Odd Couple

Washington -- Bob Dole worries about subcommittee assignments, Newt Gingrich broods about the future of Western civilization. Mr. Dole comports himself like a master sergeant, Mr. Gingrich considers himself a grand strategist. Mr. Dole steps to the beat of Main Street, Mr. Gingrich is more interested in reshaping mainstream thinking.Mr. Dole of Kansas, the Senate majority leader, and Mr. Gingrich of Georgia, the incoming House speaker, will be the Odd Couple of Republicanism, as different as Mantovani and Mick Jagger.

It's been more than a quarter century since someone other than Thomas V. Mike Miller was president of the Maryland Senate and almost a decade since House of Delegates Speaker Michael E. Busch was first chosen for his post. Today, when the two chambers of the General Assembly elect their leaders as the annual session begins, the political odd couple of Miller and Busch will become the longest-serving pair of presiding officers in any state in the nation. At a lunch gathering Tuesday of the state's top Democrats, U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer hailed the two as "the president for life and speaker forever.

Neil Simon may have written "The Odd Couple," but it's Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon who have turned it into a cash cow, ensuring them employment in their advancing years.Building on a foundation dating to 1966's "The Fortune Cookie," Matthau and Lemmon used "The Odd Couple" to establish themselves as Hollywood's favorite bickering couple. After that came "Buddy Buddy," which begat "Grumpy Old Men," which begat "Grumpier Old Men," which begat this month's "Out to Sea," a big-screen "Love Boat" that's just as predictable as that unlamented TV series and only a little funnier.

Since a redistricting commission presented its plans for new congressional maps to Gov. Martin O'Malley, two groups have been particularly vocal in their complaints that it dilutes minority votes: African-American and Hispanic Democrats, and Republican elected officials. The first camp includes Rep. Donna Edwards, a Democrat who is angry that she would lose a minority-heavy Montgomery County portion of her district and pick up many white areas in Anne Arundel County instead. The second includes state Sens.

Personalities clash, tempers run high, and the dinner is burnt. No, this is not a description of a Thanksgiving gone bad, but Centennial High School's production of The Odd Couple. The beloved tale of Felix and Oscar was masterfully adapted into a female version by Neil Simon, as the story follows two women, Florence Unger and Olive Madison. When she is kicked out by her husband, Florence arrives at Olive's door; 14 years of marriage end while the kids are at summer camp. Neat freak Olive takes Florence in, promising to help her. However, Florence, an obsessive-compulsive neat freak with a tendency to injury, quickly clashes with the sloppy and strong-willed Olive.

$TC "What makes 'The Odd Couple' so funny is that it's so true," said Paul Zimmerman. "Everything is something we see in ourselves or somebody we know. Neil Simon can take something and make it very funny and very poignant at the same time."Mr. Zimmerman is assistant director for the Carroll Players' fall production of the female version of "The Odd Couple," Neil Simon's story of a slob and a neatnik who share an apartment after their marriages fall apart.The dinner theater will be presented today, tomorrow and Oct. 21-23 and 27-28 at Frock's Sunnybrook Farm on Bond Street, Westminster.

It's not exactly "Who killed Laura Palmer?," but tonight on "Models Inc." is the episode answering the question, "Who killed Teri Spencer?" Considering the viewership of this Fox series, though, the question more people may be pondering is, "Who IS Teri Spencer?"* "Models Inc." (9-10 p.m., WBFF, Channel 45) -- This may not be a killer of an episode, but at least it's got a killer in it -- and this week, he or she targets another victim. Fox.* "Turning Point." (10-11 p.m., WJZ, Channel 13)

The Towsontowne Dinner Theater's production of Neil Simon's female version of ''The Odd Couple'' is a little rough, but all this is more than atoned for by some excellent performances and a Simon script that may be having its premiere in this area.''The Odd Couple'' first appeared in 1965 with Walter Matthau and Art Carney in the cast. Matthau and Jack Lemmon did the film version (1968), and the play underwent a sex change in 1984 when the female version appeared at the Mechanic with Rita Moreno and Sally Struthers.

It seems somehow un-American to run down the eagerly awaited "Odd Couple II." It feels like criticizing your favorite uncle or golden retrievers or cold beer. But here goes: It just isn't funny.It's not that Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon still don't have the stuff; the "Grumpy Old Men" movies prove they're still nimble with physical comedy and the occasional vulgar mot juste. It's just that in "Odd Couple II" they have so few mots justes to toss off. This is perplexing, considering that Neil Simon, who wrote the original "Odd Couple," wrote the script for the sequel.

Bah, humbug. Grumpy? GRUMPY! They call this grumpy?Two doddering old neighbor men spit feeble wisecracks at each other when a beautiful woman moves in next door. Ooo, that makes me mad.Grumpy is . . . when your @! kids awaken you Christmas morning before 10! It's when the mother-in-law expects to be listened to. It's when your wife wants to plan a nice family trip to . . . "The Nutcracker." And the little men inside your head begin their insistent whisper: Grrrr-rrrrr-rrrrrr. That's grumpy.

