| Jackie Gleason | |
|---|---|
 Gleason as Minnesota Fats in The Hustler (1961) |
|
| Born | Herbert Walton Gleason, Jr. February 26, 1916 Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York |
| Died | June 24, 1987 (aged 71) Lauderhill, Florida |
| Years active | 1941-1986 |
| Spouse(s) | Genevieve Halford (1936–1970) Beverly McKittrick (1970–1975) Marilyn Taylor (1975–1987) |
Herbert Walton Gleason, Jr. Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northeastern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Events 972 - Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces takes place Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Lauderhill is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. , baptized John Herbert "Jackie" Gleason (February 26, 1916 – June 24, 1987) was an iconic American comedian, actor and musician. Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 972 - Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces takes place Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience primarily by making them laugh An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a
One of the most popular stars of early television, Gleason was respected for both comedic and dramatic roles. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic However, his major legacy was his brash visual and verbal comedy styling, especially as delivered by the character Ralph Kramden on the pioneering sitcom The Honeymooners. The Honeymooners debuted as a half-hour series on October 1 1955. The Honeymooners debuted as a half-hour series on October 1 1955.
Contents |
Biography
The early years
Gleason was born in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, the son of Mae, a subway change-booth attendant, and Herb Gleason, an insurance auditor. Bedford-Stuyvesant (pron \ˈstī-və-sənt\ (also known as Bed-Stuy) is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City, USA, borough New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous [1] One of two sons of a father from Ireland who abandoned the family (his brother died when Jackie was a boy), Gleason was raised by a loving but troubled, overworked Irish mother who died when he was 19. (Gleason sometimes pushed the date of death back three years to 16; biographer William A. Henry III wrote of Gleason's tendency to both exaggerate and obscure his hardscrabble childhood. William A Henry III (1950-1994 was an American cultural Critic and Author. ) He attended but did not graduate from Bushwick High School. His first recognition as an entertainer came on Broadway, when he appeared in Follow the Girls. Broadway theater, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located
By the 1940s, Gleason was in the movies, first at Warner Brothers as "Jackie C. Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and Gleason" in such films as Navy Blues with Ann Sheridan and Martha Raye, and All Through the Night with Humphrey Bogart. Ann Sheridan ( February 21, 1915 &ndash January 21, 1967) was an American Film actress. Martha Raye ( August 27, 1916 &ndash October 19, 1994) was an American comic actress and standards singer who performed Then at Columbia Pictures for the B military comedy Tramp, Tramp, Tramp; and finally at Twentieth Century-Fox (Gleason played the Glenn Miller band's bassist in Orchestra Wives). }} Columbia Pictures Industries Inc is an American Film production and distribution company Alton Glenn Miller ( March 1 1904 &ndash presumably December 15 1944) was an American Jazz musician and
But Gleason — whom Orson Welles in due course tagged "The Great One" — didn't make a strong impression in Hollywood at first. George Orson Welles (May 6 1915 – October 10 1985 was an Academy Award -winning director, writer actor and producer for film stage radio and television At the same time, he developed a well-received nightclub act that included both comedy and music. He also became somewhat known for hosting all-night parties — swapping stories, flanked by attractive women — at his hotel suite. "Anyone who knew Jackie Gleason in the 1940s," wrote CBS historian Robert Metz, "would tell you The Fat Man would never make it. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. His pals at Lindy's watched him spend money as fast as he soaked up the booze. " Metz also noted the legend that Gleason one night hired a full orchestra just to keep him company. Henry has written that Gleason had a reputation as a paradox even then: a man who could be excessively generous one moment and excessively cruel the next.
Enter television
Gleason's first big break arrived in 1949, when he landed the role of blunt but softhearted aircraft worker Chester A. Riley for the first television version of radio hit The Life of Riley. The Life of Riley, with William Bendix in the title role was a popular Radio Situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 (William Bendix originated the role on radio, but was unable to take the television role, at first, due to film commitments. William Bendix ( January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an Academy Award -nominated American film Actor. ) The show received modest ratings but positive reviews; however, Gleason — according to Metz — left the show thinking he could do better things.
The Life of Riley finally became a television hit in the early 1950s with William Bendix in the role he popularized on radio, and this version has been widely rebroadcast. A film-originated program, the original Gleason version survives, but episodes have rarely been aired on cable television. By that time, however, Gleason's nightclub act began receiving attention from New York City's inner circle and the small DuMont Television Network. The City of New York The DuMont Television Network was the world's first commercial Television network, beginning operation in the United States in 1946
"And awa-aa-ay we go!"
