The Odd Couple star first landed his big break opposite Henry Fonda in the 1957 film adaptation of 12 Angry Men, playing Juror 5, a smart, young man who’s charged with deciding the fate of a suspected murderer.
And now Klugman will tackle the same premise, this time as wise elder Juror 9, for a month-long run at New Jersey’s George Street Playhouse, beginning on 13 March (12).
He tells the New York Times, “Working with Fonda and the director Sidney Lumet was like a dream for me, because I could tell they appreciated me and my work and I felt very, very good then about deciding to become an actor. It’ll be an honour to appear in the play.”
This project marks Klugman’s first theatre stint since 1998, when he appeared in Broadway play The Sunshine Boys.
Klugman has been largely absent from the entertainment industry in recent years – concerns for his health were sparked in 2009 after he collapsed outside a restaurant in California, but he’s since made a full recovery.
