Tony Randall was born Leonard Rosenberg on February 26, 1920 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he majored in speech and drama, and then studied at Columbia University, at New York City's prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse under the direction of legendary acting coach, Sanford Meisner, from 1938 to 1940. From there he went to the Officer Candidate School at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. He served as private and first lieutenant in U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1942 to 1946.
Randall began his career in radio in the 1940s, appearing on such shows as the Henry Morgan Program and Opera Quiz. From 1950-52, Randall played Mac on One Man's Family. He then went on to play Harvey Weskit in the live sitcom Mr. Peepers (1952-1955). After appearing in numerous roles in romantic comedies, Randall won the part of Felix Unger in the ABC television version of The Odd Couple (1970-75). In 1975, Randall won an Emmy as lead actor for his role as Felix. A popular guest on numerous variety shows, Randall was present on two Emmy award winning variety show episodes in 1970 (The Flip Wilson Show) and 1971 (The Sonny and Cher Show). In 1976, Randall starred in the short-lived CBS sitcom The Tony Randall Show. In 1981, Randall returned to television playing Sidney Shorr in NBC's Love, Sidney, a critically-acclaimed yet commercially unsuccessful sitcom canceled in 1983. Randall reprised his Felix Unger role in a 1993 TV-movie version of The Odd Couple. He has also hosted the PBS opera series Live From The Met.
Randall was a member of the Actors' Equity Association; the Screen Actors Guild; the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists; and the Association of the Metropolitan Opera Company. He was also the founder and artistic director of the National Actors' Theatre in New York City. Randall received an Emmy in 1975 for his role as Felix Unger in The Odd Couple.
Tony Randall died on May 18, 2004 at the age of 84.