Gleason was hired to host DuMont's Cavalcade of Stars variety hour in 1950, balancing glitzy entertainment and his comic versatility. The DuMont Television Network was the world's first commercial Television network, beginning operation in the United States in 1946 The Jackie Gleason Show was the name given to a series of popular Television Shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 He framed the show with splashy dance numbers, developed sketch characters he would refine over the next decade, and became enough of a presence that CBS wooed and won him over to their network in 1952 (his show was one of DuMont's few major hits).
Renamed The Jackie Gleason Show, it soon became the country's second-highest rated television show. The Jackie Gleason Show was the name given to a series of popular Television Shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 Gleason amplified the show with even splashier opening dance numbers, inspired by the Busby Berkley screen dance routines and featuring the precision-choreographed June Taylor Dancers. Busby Berkeley ( November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) born William Berkeley Enos in Los Angeles California, was a highly See also, Choreography (literally "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" (circular dance see chorea) and "γραφή" June Taylor ( 14 December 1917 - 16 May 2004) was an American choreographer Following the dance performance, he did an opening monologue. Then, accompanied by "a little travelin' music" ("That's A-Plenty," a Dixieland chestnut from 1914), he would shuffle toward the wing, clapping his hands inversely and hollering, "And awa-a-aay we go!" The phrase became one of his trademarks and a national catchphrase.
Gleason continued developing comic characters including Reginald Van Gleason III, the top-hatted millionaire with a taste for both the good life ('Ummmmmmm-boy! that's good booze!) and the wild invention or fantasy; boisterous, boorish Rudy the Repairman; gregarious Joe the Bartender, with friendly words for the never-seen Mr. Dennehy who always entered his bar first; and, especially, the Poor Soul, a silent character who could and often did come to grief in the least expected places or show sweet gratitude at things no more complicated than being allowed to share a newspaper on a subway.
A regular riot: The Honeymoon begins
By far his most popular character was blustery bus driver Ralph Kramden, who lived with his tart but tenderhearted wife, Alice Kramden, in a two-room Brooklyn walkup, one floor below his best friend, sense-challenged New York City sewer worker Ed Norton ("The first time I took the test for the sewer I flunked — I couldn't even float!") and his likewise tart wife, Trixie. The Honeymooners debuted as a half-hour series on October 1 1955. The Honeymooners debuted as a half-hour series on October 1 1955. Norton was portrayed from the start by Art Carney. Arthur William Matthew “Art” Carney ( November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an Academy Award - and Emmy Award -winning
Possibly inspired by another radio hit, The Bickersons, and largely drawn from Gleason's harsh Brooklyn childhood ("Every neighborhood in Brooklyn had its Ralph Kramdens," he said years later), these sketches became known as The Honeymooners, and customarily centered around Ralph's incessant get-rich-quick schemes, the tensions between his ambitiousness and Norton's scatter-brained aid and comfort, and the inevitable clash ("Bang! Zoooooom!"; "One of these days . The Bickersons was a Radio comedy sketch series that began in 1946 on NBC with Don Ameche and Frances Langford, moving the following . . one of these days . . . pow! right in the kisser!; "I'll give you the world of tomorrow, Alice — you're goin' to the moon!") when sensible Alice tried pulling her husband's head back down from the clouds. However, in the later episodes, it was always clear that Kramden's threats were the bluffs of a blowhard; Alice never backed down, and invariably he would hug her at the end of the show, proclaiming, "Baby, you're the greatest!"
The Honeymooners first appeared on Cavalcade of Stars on October 5, 1951, with Carney as Norton (a cop in the first sketch) and spirited character actress Pert Kelton as Alice. The Jackie Gleason Show was the name given to a series of popular Television Shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 Pert Kelton ( October 14 1907 &ndash October 30 1968) was an American vaudeville movie radio and television actress who portrayed the Darker and fiercer than they later became with Audrey Meadows as Alice, the sketches proved popular with critics and viewers. Audrey Meadows ( February 8, 1922 – February 3, 1996) was an American actress best known for her role as the Deadpan As Kramden, Gleason played a frustrated bus driver with a battle-axe wife in harrowingly realistic arguments; when Meadows (who was 19 years younger than Kelton) took over the role after Kelton was blacklisted, the tone softened considerably. "Hollywood Ten" redirects here For the 1950 short documentary film see The Hollywood Ten. In fact, early sketches come as something of a shock to some modern critics.
