Editing Jackie Gleason (section)

====''The Honeymooners''====
{{Main|The Honeymooners}}
[[File:Gleason meadows honeymooners 1955.jpg|thumb|Gleason as Ralph Kramden with [[Audrey Meadows]] as Alice, circa 1955|alt=Alice Kramden kissing Ralph after he gives her a bouquet]]
Gleason's most famous character by far was blustery bus driver Ralph Kramden. Drawn mainly from Gleason's harsh Brooklyn childhood, the Ralph Kramden sketches became known as ''The Honeymooners.'' The show was based on Ralph's many get-rich-quick schemes, his ambition, his antics with his best friend and neighbor, scatterbrained sewer worker Ed Norton, and clashes with his sensible wife, Alice, who typically pulled Ralph's head down from the clouds.

Gleason developed catchphrases he used on ''The Honeymooners'', such as threats to Alice: "One of these days, Alice, pow! right in the kisser" and "Bang! Zoom! To the Moon, Alice, to the Moon!"

''The Honeymooners'' originated from a sketch Gleason was developing with his show's writers. He said he had an idea he wanted to enlarge: a skit with a smart, quiet wife and her very vocal husband. He described that while the couple had their fights, underneath it all, they loved each other. Titles for the sketch were tossed around until someone came up with ''The Honeymooners''.<ref name=NewYorkMag>{{cite magazine|title=Gleason's Second Honeymoon|author=Hamill, Pete|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CLkBAAAAMBAJ&q=sammy%20birch%20gleason&pg=PA42|date=September 23, 1985|magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York Magazine]]|access-date=February 3, 2011}}</ref>

''The Honeymooners'' first appeared on ''Cavalcade of Stars'' on October 5, 1951, with Carney in a guest appearance as a cop (Norton did not appear until a few episodes later) and character actress [[Pert Kelton]] as Alice. Darker and fiercer than the milder later version with [[Audrey Meadows]] as Alice, the sketches proved popular with critics and viewers. In these early episodes with Kelton playing Alice, Gleason's frustrated bus driver character had a battleaxe of a wife, and the arguments between them were harrowingly realistic; when Meadows (who was 15 years younger than Kelton) took over the role after Kelton was [[Hollywood blacklist|blacklisted]], the tone of the episodes softened considerably.

When Gleason moved to CBS, Kelton was left behind; her name had been published in ''[[Red Channels]]'', a book that listed and described reputed communists (and communist sympathizers) who worked in television and radio, and CBS did not want to hire her. Gleason reluctantly let her be removed from the cast; the reason was covered up by telling the media that she had "heart trouble". At first, Gleason turned down Meadows as Kelton's replacement. Meadows wrote in her memoir that after her unsuccessful audition, she frumped herself up and slipped back in to audition again to convince Gleason that she could handle the role of a frustrated (but loving) working-class wife. Rounding out the cast, [[Joyce Randolph]] played Trixie, Ed Norton's wife. [[Elaine Stritch]] had played the role of a tall and attractive blonde in the first sketch but was quickly replaced by Randolph. Comedy writer [[Leonard B. Stern|Leonard Stern]] always felt ''The Honeymooners'' was more than sketch material and persuaded Gleason to make it into a full-hour-long episode.

In 1955, Gleason gambled on making it a [[The Honeymooners|separate series entirely]]. The result was the "Classic 39" episodes, which finished 19th in the ratings during their only season.<ref name="Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle 2007"/> They were filmed with a new DuMont process, [[Electronicam]]. Like [[kinescopes]], it preserved a live performance on film; unlike kinescopes (which were screenshots), the film was of higher quality and comparable to a motion picture.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dumonthistory.com/a4.html|title=Electronicam|publisher=DuMont Television Network Historical Website|author=Ingraham, Clarke}}</ref> Using this higher-quality video process turned out to be Gleason's most prescient move. A decade later, he aired the half-hour ''Honeymooners'' in syndicated reruns that began to build a loyal and growing audience, making the show a television [[Pop icon|icon]]. Its popularity was such that in 2000, a life-sized statue of Jackie Gleason, in uniform as bus driver Ralph Kramden, was installed outside the [[Port Authority Bus Terminal]] in New York City.

Gleason returned to a live show format for 1956–57, with short and long versions, including hour-long musicals. Ten years later, these musical presentations were reprised in color, with Sheila MacRae and Jane Keane as Alice and Trixie.

Audrey Meadows reappeared for one black-and-white remake of the '50s sketch "The Adoption," telecast January 8, 1966. Ten years later, she rejoined Gleason and Carney (with Jane Kean replacing Joyce Randolph) for several TV specials (one special from 1973 was shelved).

''The Jackie Gleason Show'' ended in June 1957. In 1959, Gleason discussed the possibility of bringing back ''The Honeymooners'' in new episodes; his dream was partially realized with a Kramden-Norton sketch on a CBS variety show in late 1960, and two more sketches on his hour-long CBS show ''The American Scene Magazine'' in 1962.