Dick Van Dyke and Ed Asner nearly remade The Odd Couple, a dream project lost to Asner’s passing. A legendary duo that could’ve redefined a classic.
There are moments in the annals of entertainment that shimmer with possibility, like a mirage of what could have been. Picture this: Dick Van Dyke, the ageless maestro of mirth, and Ed Asner, the gravel-voiced titan of television, poised to step into the iconic roles of Felix Unger and Oscar Madison in a remake of The Odd Couple.
It’s a vision that feels both inevitable and fantastical, a pairing so perfect it’s almost cruel that it never came to pass. Van Dyke dropped this tantalizing tidbit during a Q&A alongside his wife, Arlene, at an event in Malibu, California, his voice tinged with a wistful lilt: “That would’ve been fun, and we lost it.” The reason? Ed Asner’s death in 2021, a loss that snuffed out this dream before it could ignite.
For anyone who’s ever chuckled at the mismatched antics of Felix and Oscar—whether in Neil Simon’s original play, the 1968 film with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, or the Tony Randall-Jack Klugman TV classic—the idea of Van Dyke and Asner taking the reins is pure catnip.
Van Dyke, at 99, still carries the buoyant charm that made him a household name in The Dick Van Dyke Show, his every pratfall and grin a masterclass in comedy. Asner, with his curmudgeonly warmth honed on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant, would’ve been an Oscar Madison for the ages—gruff, sloppy, and utterly endearing.
Together, they’d have brought a lived-in chemistry to these roles, a dynamic born of decades-long friendship and mutual respect.
This wasn’t just a casting gimmick; it was a collision of television history. Van Dyke and Asner aren’t merely actors—they’re architects of the medium’s golden age. Van Dyke’s Rob Petrie tripping over ottomans and Asner’s Lou Grant barking at reporters defined sitcoms and spin-offs alike, their work a cornerstone of how we understand TV comedy and drama.
A remake of The Odd Couple with them at the helm would’ve been more than a nostalgic cash-in; it would’ve been a meditation on friendship, aging, and the enduring power of laughter—themes that resonate deeply in a culture obsessed with rebooting its past.
Imagine it: Van Dyke’s Felix fussing over a spotless apartment, his wiry frame and expressive face turning tidiness into a ballet of neurosis. Asner’s Oscar, meanwhile, would’ve slouched through the chaos, a cigar in hand, his grumble cutting through Felix’s prissiness like a warm knife through butter.
Their real-life bond—Van Dyke called Asner a close friend, lamenting his loss among many in a long career—would’ve lent an authenticity to the Felix-Oscar push-and-pull, that love-hate dance that’s kept The Odd Couple alive across generations.
But Hollywood, for all its magic, is a place where timing can be a merciless gatekeeper. Asner’s passing at 91 halted the project in its tracks, leaving Van Dyke to reflect on a missed opportunity.
“I’ve lost a lot of friends,” he said, a quiet acknowledgment of the toll longevity takes. Arlene Van Dyke added, “That’s the curse of living to almost 100,” her words a poignant frame for a man who’s outlasted so many peers yet still radiates a youthful zest.
The remake’s demise isn’t just a loss of a show; it’s a reminder of how fleeting these creative convergences are, how dependent they are on the stars—both celestial and human—aligning just so.
Remakes, of course, are a gamble.
For every Battlestar Galactica that reinvents the wheel, there’s a Fantasy Island reboot that flops into obscurity. Yet this Odd Couple had a shot at transcendence, buoyed by two performers whose very presence would’ve silenced the skeptics.
Van Dyke’s recent turns—like his spry dance in Mary Poppins Returns—prove he’s still got it, while Asner’s late-career work, including his heart-wrenching voiceover in Up, showed his depth never waned. They could’ve taken a familiar script and made it sing anew, a testament to their craft and the story’s elasticity.
The Odd Couple endures because it’s more than a sitcom—it’s a mirror held up to human connection. Felix and Oscar bicker, they clash, they drive each other up the wall, but they stick together.
It’s a premise that’s universal, tapping into the comedy of coexistence and the comfort of companionship. Van Dyke and Asner, with their decades of shared history, would’ve embodied that truth in a way few could, their age adding a layer of poignancy to the tale.
In an era where TV loves to resurrect its relics, this project stood out—not as a cynical grab for ratings, but as a chance to see two legends revisit the sandbox of their youth.
And yet, there’s a strange beauty in its nonexistence. This Odd Couple lives in our imaginations, untarnished by budget cuts or network meddling. It’s a perfect ghost, a whisper of what might’ve been—a Van Dyke-Asner reunion that never fades to black.
Van Dyke’s simple elegy—“That would’ve been fun, and we lost it”—captures the ache and the allure of it all. It’s a story of loss, yes, but also of possibility, a fleeting glimpse of two giants almost stepping back into the spotlight together.
So here we are, left to ponder. What would it have been like to see Dick Van Dyke and Ed Asner spar and spar again, to watch them breathe new life into a classic? We’ll never know.
But the fact that it was dreamed up at all, that it danced on the edge of reality, is enough to keep us smiling—and maybe, just maybe, to keep us hoping for one more miracle from the legends who’ve already given us so much.