When Gleason moved to CBS, Kelton was not part of the move since her name had turned up in Red Channels, the book that listed and described reputed Communists and/or Communist sympathizers in television and radio. Red Channels The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television is an anti-Communist tract published in the United States at the height of the Red Scare. Gleason reluctantly let her leave the cast, with a cover story for the media that she had "heart trouble. " He also turned down Audrey Meadows as Kelton's replacement, at least at first. Meadows wrote in her memoir that she slipped back to audition again and frumped herself up to convince Gleason that she could handle the role of a frustrated but loving working-class wife (although this story has been disputed repeatedly). Rounding out the cast with an understated but effective role, Joyce Randolph played Trixie Norton. Joyce Randolph (born Joyce Sirola on October 21, 1924) is a Finnish American actress best known for playing Trixie Norton on (Elaine Stritch had played the role as a tall and attractive blonde in the first sketch, but she was quickly replaced by the plainer-looking Randolph (some critics have speculated that Gleason didn't want Carney's character to have a more attractive wife). Elaine Stritch (born February 2 1926) Randolph went on to make the character her own, just as Meadows did with Alice.
The Honeymooners sketches proved popular enough that Gleason gambled on making it a separate series entirely in 1955. The Honeymooners debuted as a half-hour series on October 1 1955. These are the so-called Classic 39 episodes, although they became classic years after they aired since the show didn't draw strongly in the ratings at the time. But, they were filmed with a new DuMont process, Electronicam, which allowed live television to be preserved on high-quality film. Electronicam was a television recording system that shot an image on film and television at the same time through a common lens That turned out to be the most prescient move the show made, since — a decade after they first aired — the half-hour Honeymooners in syndicated reruns started to build a loyal and growing audience that made the show a television icon. Pop icon is a Celebrity whose fame in pop culture constitutes a defining characteristic of a given society or era Its popularity was such that even today, a life-sized statue of Jackie Gleason, in full uniform as bus driver Ralph Kramden, stands outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City. The Honeymooners debuted as a half-hour series on October 1 1955. The Port Authority Bus Terminal is the main gateway for interstate buses into Manhattan in New York City. The City of New York
The mood musician
Throughout the 1950s and '60s, Gleason enjoyed a secondary music career, lending his name to a series of best-selling "mood music" albums with jazz overtones for Capitol Records. Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Capitol Records is a major United States -based Record label owned by EMI and located in Hollywood California and New York City as Gleason felt there was a ready market for romantic instrumentals. He recalled seeing Clark Gable play love scenes in movies, and the romance was, in his words, "magnified a thousand percent" by background music. Clark Gable (February 1 &ndashNovember 16) was an iconic American Actor nicknamed "The King of Hollywood" in his heyday Gleason reasoned, "If Gable needs music, a guy in Brooklyn must be desperate!"
Gleason could not read or write music in a conventional sense; he was said to have conceived melodies in his head and described them vocally to assistants. These included the well-remembered themes of both The Jackie Gleason Show ("Melancholy Serenade") and The Honeymooners ("You're My Greatest Love"). There has been some controversy over the years as to how much credit Gleason should have received for the finished products; Henry has written that beyond the possible conceptualizing of many of the songs, Gleason had no direct involvement (such as conducting) in the making of these recordings. Red Nichols, a jazz great who had fallen into hard times and led one of the groups recorded, did not even get session-leader pay from Gleason.
Some of that music turns up once in a while today. "It's Such a Happy Day," which often turned up as a theme behind numerous Gleason television sketches, was used as background music for a jaunty scene involving heart transplant recipient Minnie Driver bicycling around her Chicago neighborhood in the 2000 romantic comedy Return to Me. Minnie Driver (born January 31 1970) is an Emmy - BAFTA - and Academy Award -nominated English actress and Return to Me is a Romantic movie rated PG. Return to Me was directed by Bonnie Hunt and starred David Duchovny as Bob and
The American Scene Magazine
Gleason restored his original variety hour — including The Honeymooners — in 1956, but abandoned the show in 1957, leaving weekly television for a year. He returned in 1958 with a half-hour show that featured Buddy Hackett (Carney and Meadows were not part of this program). Buddy Hackett ( August 31, 1924 &ndash June 30, 2003) was an American Comedian and Actor. However, this version of the Gleason show did not catch on.
His next foray into television was with a game show, You're in the Picture, which survived its disastrous premiere episode only because of Gleason's now-legendary humorous on-the-air apology in the following week's time slot. You're in the Picture was an American television Game show that aired on CBS for only one true episode on January 20, 1961 ("It laid . . . the biggest . . . bomb!") For the rest of the scheduled run, the program became a talk show that was once again named The Jackie Gleason Show.
