NEW YORK — Tony Randall, who served as a fussy foil for Rock Hudson and Doris Day, David Letterman and Johnny Carson and, most famously, Jack Klugman on ‘‘The Odd Couple,’’ has died at 84 after a long illness.
Randall, who had been hospitalized since December when he developed pneumonia after heart bypass surgery, died in his sleep Monday night at NYU Medical Center. His wife, Heather Harlan Randall — who had made him a father for the first time at age 77 — was by his side.
The dedicated theater advocate entered the hospital after starring in a revival of Luigi Pirandello’s play ‘‘Right You Are,’’ the 20th production of the National Actors Theatre, which Randall founded.
Broadway’s marquee lights were dimmed in his honor Tuesday night.
Day remembered him Tuesday as being ‘‘so brilliant, funny, sweet and dear, that it was as if God had given him everything.’’ Randall played the fussbudget pal in Hudson-Day movies such as 1959’s ‘‘Pillow Talk’’ and 1961’s ‘‘Lover Come Back.’’
‘‘He was the funniest man in movies and on television, and nothing was as much fun as working with him,’’ the 80-year-old actress said from Carmel, Calif. ‘‘I’m so glad that his last few years with his wife and children were so happy. I loved him very much and miss him already.’’
Picked by Rigor Mortis Mairi.