Marty Ingels, star of the 1960s comedy "I'm Dickens, He's Fenster," died Wednesday at the age of 79.
His wife, Shirley Jones, issued a statement about her
husband's death, according to Fox News, saying, "He often drove me crazy, but there's not a day I won't miss him and love him to my core."
Ingels, who appeared on other television shows like "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Bewitched" and also ran a talent agency, married Jones in 1977. In her statement, Jones recalled their years together.
The two met in 1974. "He pursued her relentlessly, and many in Jones' inner circle were initially put off by Ingels' gruff demeanor and brazen approach," Fox quoted the statement. "As he himself said, 'I was a Jewish kid from Brooklyn and she was Miss America. A lot of people never got that. But Shirley always did.'"
They even wrote a book about their relationship, "Shirley & Marty: An Unlikely Love Story," published in 1990.
In a 2012 interview on Classic Television Showbiz, Ingels related how he came to be attracted to comedy. He battled his entire life with his older brother, Arthur, to find his own place. He was even born on Arthur's birthday.
"My perfect brother Arthur — I lived in the shadow of a brother that was perfect. Quarterback hero, handsome. If that weren't enough I was born on his birthday," Ingels related to CTS. "I lived in that shadow. My whole life was 'Look at Arthur! Look how great he is!' . . . The only thing was — he wasn't funny. So no big puzzle to figure out what makes people people. One day I said something — and everyone laughed. My brain went, 'Heyyyyyy! Listen to that! I'm loved!' It has served me well. I never became Billy Crystal, but it has served me well. "
Many went online to share their love of Ingels and their support for Jones.
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