In 1962, he resurrected his variety show with a little more splashiness (the June Taylor Dancers' routines became more elaborately choreographed and costumed than before) and a new hook — a fictitious general-interest magazine through whose format Gleason trotted out his old characters in new scenarios. He also added another catchphrase to the American vernacular: "How sweet it is!" (he first uttered the phrase in the 1962 film Papa's Delicate Condition). Papa's Delicate Condition is a 1963 Comedy film starring Jackie Gleason and Glynis Johns.
The Jackie Gleason Show: The American Scene Magazine was a hit and continued in this format for four seasons. Each show began with Gleason delivering a monologue, and commenting on the loud outfits of band leader Sammy Spear. Then the "magazine" features would be trotted out, from Hollywood gossip (reported by comedienne Barbara Heller) to news flashes (played for laughs, with a stock company of second bananas, chorus girls, and midgets). Comedienne Alice Ghostley occasionally appeared as a downtrodden tenement resident, sitting on her front step and listening to boorish boyfriend Gleason for several minutes. Alice Margaret Ghostley ( August 14 1923 – September 21 2007) was a Tony Award -winning American actress After the boyfriend took his leave, the smitten Ghostley would exclaim, "I'm the luckiest girl in the world!" Veteran comics Johnny Morgan, Sid Fields, and Hank Ladd were occasionally seen opposite Gleason in comedy sketches.
The final sketch was always set in Joe the Bartender's saloon, with Joe singing "My Gal Sal" and greeting his regular customer, the unseen Mr. Dennehy (actually the TV audience, with Gleason speaking to the camera), who was named after a neighbor who took in Gleason after he was orphaned. During the sketch, Joe the Bartender would tell Dennehy about an article he read in the fictitious "American Scene" magazine, holding a copy across the bar. It had two covers: one featured the New York skyline and the other palm trees (after the show was moved to Florida in 1964). Then, Joe would bring out Frank Fontaine as Crazy Guggenheim, who would regale Joe with the latest adventures of his neighborhood pals, and sometimes showed Joe his current Top Cat comic book. Frank Fontaine ( 19 April 1920 – 4 August 1978) was an American Comedian and Singer. Top Cat is a Hanna-Barbera Prime time animated television series which ran from September 27, 1961 to April 18, Joe usually asked Crazy to sing, almost always a sentimental ballad sung in a lilting baritone. (Fontaine had played the same sort of goofy Brooklynite character, then called "John L. Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. C. Sivoney," on radio's The Jack Benny Program; his wider exposure on Gleason's show resulted in the release of his recordings of 'old standards' on the ABC-Paramount record label. Jack Benny (born Benjamin Kubelsky February 14, 1894 - December 26, 1974) was an American Comedian, vaudevillian ABC Records started in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records the record label of Am-Par Record Corporation (a subsidiary of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres )
Gleason also restored The Honeymooners, first with Sue Ane Langdon and then with Sheila MacRae as Alice and with Jane Kean as Trixie. Sue Ane Langdon (born March 8, 1936) is an American Actress best known for her performances in two Elvis Presley movies Sheila MacRae (born Sheila Margaret Stephens on 24 September, 1924, in London, England) is an actress and author Jane Kean (born April 10, 1924) is an American actress. Born in Hartford Connecticut, Kean and her sister Betty formed a comedy By 1964, Gleason had moved the production from New York to Miami Beach, reportedly because he liked the year-round access to the golf course at nearby Inverrary, where he built his final home. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous His closing line became, almost invariably, "As always, the Miami Beach audience is the greatest audience in the world!" In 1966, he finally abandoned the American Scene Magazine format and converted the show into standard variety hours with guest performers.
Gleason kicked off the 1966–67 season with new, color episodes of The Honeymooners. Art Carney returned as Ed Norton, with Sheila MacRae as Alice and Jane Kean as Trixie. The stories were remakes of the 1950s "world tour" episodes, in which Kramden and Norton win a slogan contest and take their wives to international destinations. Each of the nine episodes was a full-scale musical comedy, with Gleason and company performing original songs by Lyn Duddy and Jerry Bresler. Occasionally the Gleason hour would be devoted to musicals with a single theme (a college comedy, a political satire, etc. ), with the stars abandoning their Honeymooners roles for different (and sometimes seriocomic) character roles.
This was the format of the show until its cancellation in 1970, except for the 1968–1969 season, which had no hour-long Honeymooners episodes. In that season, The Honeymooners — as in the beginning — were presented only in short sketches.
