THE
MOVIE VERSION OF
"THE ODD COUPLE"
"THE ODD COUPLE"
On this day in 1965, a Broadway show premiered on the Great White Way that was inspired by the genius on the left and written by another genius-- the man on his right. For here are the "Brothers Laughter" as I have dubbed them: Danny Simon and his world famous brother, Neil. I had the absolute privilege of studying comedy with Danny for four years back in the 1980's. Bar none, it was the most wonderful joys of my life. Danny was pure genius and as dead honest as they come. Oh yes, the criticism could be very tough-- "Hey, kid, this is just not funny enough". I kept writing-- and I'm still writing today because of this wonderful man's influence. So how did this all start?Mr. Simon initially wrote for radio shows with his brother. While in their teens, they pleased radio humorist Goodman Ace with a line about a witless movie usher explaining a film plot: "Joan Crawford's boyfriend is sent to the electric chair -- and she promises to wait for him."Danny Simon felt overshadowed by brother Neil. "By Neil's standards of success, I'm a nothing," he s the genius"
But together as a writing team, their rapid-fire absurdity won them work in the early days of television. The SImons wrote for Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, Red Buttons, Phil Silvers and, most memorably, for Sid Caesar on "Your Show of Shows," which Neil Simon fictionalized in his Broadway comedy "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" (1993).One of their colleagues, Woody Allen, spoke admiringly of Mr. Simon, telling an interviewer: "I've learned a few things on my own and modified a few things he taught me, but everything, unequivocally, that I learned about comedy writing, I learned from Danny Simon."
Mr. Simon continued writing scripts and eventually directed TV shows, and Neil Simon fled to the theater to seek his own voice. He used his older brother as inspiration for various characters, including the ladies' man in "Come Blow Your Horn" (1961), the Hollywood producer in "Plaza Suite" (1968) and the older brother in "Brighton Beach Memoirs" (1983), a comic look at their unhappy, fatherless childhood in Brooklyn."There have been more plays written about me than about Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc and Julius Caesar all put together," Mr. Simon said.Many of Neil Simon's depictions of his older brother were less than flattering. The younger Simon once told Time magazine, "My complicated relationship with Danny stems from the fact that when I was growing up, I saw him as my father. It wasn't until much later that I saw him as a brother. He'd tell me when to go to bed, how to behave, give me all the rules of life." Neil Simon's enduring play "The Odd Couple" (that opened on March 10, 1965 and ran for 996 performances on Broadway) was born out of his brother's 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."
The banter left Mr. Simon thinking there was a kernel for a play, and he typed out fifteen and two thirds pages, which he showed to an approving Neil. But Danny disliked the solitude of play writing and, despite encouragement from his brother to finish, he returned to collaborative television writing. Neil Simon took over the play, which became a popular stage show that was succeeded by film and television versions.Although Mr. Simon received a slice of the royalties,(15 and 2/3 %) he was left out of the acknowledgments, which rankled him and caused a decade-long rift. He suffered in his younger brother's shadow and, when asked how it felt to be Neil Simon's brother, usually replied: "Well, it's better than being Neil Simon's sister" I wanted to always dedicate something to him, but in his own gruff way he had always said "What if isn't good enough!" So my aim is to make a success of it and then say "I think this makers it good enough!"
But together as a writing team, their rapid-fire absurdity won them work in the early days of television. The SImons wrote for Milton Berle, Jackie Gleason, Red Buttons, Phil Silvers and, most memorably, for Sid Caesar on "Your Show of Shows," which Neil Simon fictionalized in his Broadway comedy "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" (1993).One of their colleagues, Woody Allen, spoke admiringly of Mr. Simon, telling an interviewer: "I've learned a few things on my own and modified a few things he taught me, but everything, unequivocally, that I learned about comedy writing, I learned from Danny Simon."
Mr. Simon continued writing scripts and eventually directed TV shows, and Neil Simon fled to the theater to seek his own voice. He used his older brother as inspiration for various characters, including the ladies' man in "Come Blow Your Horn" (1961), the Hollywood producer in "Plaza Suite" (1968) and the older brother in "Brighton Beach Memoirs" (1983), a comic look at their unhappy, fatherless childhood in Brooklyn."There have been more plays written about me than about Abraham Lincoln, Joan of Arc and Julius Caesar all put together," Mr. Simon said.Many of Neil Simon's depictions of his older brother were less than flattering. The younger Simon once told Time magazine, "My complicated relationship with Danny stems from the fact that when I was growing up, I saw him as my father. It wasn't until much later that I saw him as a brother. He'd tell me when to go to bed, how to behave, give me all the rules of life." Neil Simon's enduring play "The Odd Couple" (that opened on March 10, 1965 and ran for 996 performances on Broadway) was born out of his brother's 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."
The banter left Mr. Simon thinking there was a kernel for a play, and he typed out fifteen and two thirds pages, which he showed to an approving Neil. But Danny disliked the solitude of play writing and, despite encouragement from his brother to finish, he returned to collaborative television writing. Neil Simon took over the play, which became a popular stage show that was succeeded by film and television versions.Although Mr. Simon received a slice of the royalties,(15 and 2/3 %) he was left out of the acknowledgments, which rankled him and caused a decade-long rift. He suffered in his younger brother's shadow and, when asked how it felt to be Neil Simon's brother, usually replied: "Well, it's better than being Neil Simon's sister" I wanted to always dedicate something to him, but in his own gruff way he had always said "What if isn't good enough!" So my aim is to make a success of it and then say "I think this makers it good enough!"
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