History Theatre / TheOddCouple

* AsHimself: Howard Cosell (twice), Bobby Riggs, Deacon Jones, Rodney Allen Rippy, Alan Ludden, Betty White, Monty Hall (twice), Richard Dawson, David Steinberg, BobHope and in a CreatorCameo NeilSimon.

* AsHimself: Howard Cosell (twice), Bobby Riggs, Deacon Jones, Rodney Allen Rippy, Alan Ludden, Betty White, Monty Hall (twice), Richard Dawson, David Steinberg, and in a CreatorCameo NeilSimon.

* AsHimself: Howard Cosell (twice), Bobby Riggs, Deacon Jones, Rodney Allen Rippy, Alan Ludden, Betty White, Monty Hall (twice), Richard Dawson.

* UnintentionalCrossdressing: In one episode Felix has a bandage over his eyes due to recent surgery. When Oscar throws him out, he stumbles to the closet and puts on what he thinks is his coat, but is actually his ex-wife Gloria's.

* WrittenInInfirmity: Klugman and Randall took on the roles again in a series of potato chip commercials, all of which had to be written around Klugman's inability to talk after his heavy smoking resulting in him losing a vocal chord. Then a reunion movie was made, by which time Klugman had regained his speaking, but with an extremely raspy and wheezy voice, so Oscar is said to have recently had a throat operation.

The premise is simple: NeatFreak photographer Felix Unger (Art Carney on stage, Jack Lemmon on screen, Tony Randall on TV) is kicked out by his wife, and with no place else to go, must move in with his friend, sports writer Oscar Madison (Walter Matthau on stage and screen, Jack Klugman on TV), a TrashOfTheTitans. The TV show added a small supporting cast, including Murray, a dim-witted but lovable police officer.

* ForgottenThemeTuneLyrics: "No matter where they go, they'll be known as the couple..."

* ForgottenThemeTuneLyrics

-->''On November 13th Felix Unger was asked to leave his place of residence. That request came from his wife. Deep down he knew she was right, but he also knew that someday he would return to her. With nowhere else to go, he appeared at the home of his friend Oscar Madison. Several years earlier, Madison's wife had thrown him out, requesting that he never return. Can two divorced men share an apartment without driving each other crazy?''
-->'''OpeningNarration to the TitleSequence'''

-->'''OpeningNarration to the TitleSequence

'''Oscar''': Now, it's garbage. (This exchange appeared in the film).

* HeyItsThatGuy: Oscar's boss is [[Series/GetSmart The Chief]], Myrna is [[LaverneAndShirley Laverne]], Murray the Cop is [[HappyDays Al Delvecchio]], and [[Series/TheAddamsFamily Gomez Addams]] runs a Playboy Magazine {{Expy}}.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In an episode in which Oscar teaches the basics of football to Felix, Felix takes the ball, races down the hallway towards the bedrooms, and mere seconds later appears at the apartment door, ringing the buzzer. Impossible if the set were "real" (obviously, Tony Randall merely ran around the back of the set). It's not [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in the dialogue, but the audience reaction of spontaneous applause seems to show that they grasped the absurdity. An odd gag in a show that normally eschewed such shenanigans.

* SpecialGuest: Howard Cosell, Monty Hall, and... Neil Simon!

'''Oscar''': Now, it's garbage.

** For Oscar - lasagna and french fries.

Simon has rewritten his original play twice: first in 1985 as ''The Female Odd Couple'', a GenderFlip version of the piece, and again in 2004 as ''Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple'', which is basically the original play updated with more modern jokes and references.

Simon has rewritten his original play twice: first in 1985 as ''The Female Odd Couple'', a GenderFlip version of the piece, and again in 2004 as ''Oscar and Felix: A New Look at the Odd Couple'', which is basically [[TheSameButMore the original play updated with more modern jokes and references]].

* CourtroomEpisode: "The Dog Story"

* IntimidatingRevenueService: In "The Ides of April," Felix is summoned to the IRS office and he thinks he's in serious trouble. It turns out that he simply forgot to sign a check, but Felix accidentally lets it slip that Oscar has been filing shady tax returns and so now Oscar is the one getting an audit.

* WrittenInInfirmity: Klugman and Randall took on the roles again in a series of potato chip commercials, all of which had to be written around Klugman's inability to talk after his heavy smoking resulting in him losing a vocal chord.

--> '''Oscar:''' I've told you 158 times I can't stand little notes on my pillow. "We're all out of cornflakes. F.U." Took me three hours to figure out F.U. was Felix Ungar!

!!''TheOddCouple'' provides examples of:

* HeyItsThatGuy: Oscar's boss is [[GetSmart The Chief]], Myrna is [[LaverneAndShirley Laverne]], Murray the Cop is [[HappyDays Al Delvecchio]], and [[Series/TheAddamsFamily Gomez Addams]] runs a Playboy Magazine {{Expy}}.