At first, the musicals pushed Gleason back into the top five ratings — but it wasn't long before audiences began declining. The reasons varied, from MacRae and Kean being seen as subpar in relation to Audrey Meadows and Joyce Randolph (with opportunities for comparison heightened by the expanding syndication of the Classic 39) to increasing recycling of old Honeymooners plots into new musical settings. In the last original Honeymooners episode aired on CBS, "Operation Protest," Ralph encounters the youth-protest movement of the late-1960s and early-1970s. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network.
According to Metz, Gleason, who had signed a deal in the 1950s that included a guaranteed $100,000 annual payment for 20 years even if he never went on the air, wanted The Honeymooners to be just a portion of his format, but CBS wanted another season of nothing but The Honeymooners. The network had just canceled mainstay variety shows hosted by Red Skelton and Ed Sullivan because they had become too expensive to produce and attracted, in the executives' estimation, too old an audience. Richard Bernard “Red” Skelton ( July 18, 1913 &ndash September 17, 1997) was an American comedian who was best known as a top Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan ( September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American Entertainment Writer Gleason simply stopped doing the show by 1970 and finally left CBS when his contract expired. As Metz noted, Gleason was "anxious" to get a deal "more to his liking than another year of The Honeymooners. "
Dramatic Gleason
Gleason had a dramatic side that the comic pathos of the Poor Soul hinted at often enough. He earned acclaim for live television drama performances in The Laugh Maker on CBS's Studio One (where he played a semi-autobiographical role as fictional TV comedian Jerry Giles), and in William Saroyan's The Time of Your Life, also for CBS, as an episode of the legendary anthology Playhouse 90. The Laugh Maker is a 1953 television drama starring Jackie Gleason as an unsympathetic comedian and Art Carney as a writer Studio One is a long-running American dramatic radio - television Anthology series, created in 1947 by the 26-year-old Canadian William Saroyan ( August 31, 1908 - May 18 1981) was an Armenian American Author. The Time of Your Life a 1939 five-act play by American Playwright William Saroyan. CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. Playhouse 90, a 90-minute dramatic television anthology series was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1961 for a total of 133 episodes
But he won acclaim plus an award nomination for his portrayal of Minnesota Fats in the 1961 Paul Newman movie The Hustler, in which Gleason (who had hustled pool growing up in Brooklyn) made his own pool shots. Minnesota Fats was the Pool hustler in Walter Tevis 's novel ''The Hustler''. Paul Leonard Newman (January 26 1925 &ndash September 26 2008 was an Academy Award The Hustler is a 1961 American Drama film. It tells the story of small-time pool hustler, "Fast Eddie" Felson and his desire to prove He earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for the role. "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. He was also well-received as a beleaguered boxing manager in the movie version of Rod Serling's Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962), which also featured Anthony Quinn, Mickey Rooney, and (under his birth name, Cassius Clay) Muhammad Ali. Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling ( December 25, 1924 &ndash June 28, 1975) was an American Screenwriter, best known Requiem for a Heavyweight was originally a teleplay written by Rod Serling and produced for the Live television show Playhouse 90 For other people named Anthony Quinn see Anthony Quinn (disambiguation Anthony Quinn ( April 21, 1915 &ndash Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr; September 23, 1920) is an American Film Actor and Entertainer whose Biography Early life Cassius Clay Jr was born on January 17 1942 Biography Early life Cassius Clay Jr was born on January 17 1942 Gleason also played a world-weary Army sergeant, with Steve McQueen supporting him as a Gomer Pyle-like private and Tuesday Weld as his love interest, in Soldier in the Rain (1962). Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen (March 24 1930 – November 7 1980 was an American movie Actor, nicknamed "The King of Cool" Gomer Pyle was the simple-minded gas station attendant and later Auto mechanic in the American TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show Tuesday Weld (born August 27, 1943) is an Emmy - and Academy Award -nominated Golden Globe -winning American film and television Soldier in the Rain is a 1963 comedy-drama film about the friendship between an aging obese Army Master Sergeant ( Jackie Gleason) and a young country bumpkin He wrote, produced and starred in his own film, Gigot, a notorious box-office disaster in 1962, in which he plays a mute poor janitor who befriends and rescues a prostitute and her small daughter (the film was directed by Gene Kelly). Gigot was an American Motion picture released in 1962 by 20th Century Fox. He played the lead in the Otto Preminger all-star flop Skidoo (1968), co-starring Groucho Marx, in which Gleason's character and half the cast is imprisoned in Alcatraz and trips on LSD (including the guards, played by Slim Pickens, Harry Nilsson, and Fred Clark). Otto Ludwig Preminger ( December 5[[ 906]]&ndash April 23[[ 986]] was an Austrian born Film director who moved from the theatre to Hollywood Skidoo is a 1968 Comedy film directed by Otto Preminger, written by Doran William Cannon