Britney Spears case dismissed after jury deadlock leads to mistrial The criminal driving-without-a-license case against Britney Spears in Los Angeles has been dismissed. A mistrial was declared yesterday morning when jurors said they couldn't come up with a unanimous decision after two full days of deliberations. Jurors were deadlocked 10-2 in favor of acquitting the pop singer of any wrongdoing. A couple of hours later, prosecutors said they would not pursue the criminal case further, and the case was dismissed.

Here are the 2007 Cappies of Baltimore winners: Rising critic -- Tom McQuaid, Centennial. Sound -- Erika Olney, Glenelg Country, Just So. Lighting -- Christine Wirth, Hammond, Arsenic and Old Lace. Sets -- 10th- and 12th-grade Stagecraft, Beth Tfiloh, Cats. Costumes -- Steph Parks, Hannah Morgan, Abby Urbanis, Hereford, The Secret Garden. Makeup --Design Team, Beth Tfiloh, Cats. Props and effects -- Kimby Josephson, Wilde Lake, Beauty and the Beast. Stage crew -- Amy Norton, Wilde Lake, Beauty and the Beast.

On stage together, they've been anti-war protesters (in The Trial of the Catonsville Nine), feuding roommates (in The Odd Couple) and cronies carping about an abstract painting (in Art). But before they were cast as old friends in Everyman Theatre's The School for Scandal, it had been more than three decades since Baltimore-based actors Wil Love and Carl Schurr had shared the stage in their hometown. In Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 18th-century comedy, which continues through Sunday, Love and Schurr portray Sir Oliver Surface and Sir Peter Teazle, respectively, close friends who haven't seen each other for 26 years.

Personalities clash, tempers run high, and the dinner is burnt. No, this is not a description of a Thanksgiving gone bad, but Centennial High School's production of The Odd Couple. The beloved tale of Felix and Oscar was masterfully adapted into a female version by Neil Simon, as the story follows two women, Florence Unger and Olive Madison. When she is kicked out by her husband, Florence arrives at Olive's door; 14 years of marriage end while the kids are at summer camp. Neat freak Olive takes Florence in, promising to help her. However, Florence, an obsessive-compulsive neat freak with a tendency to injury, quickly clashes with the sloppy and strong-willed Olive.

Jerry Belson, an Emmy-winning comedy writer for The Tracey Ullman Show and other TV shows, died of cancer Tuesday at his Los Angeles home. He was 68. Mr. Belson worked on some of the most celebrated sitcoms of the 1960s and 1970s, including Gomer Pyle, USMC, The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Odd Couple. A scene that Mr. Belson wrote into The Odd Couple involved the character Felix Unger describing the funeral of a dog named "Spot Moskowitz," attended by dogs wearing yarmulkes. After teaming with comedic actress Tracey Ullman, Mr. Belson won three Emmy awards - in 1989 and 1990, for his work on her Fox comedy, and in 1997, for writing on Tracey Takes On...

Chesapeake Arts Center's production of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple is nicely timed in view of the recent news that the playwright, who turns 79 on July 4, will receive the 2006 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in October at the Kennedy Center. One of the playwright's earliest successes, the 1965 Broadway hit comedy can seem an over-roasted old chestnut or a pleasant comic standard, depending on the production. Chesapeake Art Center's version may be a little of both, mostly succeeding despite our over-familiarity with protagonists Oscar Madison and Felix Ungar.

Phoenix Festival Theater, in residence at Harford Community College,will present the Neil Simon comedy, "The Odd Couple (Female Version)" on weekends, Friday through Sept. 22, in the college's Chesapeake Theater.Curtain times are 8 p.m. for the Friday and Saturday performances and 3 p.m. for the Sunday matinees.In the play, Florence Unger is having problems -- her marriage ison the rocks, and when she goes to her good friend Olive Madison forhelp she ends up driving Olive crazy with her compulsive neatness.

Stewart J. Greenebaum and Sam Rose are to real estate development what Tony Randall and Jack Klugman were to television.Mr. Greenebaum, always nattily dressed in a crisp suit and tie, plays golf, attends the theater, chairs the University of Maryland Medical System and devotes considerable time to charity. Mr. Rose hunts, fishes, collects art and raises bees, and boasts that he hasn't worn neckwear in more than 20 years.Mr. Rose's expertise lies in building lucrative office towers in Washington, D.C., while Mr. Greenebaum develops land for communities such as Shipley's Choice in Anne Arundel County.

His Oldest Friend: The Story of an Unlikely Bond Sonny Kleinfield Time Books / 277 pages FRIENDSHIP IS THE SAVING GRACE of aging. Afternoons spent with a like-minded soul, in a wedge of sun, when the talk turns to gossip and memory, to yearning and fears, to advice that gets tried on and lived in. A square of shared chocolate. Jokes that get more laughs than they deserve. That comfortable silence. A few years ago, Sonny Kleinfield, a New York Times reporter who has authored seven books, went in search of a most atypical friendship - a bond between someone quite old and someone vividly young.