Tony and Me: An Interview with Jack Klugman

JFD: Do you find that when you're working that there's a different level of energy with live theatre compared to television or film?

Jack Klugman: I think it's all acting, but I don't like television unless I'm in charge. I hate film. I don't enjoy doing film. I enjoy doing the stage because you have rehearsals and that's where your performance starts. You only have one tool as an artist and that's selectivity and you need time to select. When time is your enemy, as in film and in television, art goes out the window. So I appreciate theatre. Only theatre.

JFD: You've said "12 Angry Men" was different, however.

Jack Klugman: We rehearsed for two weeks as though it were a play. I dealt with eleven of the finest actors that I have ever worked with (Fonda, Cobb, Johnny Fiedler, Marty Balsam). They're all wonderful actors. We rehearsed it for two weeks and everybody was there every minute of every day. Whereas I did two films where I co-starred with Lee Remick on two pictures, "The Days of Wine and Roses" and "The Detective." I never met the lady. So that's the difference in the personal quality of films I don't like. But "12 Angry Men" was different, everybody was there every minute of every day to help the other actor. It was a wonderful experience and the only good experience I ever had in film.

JFD: It sounds like it was good and it's one of my favorite films, also. Other than "The Odd Couple" and maybe "12 Angry Men" what performance has given you the most pleasure?

Jack Klugman: Well, there are two. One is "The Price." I broke through and found the freedom when I did that. And also "I'm Not Rappoport." I didn't think that I could do "I'm Not Rappoport" and when I went into rehearsal, it was really a wonderful experience. I found that I could do it, that I could play older. I like when I find something that opens me up and makes me freer, and those are the two plays that did that.

JFD: Is comedy more difficult than drama?

Jack Klugman: Not to me at all. If you're a butcher you know how to cut pork and beef and lamb. The same as an actor. You play it for real and that's all. In comedy, you just turn the knob to comedy and it happens, but you play everything for real. We've always been the odd couple, every incident that we've ever played, everything we've played was real. I never played it for laughs, as it were.

JFD: Who were your greatest influences as an actor?

Jack Klugman: My idols were Lee Cobb and Henry Fonda. They were probably two of the most important people in my life as actors. I was very lucky, I've worked with all my idols (Humphrey Bogart, John Garfield, and so many others), but I've learned the most from Henry Fonda and Lee Cobb. From Henry Fonda, I learned never, ever lie. The truth is the only thing that will ever set you free. An actor can never lie. He told me the other person's problems on that stage are the most important, not yours. Try to help that person no matter what kind of state you're in. That was the best advice ever given to me. That is true. I see people deal with their own problems on stage and they're not extending themselves. I like to try to help. Even if I can't the audience will see me try to help the other person.

JFD: What's next for you?

Jack Klugman: Well, I'm doing my one man show. I'm doing five performances in Florida and I'm looking for plays. I want to do plays. I have a movie coming out called "When Do We Eat," but I don't really care about that. I just want to find a new play, that has an old character in it, something really interesting. I'm never going to retire. I want to die on stage saying, "The name of the murderer is…" and then drop dead.

JFD: That sounds wonderful. That's a good way to go! Tony started a repertory company on Broadway. In fact, at one time he was looking here in Durham, North Carolina as a potential site for that. Do you think a rep company is really feasible on Broadway?

Jack Klugman: He against all odds, fought for that theatre. He put on some wonderful productions ("The Crucible," "Saint Joan," "Timon of Athens"). We did "Three Men On A Horse," "Sunshine Boys," "Inherit the Wind." Wonderful productions! But, yet the press called him a television entrepreneur trying to get on Broadway, and I thought it was terrible what they did to him. Regardless of the odds, he put 8 million dollars of his money to get that theatre going and he made it a good thing. He did wonderful plays and he never let anything stop him. He would do shows and say, "Don't pay me, put that money into the fund for my theatre." He was dedicated; he wanted to bring good theatre to America.