and released by Paramount Pictures Alcatraz Island, sometimes informally referred to as simply Alcatraz or locally as the Rock, is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay Louis Burton Lindley Jr (June 29 1919 &ndash December 8 1983 better known by the Stage name Slim Pickens, was an American Rodeo performer and Harry Edward Nilsson III ( June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994) was an American Songwriter, singer Pianist, and Frederick Leonard Clark (March 19 1914 &ndash December 5 1968 was an American Film Character actor. Three years later, William Friedkin wanted to cast Gleason as "Popeye" Doyle in The French Connection (Friedkin's second choice after Paul Newman) but between Gigot and Skidoo, the studio refused to offer Gleason the lead in the film, even though he wanted to play it. William Friedkin (born August 29 1935 in Chicago, Illinois) is an Academy Award-winning American movie and television director Popeye Doyle is a fictional New York City Police detective portrayed by actor Gene Hackman in the 1971 For other uses see The French Connection. The French Connection is a 1971 Hollywood Crime film directed Paul Leonard Newman (January 26 1925 &ndash September 26 2008 was an Academy Award Instead, that year Gleason wound up in How to Commit Marriage (1969) with Bob Hope and the movie version of Woody Allen's play Don't Drink the Water (1969), both flops. How to Commit Marriage is a 1969 comedy Film directed by Norman Panama, featuring Bob Hope and Jackie Gleason Bob Hope, KBE KCSG ( May 29, 1903 &ndash July 27, 2003) was an American comedian and actor who appeared in Woody Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; December 1 1935 is an American Film director, Writer, Actor, Comedian, and
More than a decade passed before Gleason had another hit film. Then, he turned up as vulgar sheriff Buford T. Justice in the popular Smokey and the Bandit series. Sheriff Buford T Justice is the fictional character played by Jackie Gleason in the movies Smokey and the Bandit (1977 Smokey and Smokey and the Bandit is a 1977 movie starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick (After Burt Reynolds declined to do the third film in the series, Gleason was signed up for a dual role as Smokey and the Bandit, but preview audiences are said to have been confused and Jerry Reed's role from the first two movies was promptly beefed up to replace Gleason's footage as the Bandit and make up for Reynolds' absence. Burton Leon Reynolds Jr (born February 11 1936 is an American Actor. Smokey and the Bandit Part III (often referred to by the shorter title Smokey and the Bandit 3) is the 1983 sequel to Smokey and the Bandit Jerry Reed Hubbard ( March 20, 1937 &ndash August 31, 2008) known professionally as Jerry Reed was an American )
In the 1980s, Gleason earned positive reviews playing opposite Laurence Olivier in the HBO dramatic two-man special, Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson. Laurence Kerr Olivier Baron Mr Halpern and Mr Johnson is a 1983 TV movie featuring Jackie Gleason and Laurence Olivier. He also delivered a critically acclaimed performance as an infirm but acerbic and somewhat Archie Bunker-like character in the Tom Hanks comedy-drama Nothing in Common (Gleason had turned down the All in the Family television series in the previous decade). } Archibald "Archie" Bunker was a Fictional character in the long-running and top-rated American television Sitcom All in the Family Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks (born July 9 1956 is an two-time Academy award and Emmy winning American Film actor, director Nothing in Common is a 1986 Comedy-drama Film, directed by Garry Marshall and starring Tom Hanks and comedian All in the Family is an American Situation comedy that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12 1971 to April
The Honeymoon wasn't over yet
Gleason did two Jackie Gleason Show specials for CBS after giving up his regular show in the 1970s, including "Honeymooners segments" and a Reginald Van Gleason III sketch in which the gregarious millionaire was shown as a clinical alcoholic. When the CBS deal expired, Gleason signed with NBC, but ideas reportedly came and went before he ended up doing a series of Honeymooners specials for ABC. The American Broadcasting Company ( ABC) is an American Television network. Art Carney and Audrey Meadows reprised their original roles, but for no clear reason Jane Kean was cast as Trixie instead of Joyce Randolph. Jane Kean (born April 10, 1924) is an American actress. Born in Hartford Connecticut, Kean and her sister Betty formed a comedy Gleason helmed four of these ABC specials during the mid-1970s. Gleason and Art Carney also made a television movie, Izzy and Moe, which aired on CBS in 1985. Izzy & Moe is a 1985 made for TV prohibition-era Crime / Comedy film, starring Jackie Gleason and Art Carney
In 1985, three decades after the Classic 39 began filming, Gleason revealed he had carefully preserved kinescopes of his live 1950s programs in a vault for future use — including Honeymooners sketches with Pert Kelton as Alice. Kinescope (ˈkɪnɨskoʊp originally referred to the Cathode ray tube used in Television receivers as named by inventor Vladimir Zworykin in 1929 Pert Kelton ( October 14 1907 &ndash October 30 1968) was an American vaudeville movie radio and television actress who portrayed the These "Lost Episodes," as they came to be called, were initially previewed at the Museum of Television and Radio in New York City, then first aired on the Showtime cable network in 1985 and were later syndicated to local TV stations. The Paley Center for Media, formerly The Museum of Television & Radio ( MT&R) and The Museum of Broadcasting, founded in 1975 by William S The City of New York Showtime is a subscription television Brand used by a number of channels and platforms around the world but primarily refers to a group of channels in the United
