FILM · 1968
The Odd Couple
35 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
26 Interesting Facts About The Odd Couple
- #001
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, two great friends, are paired in a film for the second time out of ten.
- #003
Monica Evans and Carole Shelley play a pair of English geese on a walking tour of France in Disney's The Aristocats (1970).
- #004
Neil Simon created the character of Felix based on his older brother Danny Simon, who wrote the first draft of the play before handing the project over to Neil.
- #005
Walter Matthau played Oscar and Art Carney played Felix in the play. While making the film, they felt Carney had not been successful enough at the box office and chose Jack Lemmon in his place.
- #007
Writer Neil Simon got the idea for the play after his friend and former fellow writer Mel Brooks moved in with another man following his divorce.
- #009
The film set a record at Radio City Music Hall during its initial run. Among the 640 films shown there in its first 42 years, it led in both run length (14 weeks) and total gross (over 3 million dollars).
- #010
It was reported to be Paramount's biggest hit since The Ten Commandments (1956).
- #011
Tony Randall and Jack Klugman were considered for the roles of Felix Ungar and Oscar Madison, which they would later play in the series adaptation. Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney were also considered for the respective parts.
- #012
John Fiedler, Carole Shelley and Monica Evans are the only actors to appear in both The Odd Couple (1968) and The Odd Couple (1970).
- #014
It was included among Rotten Tomatoes' 100 best comedy films of all time.
- #015
Although some key scenes involve poker games and all five male leads are poker buddies, Felix is never actually seen playing the game.
- #017
It was included on the American Film Institute's 2000 list of the 100 Funniest American Films.
- #019
This was the first of three pairings with Carole Shelley and Monica Evans; the second and third were the Disney films The Aristocats (1970) and Robin Hood (1973).
- #020
At one point Billy Wilder was going to direct and write the screenplay.
- #021
This was Joe Palma's last film.
- #022
The film's screening at a Boston theater was held to raise money for a senior center, and its "rocking chair" seats were advertised.
- #023
John Fiedler's (Vinnie) next film was an extremely popular animated film that would later earn him a 37-year career as a voice actor. He played the character Piglet in dozens of films, shorts and television presentations.
- #024
About an hour in, Jack Lemmon enters the Bohack supermarket. It was located on the southeast corner of 87th Street and 2nd Avenue.
- #025
Walter Matthau, John Fiedler, Monica Evans and Carole Shelley reprise their opening night performances from the Broadway play in this film.
- #026
Just before Oscar throws Felix's pasta dish in the trash, Oscar is watching television in the living room. If you listen closely to the news anchor, he reports that the New York Yankees have traded a pitcher named "Moonjean." This is probably a nod to Hank Moonjean, who was an assistant director on this film.
- #030
The pilot episode of the 2015 TV reboot (The Odd Couple (2015)) starring Matthew Perry used a significant portion of this film's plot: Oscar offers Felix a place to stay, Felix drives Oscar and his friends crazy with his cleaning and order obsessions, Oscar arranges a double date with two sisters in the same building, Felix hijacks the date and Oscar gets the girls angry at him, and so on.
- #031
According to Connie Berman's 1978 "Leif Garrett" biography, the future teen idol singer had a small role in this film. He later appeared in the television series.
- #032
The Odd Couple's commercial TV premiere aired on September 11, 1972, on ABC.
- #033
The name of Felix's estranged wife is Frances; in the Jack Klugman/Tony Randall series her name was Gloria.
- #034
This popular American comedy aired on television in the UK on BBC One on Christmas Day 1973.
- #035
Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau and Herb Edelman appeared in The Front Page (1974).
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