1049 Park Avenue: An Odd Couple Podcast

In this episode, we compared a final draft script of S1's The Hideaway and a first draft script of the first episode filmed for S2 Hospital Mates to the filmed versions. And before we get into the scripts, we discuss four new instances of The Odd Couple IP / the cast in the zeitgeist.

In this episode we discuss a trove of documents from the Garry Marshall archives at Northwestern University. Topic covered are - Testing of the episodes Hospital Mates and Felix's Ex-Wife's Boyfriend. - A bombshell of a memo about what S2 of The Odd Couple could have been. - The Writers room needs for a "script girl" - Episode budget details - Script needs for the back half of S1 - A mysterious script written by legendary TV creator Susan Harris If you would like to see PDFs of these documents please email us at 1049Pod@gmail.com

In this episode of 1049 Park Avenue we review two very important documents: 1) Courtesy of the Garry Marshall archives at Northwestern University is the actual pilot testing report for the first episode of The Odd Couple – “The Laundry Orgy”. 2) The script for The Rain In Spain which we compare to the actual filmed episode. Also, Garrett has a new book out about the famous screenwriter and playwright Ben Hecht which can be purchased on Amazon or here

In this episode we are joined by Scott Marshall, Garry Marshall’s son, who provides us an inside, charming and humorous look at his father’s legendary career and his exposure to all of it growing up. This is only part one of our interview as there is so much to cover. We discuss: Garry’s upbringing in the Bronx and his family His college days at Northwestern University Writing for Jack Paar and Joey Bishop Moving to LA and meeting his wife / Scott’s mother Barbara Writing on Dick Van Dyke, The Lucy Show, and I Spy Garry’s first series Hey Landlord How Garry got to work on The Odd Couple; Scott’s memories being on set; Jack and Tony; the writers; casting Penny & nepotism; Albert Brooks Other shows he worked on during The Odd Couple including the terrible Me & The Chimp. The origins of Happy Days; Scott acting on the show; studio and network interference; his friendship with the cast.

In this episode we are honored to be joined by Lowell Ganz who, with his partner at the time Mark Rothman, wrote more episodes of The Odd Couple than anyone else - 12. They were also on the writing staff for S3-S5 so they have a hand in all episodes for those seasons. In this first of a two-part interview we discuss Mr. Ganz's background and the incredible story of how he got his first job in showbiz which was on The Odd Couple; a week in the life of The OC writing staff and how an episode went from script to film; and go into detail on each of his 12 episodes which are: - The Ides Of April - The Hustler - My Strife In Court - Gloria Moves In - The New Car - Barnacle Adventure - Cleanliness Is Next To Impossible - The Flying Felix - Shuffling Off To Buffalo - The Odd Candidate - The Subway Story - Two On The Aisle Please note that at one point there was a Wifi outage which forced the interview to move from Zoom Video to phone and you may hear the quality of Mr. Ganz's audio change a bit.

This week we are joined by one of television's best comedy writers Dave Mandel (SNL, Seinfeld, Veep) to discuss an unproduced episode of The Odd Couple for which we have obtained an official script from 1973. It is a Thanksgiving episode and would have been for the 4th season to air in November 1973. We start by discussing Dave's history with The Odd Couple and how it influenced his TV writing. We then get into the script itself and -- spoiler - it is not very good so we discuss in depth why it doesn't work and how it maybe could have become a workable episode. We also start going into it line by line but that is too painful ultimately so we summarize the last few acts. We also discuss why The Odd Couple had no traditional holiday episodes after S1 like so many of its fellow sitcoms did during the 1970s. If you want to get a dropbox link to the script to read it for yourself please email us at 1049pod@gmail.com

In this episode we analyze the differences in “final” scripts vs the filmed episode for Win One For Felix and Oscar In Love. The script for Win One For Felix is called Little League Football and is lacking four pages so we spend less time on this one. Also, it is not dramatically different than the filmed episode but it is missing the emotional motivations behind Felix’s actions as we discuss. The script for Oscar In Love, here called Oscar Remarries, is quite different from the filmed episode in many ways – narrative flow, story devices, motivations for actions and the lack of Speed’s reappearance. We get a little lost as we try to break down the differences but ultimately get back on track. If you want access to all the PDFs for the scripts we have acquired please email us at 1049pod@gmail.com and ask for the dropbox link.

In this episode we interview TV writer Marty Nadler who worked for Garry Marshall for 40 years. As one of his first jobs Marty punched up scripts and wrote jokes for S5 of The Odd Couple. Marty discusses the process of how Odd Couple scripts were written; a few specific classic bits he remembers witnessing; interacting with some of the show’s famous guest stars and other insider knowledge from someone who was there!

This week we welcome a special guest – Peter K Ackerman who is the son of Elinor Donahue and legendary TV producer Harry Ackerman. He has written a new book called Mom, Dad, Me and Classic TV about their lives and his experiences growing up as the son of two TV legends. It is available wherever books are sold including here on Amazon We discuss his father’s career helping to create I Love Lucy, producing Bewitched, and also his passion for collecting. We also review his Mom’s extensive career on such shows as Father Knows Best, Star Trek, Get A Life and, of course, as Miriam Welby on The Odd Couple. Peter also shares his experiences working in TV and how he transitioned into a very different vocation. Join us for this fun, two-hour discussion that covers many different aspects of TV history as Peter’s parents touched so many different programs.

In this episode we review two early drafts of these classic episodes and how different they are from the actual filmed episodes. Among the topics covered are: 1) Whether or not the most famous line from The Odd Couple about assuming is in the script for Court. 2) The fact that the script for Court is structured as a flashback and how so many of the classic gags from the episode are missing while other scenes we have never seen before are included. 3) The set-up for Furniture is very different as it starts in the furniture store that was Felix's client. 4) How the clock was described in Furniture. 5) The very different tags in both episodes.

In this episode we discuss the differences between "Revised Final Scripts" for the two S2 episodes "Security Arms" and "You Saved My life" and the actual released episodes. If you want access to PDFs of the scripts please email us at 1049Pod@Gmail.com.

The second half of our discussion about Jack and Tony's series after The Odd Couple contains in-depth looks at The Tony Randall Show (1976-78), Love Sydney (1981-1983) and You Again? (1986-87).

This episode covers Jack Klugman and Tony Randall's TV appearances as themselves - on talk shows, in ads, on Dean Martin roast, and in song.