Some of these include earlier and arguably livelier and fresher versions of exactly the same plotlines later copied for the Classic 39 episodes. One of them, a Christmas holiday episode duplicated several years later with Audrey Meadows as Alice, delivered every one of Gleason's best-known characters — Ralph Kramden, the Poor Soul, Reginald Van Gleason, Joe the Bartender — in and out of the Kramden apartment, the storyline hooking around a wild Christmas party being thrown up the block from the Kramdens' building by Reginald Van Gleason at Joe the Bartender's place.
Death
Nothing in Common proved to be Gleason's final film role. A six-pack-a-day smoker for years, he was fighting colon cancer, liver cancer and thrombosed hemorrhoids even while he worked on the film. Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or large bowel cancer, includes Cancerous growths in the colon, Rectum and Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC also called hepatoma) is a primary malignancy (cancer of the Liver. He was hospitalized at one point in 1986–87 but checked himself out and died quietly at age 71 at his Inverrary home. In the same year, Miami Beach honored his contributions to the city and its tourism by renaming the Miami Beach Auditorium — where he had done his television show once moving to Florida — as the Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts. Jackie Gleason is interred in an outdoor mausoleum at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery in Miami, Florida. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the Below the graceful Roman columns, at the base, is the inscription "And Away We Go. "
Tributes
On June 30, 1988, the Sunset Park Bus Depot in Brooklyn was renamed the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot in honor of the native Brooklynite. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar) Sunset Park is a Neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA The New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA and its subsidiary the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA operates local and express Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. (Ralph Kramden worked for the fictitious Gotham Bus Company. ) A statue of Gleason as Ralph in his bus driver's uniform was dedicated in August, 2000 in New York City, by the cable TV channel TV Land. The City of New York TV Land (originally Nick at Nite's TV Land) is an American Cable television network launched April 29, 1996. The statue is located at 40th Street and 8th Avenue, at the entrance of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey bus terminal. New Jersey ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. The incription reads, "Ralph Kramden: New Yorker, Bus Driver, Dreamer". It was featured briefly in the film World Trade Center. World Trade Center is a 2006 American Drama film, directed by Oliver Stone and based on the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks Another such statue stands at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in North Hollywood, California, showing Gleason in his famous "And awa-a-ay we go!" pose. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences ( ATAS) is the Los Angeles - organization which awards the Primetime Emmys. North Hollywood is a district in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles California.
Local signs on the Brooklyn Bridge, which indicate to the driver that they are now entering Brooklyn, have the Gleason phrase "How Sweet It Is!" as part of the sign. The Brooklyn Bridge, one of the oldest Suspension bridges in the United States, stretches 5989 feet (1825 m over the East River connecting the
A city park with raquetball & basketball courts as well as a children's playground was named 'Jackie Gleason Park' near his home in Inverrary, Florida.
A television movie called Gleason was aired by CBS on October 13, 2002, taking a deeper look into Gleason's life; it took liberties with some of the Gleason story but featured his troubled home life, a side of Gleason few really saw. Events 54 - Nero ascends to the Roman throne 409 - Vandals and Alans crossed the Pyrenees See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. He had two daughters by his first wife (Gleason's daughter Linda is the mother of actor Jason Patric); they divorced, and Gleason endured a brief second marriage before finding a happy union with his third wife, June Taylor's sister Marilyn. Jason Patric (born June 17, 1966) is an American Film, Television and stage Actor, and Jackie Gleason's grandson The film also showed backstage scenes from his best-known work. Brad Garrett, from Everybody Loves Raymond, portrayed Gleason (after Mark Addy had to drop out). Brad Garrett (born April 14, 1960) is an Emmy Award winning American television/ voice Actor and Stand-up comedian. Everybody Loves Raymond is an Emmy Award -winning American Television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13 Mark Addy Johnson (born January 14, 1964, York) is a British Actor. Garrett was made up effectively to resemble Gleason in his prime. His height (6'8", about 8 inches taller than Gleason) created some logistical problems on the sets, which had to be specially made so that Garrett did not tower over everyone else. Also, castmembers wore platform shoes when standing next to Garrett. The shoes can be seen in one shot during a Honeymooners sequence on Alice.
