Oscar Madison

Oscar Madison is the "messy" half of this famous "odd couple." Oscar takes pity on his best friend, the newly separated and nearly suicidal Felix Ungar, and invites Felix to live with him in his New York City apartment. Within two weeks, however, Oscar regrets the invitation. The 43-year-old Oscar is carefree, pleasant, and very appealing as a character. When asked by one of the poker players what kind of sandwiches he's serving, Oscar looks under the bread and says, "I got brown sandwiches and green sandwiches." The green, he says, is "either very new cheese or very old meat." At the end of the play there is a suggestion that Oscar's experience with Felix has provoked a change in his personality because Oscar's last words in the play are an admonishment to the poker players to be less messy. In both the original Broadway stage production...