A tale of two actors with the same interests and problems but with different ways of handling them

Source: http://www.crazydaysandnights.net

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A tale of two actors with the same interests and problems but with different ways of handling them.

Actor #1, who is deceased, is very well known from two TV shows he starred in.

The first was a sitcom based on a movie and a play and featured him paired up with an actor meant to represent his exact opposite. The second was a crime drama with a medical theme.

In between the two shows, his gambling, primarily on horse racing, as well as a divorce found him in debt to the wrong people who threatened him with physical harm unless they were paid.

He went to the police who in turn put him touch with the feds. He wore a wire and the people he owed money to, who were already under investigation, went to jail.

Jack Klugman
The Odd Couple
Quincy M.E.

Actor #2, who is still alive, is even more famous than Actor #1.

In fact, he is part of popular culture.

A TV show he starred in was not that successful while running the first time but became huge in syndication leading to movies and other versions of the show set in different time frames with different casts.

He was also in a popular crime drama that ran for several seasons.

Like Actor #1, he liked to play the horses and also had divorces and went into debt to the wrong people.

Unlike Actor #1, he tried to resolve the problem himself.

They bled him dry until they were put away on unrelated charges.

There are allegations the people he owed money to had something to do with the mysterious death of a family member.

William Shatner
Star Trek, Boston Legal
Mysterious death of a family member: Wife Nerine Shatner found dead in their pool