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"I've never thought of myself as a comedian," says Art of the years he spent making a household name for himself as the good-natured humbler Ed Norton. He tried hard to avoid being typed, and increasingly, work on Broadway came his way, culminating in stardom in The Odd Couple.
Second Banana. His success onstage coincided with failure off. He was drinking heavily. In 1965 he and his first wife were divorced. Recalls Carney: "I was at the point where I needed a shot of Scotch the minute I opened my eyes in the morning." It took Alcoholics Anonymous, treatment with Antabuse and his happy second marriage a few years later to pull him out. He has been on the wagon for a year with only occasional backsliding. "You don't lick all your problems," says Art, "but I've got most of mine under control now."
On his way to the stage on Oscar night, it crossed Art's mind to say in his acceptance speech: "You're looking at an actor whose price has just doubled." He did not say it, but it is true. Offers are beginning to come in. There may be a sequel to Harry, or it could become a TV series. But Art has reservations: "I fear that warm and wonderful character would become too diffused and little more than a cliche." For the first time in his career, he is on the brink of making big money and having new options. In his Beverly Hills hotel, his phone never stops ringing. He takes a call from Gleason. "What did you do last night?" "I went to see Chinatown," jokes Art. Then he smiles. His days of being anyone's second banana are over. Art Carney is a bankable actor.