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Robert Klane, the writer-director best known for penning Weekend at Bernie’s and National Lampoon’s European Vacation, died Aug. 29 of kidney failure in Woodland Hills, CA. He was 81.

Besides the 1989 movie that starred Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman, Klane also wrote for Tracey Takes On …,The Odd Couple: Together Again, The Man With One Red Shoe and Unfaithfully Yours. He also worked in the writers rooms for M*A*S*H* and The Michele Lee Show.

“Klane’s satirical and daring writing pushed the boundaries of good taste, while depicting the unfairness of life through themes of sex, family, madness and death,” Klane’s son, Jon, said in a statement.

Born in Long Island, Klane earned his English degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He penned two novels —The Horse is Dead and Where’s Poppa? — the latter of which was adapted by Klane into a...

Robert Klane, who wrote the screenplays for the irreverent comedy classics Weekend at Bernie’s and Where’s Poppa? and directed the disco-era favorite Thank God It’s Friday, has died. He was 81.

Klane died Tuesday in his Woodland Hills home of kidney failure after a long illness, his son Jon Klane announced.

He wrote for the films Every Little Crook and Nanny (1972), Fire Sale (1977), The Man With One Red Shoe (1985), National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985), Unfaithfully Yours (1984), Walk Like a Man (1987) and Folks! (1992).

Among his TV writing credits were six episodes of M*A*S*H* and The Odd Couple: Together Again, a 1973 reunion telefilm starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall that he also directed. He also wrote and produced Tracey Takes On…, winning an Emmy for his work in 1997.

“Bob had a brilliant comedy mind that went deeper and deeper to get to the truth,” Rob Reiner, an actor in Where’s Poppa? (1970), said in a statement.

Robert Klane, screenwriter of films including “Weekend at Bernie’s” and “Where’s Poppa?,” died from kidney failure on Aug. 29 at his home in Woodland Hills, Calif. He was 81.

Klane’s son Jon shared the news with Variety in a statement, which reads, “Klane’s satirical and daring writing pushed the boundaries of good taste, while depicting the unfairness of life through themes of sex, family, madness and death.”

“Bob had a brilliant comedy mind that went deeper and deeper to get to the truth,” said filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner, who appeared in “Where’s Poppa?” “Most people have a censor in their minds and know how far they can go. Bob didn’t have a censor. That’s what made him great and set him apart. He was fearless.”

Klane wrote the screenplays for dark comedies such as 1989’s “Weekend at Bernie’s” and its 1993 sequel, as well as 1970’s “Where’s Poppa?,...

Actor who won fame as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and crimesolving medical examiner Quincy

Television was the medium that conferred stardom on the actor Jack Klugman, who has died aged 90. In a long, distinguished career that also embraced theatre and film, he was principally identified with two television characters: Oscar Madison, the slovenly, down-to-earth, cigar-smoking flatmate of the neurotically neat Felix Unger (Tony Randall) in the long-running comedy series The Odd Couple (1970-75; in the play and film, Felix's surname was spelt Ungar), and Quincy in Quincy, Me (1976-83), a crime-solving medical examiner.

Born in a poor neighbourhood of Philadelphia, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, Klugman had a tough childhood. His father, a house painter, died young, forcing his mother to make hats in her kitchen to buy food and clothing for her six children. Young Jack, who worked as a street peddler, later observed: "Poverty can teach lessons that privilege cannot.

Los Angeles – He was a consummate television character, with a unforgettable reputation as a lovable slob and a nosy medical examiner. Jack Klugman, who portrayed Oscar Madison on the sitcom version of “The Odd Couple” and the title character on the TV drama “Quincy M.E.,” died on December 24th at his home in Woodland Hills, California. He was 90 years old.

In his early career, he was most prominent for his appearance in the film “12 Angry Men” (1957) as Juror #5, opposite Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb and nine other actors, playing members of a jury who are bought together to decide a murder case. Klugman was the last surviving member of that famous movie ensemble. He also tied Burgess Meredith for the most starring roles – with four – in the legendary TV series, “The Twilight Zone.”

Tony Randall as Felix and Jack Klugman as Oscar in TV’s ‘The Odd Couple’

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