Tony and Me: A Story of Friendship

I've had this book sitting in a "to read" pile for longer than I expected and certainly when I came across it on the very last day of 2007, I had no intentions of starting it - but I did - I also finished it because I couldn't bring myself to put it down until there was nothing left to read.

Tony Randall and Jack Klugman are best known as Felix Unger and Oscar Madison respectively, a role they played on Broadway, but more famously on television for five seasons in the early 1970's.

Growing up, I would drive my dad crazy as we watched The Odd Couple together and I would say the dialogue of the whole show just before the characters. It took years, but they are finally releasing the seasons on DVD and I've jumped on them. Even as a kid, I sensed that there was something special about this show.

Completing the book in a single sitting isn't all that tough, it's141 pages in total, many with pictures. The text however is far more than the story of two actors who shared a very special friendship, which was interesting to me as a fan. I took with me a lesson in genuine friendship, one that truly saw no boundaries, one of true devotion. What really drove it home was to see this lesson through the eyes of two people who have achieved the level of fame that these men have.

It's so rare to take a positive message from the celebrity world. This book offers one and I am glad I read it today of all days as it is a beautiful and necessary message to take into a new year.