In 2003, after an absence of more than thirty years, the color, musical versions of The Honeymooners from the 1960s Jackie Gleason Show in Miami Beach were returned to television over the Good Life TV (now AmericanLife TV) cable network. The Honeymooners debuted as a half-hour series on October 1 1955. In 2005, a movie version of The Honeymooners appeared in theatres, with a twist — a primarily African-American cast, headed by Cedric the Entertainer. The Honeymooners is a 2005 family comedy film, directed by John Schultz which stars Cedric the Entertainer, Gabrielle Union Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964) best known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American Actor and (There had been reports a few years earlier that Roseanne co-star John Goodman would bring The Honeymooners to film, playing Ralph, but these plans never materialized). Roseanne is an American sitcom broadcast on ABC from 1988 to 1997 starring Stand-up comedian Roseanne John Stephen Goodman (born June 20 1952 is a Golden Globe - and Emmy -winning American Actor. This version, however, bore only a passing resemblance to Gleason's original series and was widely panned by critics.
Gleason and UFOs
Gleason was very interested in reports of unidentified flying objects, and even had a house built in the shape of one. During the 1950s, he was a semi-regular guest on the paranormal-themed overnight radio show hosted by John Nebel, and wrote the introduction to Donald Bain's biography of Nebel[2]. Long John Nebel (born John Zimmerman) ( June 11, 1911 – April 10, 1978) was an influential New York City Talk radio Like Nebel, Gleason generally seemed like a curious skeptic. In ordinary usage skepticism or scepticism ( Greek 'σκέπτομαι' skeptomai, to look about to consider see also spelling differences According to respected UFO researcher Jerome Clark,
- "Jackie Gleason was indeed a UFO buff. Jerome Clark (born 1946 is an American researcher and Writer, specializing in Unidentified flying objects and other anomalous phenomena he is also a He also had a keen interest in psychic phenomena. The word psychic (ˈsaɪkɨk from the Greek psychikos—"of the soul mental" refers to the claimed ability to perceive things hidden from the normal senses His views, while sympathetic, were also hard-headed, and he was not a credulous enthusiast. "[3]
According to ufologist Timothy Good (in his books Alien Liaison and Alien Contact), after Gleason's death his wife reported that one day in 1973 Gleason had come home extremely shaken. Timothy Good is a British Ufologist and professional Violinist. He confided to her that because of Gleason's interest in UFOs, U. S. President Richard Nixon, who was a friend of his, had arranged for him to view bodies of extraterrestrials at Homestead Air Force Base, Florida under conditions of extreme secrecy. Homestead Joint Air Reserve Base (formerly Homestead Air Force Base) is a United States Air Force base located in South Miami-Dade County Florida adjacent Gleason had found the experience very troubling.
Gleason was an emphatic Republican and personal friend of U.S. President Richard M. Nixon, who had a vacation home near Gleason's in Florida. The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by Vacation property is a niche in the real estate market dealing with residences used for holiday vacations (eg Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The two shared an interest in golfing and in the importance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Work
Television
|
Stage productions
|
Filmography
|
|
|
Discography
|
|
|
Further reading
- William A. Henry III, The Great One: The Life and Legend of Jackie Gleason (New York: Doubleday, 1992).
- Robert Metz, CBS: Reflections in a Bloodshot Eye (New York, 1975).
References
- ^ Jackie Gleason Biography (1916-1987)
- ^ Bain, Donald, Long John Nebel: radio talk king, master salesman, and magnificent charlatan, New York: Macmillan, ISBN 0025059505
- ^ http://www.virtuallystrange.net/ufo/updates/2002/oct/m10-002.shtml
External links
- Jackie Gleason at Find A Grave
- Jackie Gleason at the Internet Broadway Database
- Jackie Gleason at the Internet Movie Database
- Jackie Gleason discography
- [1]
- [2]
- [3]
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gleason, Jackie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gleason, Herbert John |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | comedian, actor, and musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1916-02-26 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1987-6-24 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Lauderhill, Florida |
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic