Rhiannon Hendricks
Several actresses have played the role of Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners over the years, including Pert Kelton, Audrey Meadows, and Sheila MacRae. Kelton originated the role of Ralph Kramden's acerbic and long-suffering wife in 1950 when The Honeymooners was a sketch on the Cavalcade of Stars variety show. When the sketch was developed into a series, Kelton was replaced by Meadows due to being blacklisted. Meadows played the character from 1955 to 1957 and became closely associated with the role, even reprising it on other shows. In the late 1960s, MacRae played Alice in musical-comedy episodes of The Honeymooners that were featured as part of The Jackie Gleason Show.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Actresses who played Alice on The Honeymooners | Pert Kelton, Audrey Meadows, Ginger Jones, Sheila MacRae |
| Year Pert Kelton played Alice Kramden | 1951 |
| Year Audrey Meadows played Alice Kramden | 1950s |
| Year Sheila MacRae played Alice Kramden | 1966-1970, 1973 |
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What You'll Learn
Pert Kelton played Alice Kramden in the original sketch
Pert Kelton was the original actress to play Alice Kramden, the long-suffering wife of Ralph Kramden, in the sketch that would eventually become "The Honeymooners". Kelton was a veteran comedy actress in film, radio, and television, and she was chosen by Jackie Gleason, who played Ralph Kramden, to star opposite him. Kelton was born in 1907 in Great Falls, Montana, and made her debut on stage at the age of three in Cape Town, Union of South Africa. She went on to perform in vaudeville and on Broadway, before moving to Hollywood in the late 1920s. In the 1930s, she was a prominent comedic actress in films such as "Bed of Roses" and "The Bowery".
Kelton's performances as Alice Kramden took place between 1950 and 1952, when "The Honeymooners" was a 10- or 15-minute playlet that appeared sporadically on Gleason's weekly TV variety show, "Cavalcade of Stars". The sketches formed the basis for the later "Honeymooners" sitcom, which debuted in 1955. However, Kelton was abruptly dropped from the role of Alice Kramden due to being blacklisted as a Communist sympathizer. Her producers gave the excuse that she had heart problems, but she was replaced by Audrey Meadows as Alice Kramden when "The Honeymooners" moved from the DuMont Television Network to CBS.
Kelton did, however, make a later appearance in "The Honeymooners" playing Alice's mother in a 1960s musical version of the show, with Sheila MacRae as Alice. Kelton died in 1968.
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Kelton was replaced by Ginger Jones when she was blacklisted
Pert Kelton was the original Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners comedy sketches on the DuMont Television Network's Cavalcade of Stars. Kelton was a veteran comedy film actress, and she played Alice Kramden, Ralph Kramden's acerbic and long-suffering wife. The Honeymooners debuted on October 5, 1951, as a six-minute sketch.
In 1952, CBS president William S. Paley sent Gleason and his cast on a nationwide promotional tour. Kelton, who played Alice Kramden, was blacklisted and replaced on the tour by Ginger Jones, an actress known for her work in the show Beulah. Jones had herself been previously named on the Red Channels blacklist. However, another replacement had to be found as Jones was also eventually blacklisted by CBS.
Kelton's blacklisting was due to her husband, Ralph, who had marched in a May Day parade many years earlier. Playwright Arthur Miller, a family friend, wrote in his autobiography Timebends: A Life that "Ralph had absolutely no leftist connections whatever but had simply thrown himself in with a gang of actors protesting whatever it was that year, and Pert had never even voted in her life." Kelton's producers did not acknowledge that she was blacklisted, instead claiming that she had left the show due to heart problems.
Ginger Jones was replaced by Audrey Meadows, known for her work in the 1951 Broadway musical Top Banana and on the Bob & Ray television show. Meadows was concerned about her attractiveness for the role, so she hired a photographer to take pictures of her in the early morning with no makeup, clad in a torn housecoat and with her hair undone. Meadows' portrayal of Alice Kramden became iconic, and she reprised her role on other shows as well.
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Audrey Meadows became the third actress to play Alice
Meadows was not the first choice for the role of Alice. In fact, she was initially turned down for being too chic and pretty for the part. However, she was determined to play the role and went to great lengths to convince the producers that she was right for the role. She even hired a photographer to take pictures of her in the early morning with no makeup, clad in a torn housecoat and with her hair undone. This strategy worked, and she was hired to play Alice on "The Jackie Gleason Show" after the original actress, Pert Kelton, was forced to leave the show due to being blacklisted.
When "The Honeymooners" became a half-hour situation comedy on CBS, Meadows continued in the role. She became so associated with the character of Alice that she reprised the role on other shows, including a man-on-the-street interview for "The Steve Allen Show" and a parody sketch on "The Jack Benny Program". Meadows was also the only member of the "Honeymooners" cast to earn residual royalties after the "Classic 39" episodes of the show started airing in reruns.
For her portrayal of Alice, Meadows was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the 8th Primetime Emmy Awards. She also received nominations for her work on "The Honeymooners" in 1954 and 1957.
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Sheila MacRae played Alice in musical-comedy episodes in the late 1960s
Sheila MacRae, a film, TV and stage actress, played Alice Kramden, the wife of bus driver Ralph Kramden, in musical-comedy episodes of "The Honeymooners" as part of "The Jackie Gleason Show" in the late 1960s. MacRae's episodes were an hour long, in colour, and featured musical numbers. She took over the role from Audrey Meadows, who had played Alice in the 1950s, and played the character from 1966 to 1970, with an additional appearance in 1973.
MacRae was born in London in 1921 and moved to Long Island, New York, in 1939 just before the start of World War II. She married actor-singer Gordon MacRae in 1941, and they often appeared together onstage in musicals such as "The Bells Are Ringing" and "Guys and Dolls". They were divorced in 1967 and he died in 1986.
MacRae's other film credits include "Caged" (1950), "Backfire" (1950), and "Sex and the Single Girl" (1964). She also appeared on TV in "I Love Lucy", "General Hospital", "Parenthood", "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", "The Love Boat", and "Murder, She Wrote".
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Jane Kean played Alice in colour episodes from 1966 to 1970
Jane Kean, an American actress and singer, played Alice in colour episodes of "The Honeymooners" from 1966 to 1970. Kean's portrayal of Alice Kramden, the wife of bus driver Ralph Kramden, was featured in hour-long musical-comedy episodes of "The Jackie Gleason Show". Kean's career spanned seven decades and included appearances in nightclubs, recordings, radio, television, Broadway, and films.
Kean was born on April 10, 1923, and passed away on November 26, 2013, at the age of 90. She and her older sister, Betty Kean, formed a comedy duo that performed in nightclubs throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Kean's notable roles include Trixie Norton on "The Jackie Gleason Show" and the voice of Belle in "Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol".
Before Jane Kean, the character of Alice Kramden was portrayed by Pert Kelton in the sketch debut of "The Honeymooners" on October 5, 1951. Kelton, however, was blacklisted and replaced during a promotional tour by Ginger Jones, who also ended up being blacklisted by CBS. As a result, Audrey Meadows became the next actress to play Alice. Audrey Meadows is perhaps the most associated with the character of Alice, reprising the role on other shows and even earning residual royalties for the reruns of the "Classic 39" episodes.
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Frequently asked questions
Three actresses played Alice Kramden on The Honeymooners: Pert Kelton, Audrey Meadows, and Sheila MacRae.
Pert Kelton (1907-1968) was a veteran comedy film actress who played Alice Kramden on the DuMont Network's Cavalcade of Stars.
Kelton was blacklisted and replaced on tour by Beulah actress Ginger Jones, who was also blacklisted. As a result, Audrey Meadows became the new Alice Kramden when the show moved to CBS.
