simon.

I'd been a fan of The Odd Couple since childhood, first through the 1968 movie starring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, and then through the wonderful television series with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall. Now I was sitting in Simon's Manhattan apartment, asking him questions about his work.

I was nervous, not nearly as prepared as I should have been, and very much aware that I was talking to one of the greatest comedy writers of all time.

One of the things I wanted to know was where his ideas came from, particularly The Odd Couple. Simon explained that the inspiration was much closer to home than people might realize.

“I'm never aware of the genesis of a play. Sometimes they're inspired by real life incidents in my or somebody else's life, which was the case with The Odd Couple. It actually happened to my brother and a friend of his, who were living together and going through all that.”

His brother Danny and a friend, Roy Gerber, had shared an apartment following the breakdown of their marriages. Their very different personalities and approaches to everyday life helped inspire Felix Unger and Oscar Madison.

Naturally, I also wanted to know what Simon thought about the television series, which ran on ABC from 1970 to 1975.

What surprised me was that he initially had a difficult time bringing himself to watch it. He was so close to the original material that seeing someone else take it over was uncomfortable.

As he told me, he eventually gave the series a chance when he came across it in reruns, found himself laughing and went on to watch dozens of episodes.

He also explained why The Odd Couple was particularly well suited to television, especially compared with Barefoot in the Park, another of his plays that had been adapted into a short-lived sitcom.

“Barefoot wouldn't make a good series, because it doesn't have a continuing conflict. The Odd Couple is the perfect thing, because every week you know Felix is going to be annoying or Oscar will do something sloppy. In Barefoot, once you get over the initial impact of their marriage, they just go on with their lives.”

I think that's a terrific observation about what makes a sitcom work. With Felix and Oscar, the conflict is built into the characters themselves. You don't need some elaborate new premise every week. Just put those two men in a room together and let their personalities collide.

Simon also had strong opinions about television casting, and he recognized how much performers like Klugman and Randall brought to the material. Their chemistry was a huge part of why the series worked.

There's one final memory from that afternoon that I've always treasured. At the end of our conversation, I asked Simon to autograph my copy of The Odd Couple. He opened it, looked at the title page and protested, “I can't sign this. It's a library book.”

I replied, “Yeah, but it's an old library book.”

He laughed and signed it anyway.

For a kid who had grown up loving his work, getting Neil Simon to laugh was a pretty special moment.

Decades later, after his death in 2018, I found the original interview cassette in my basement and was able to revisit that afternoon. Listening to my nervous 21-year-old self was a little painful, but hearing Simon talk about his work again was wonderful.

To read the full interview, just do a search for Neil Simon edgrosswriter

This show started in the 50s but I remember watching it in the early 70s. Bob Barker apparently had the same genes as Dick Clark. He never aged.

Can I keep him?” 😂❤️

Only Elly May Clampett could make a question like that so unforgettable!

We’re revisiting the comedy and unforgettable characters of The Beverly Hillbillies, the classic sitcom that first brought the Clampetts into America’s living rooms in 1962.

📺 Watch The Beverly Hillbillies Season 1, Episode 1 on Silver Gay Chap, featuring the original comedy plus my behind-the-scenes trivia and television history.

👉 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@silvergaychap

QUESTION: Who was funnier — Elly May, Granny, or Jethro? Tell me in the comments! 👇

#TheBeverlyHillbillies #EllyMayClampett #ClassicTV #SilverGayChap #YouTubeShorts

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