George Boyle
The Honeymooners is an American television sitcom that aired from 1955 to 1956. The show follows the lives of New York City bus driver Ralph Kramden, his wife Alice Kramden, Ralph's best friend Ed Norton, and Ed's wife Trixie Norton. The role of Alice Kramden was played by Audrey Meadows, while Trixie Norton was played by Joyce Randolph. In later episodes, Sheila MacRae played Alice, and Jane Kean played Trixie.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name of the TV series | The Honeymooners |
| Year of release | 1955-1956 |
| Name of the wife | Alice Kramden |
| Actress | Audrey Meadows |
| Husband's name | Ralph Kramden |
| Husband's actor | Jackie Gleason |
| Friend's name | Ed Norton |
| Friend's actor | Art Carney |
| Friend's wife's name | Trixie Norton |
| Friend's wife's actor | Joyce Randolph |
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What You'll Learn
Audrey Meadows played Alice Kramden
Audrey Meadows, born on February 8, 1922, in New York City, played the role of Alice Kramden in 'The Honeymooners'. She was a singer who, along with her sister Jayne Meadows, wanted to break into show business as the 'Meadows Sisters'. However, she ended up pursuing acting and moved to New York City after high school. Meadows worked on the Broadway show "Top Banana" and was a regular on TV's "The Bob & Ray Show" before landing the role of Alice Kramden.
Meadows replaced Pert Kelton as Alice Kramden in "The Honeymooners" in 1955. She was the only member of the cast to earn residual royalties from the Classic 39 episodes of the show, thanks to a clause inserted into her contract by her brother, a lawyer. Meadows was initially rejected by Jackie Gleason for the role of Alice because he thought she was too chic and pretty. However, she was determined to get the part, so she sent him photos of herself in frumpy clothes and no makeup, ultimately convincing him that she was the right choice.
Alice Kramden, played by Meadows, was the wife of Ralph Kramden (played by Jackie Gleason), and the couple lived in a Brooklyn apartment building. The show focused on Ralph's get-rich-quick schemes and his poor choices that often led to comedic dilemmas. Alice was known for not taking any flack from her husband and always standing up for herself, making her a role model for many viewers.
After "The Honeymooners", Meadows went on to act in films such as "Take Her, She's Mine" (1963) and "That Touch of Mink" (1962). She also reprised her role as Alice on other shows, including a man-on-the-street interview for "The Steve Allen Show" and a parody sketch on "The Jack Benny Program". In the 1980s, she played Ted Knight's mother-in-law in the sitcom "Too Close for Comfort". In total, Meadows earned four Primetime Emmy nominations for her television work, winning one for The Jackie Gleason Show. Sadly, Meadows passed away on February 3, 1996, at the age of 74, due to lung cancer.
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Joyce Randolph played Trixie Norton
Randolph was born with the surname Sirola, being of Finnish descent, and chose the stage name "Joyce Randolph" when she began her acting career in the 1940s. She made her Broadway debut in 1945 and appeared in several plays and television shows before landing the role of Trixie in "The Honeymooners". She was spotted by Gleason in a Clorets chewing gum commercial and subsequently cast in a skit on his variety show, "Cavalcade of Stars".
Gleason created "The Honeymooners" based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of his variety show. He specifically requested Randolph for the role of Trixie, saying, "Get me that serious actress". Randolph recalled that Gleason considered her to be "the quintessential Trixie". Trixie's character was less developed than the other principal characters and did not appear in every episode, but she was shown to be somewhat bossy towards her husband. In one episode, she is depicted as a pool hustler.
Randolph did not reprise her role in the "Honeymooners" revival that began in 1966, citing personal and geographic reasons. The role of Trixie was recast, with Jane Kean playing the character from 1966 to 1970. Randolph went on to have a successful career in musical theatre and commercials, and made solo appearances on television shows such as "The Jack Benny Show" and "The Doctors and the Nurses". She eventually retired from acting altogether.
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Elaine Stritch played Trixie Norton in one episode
Elaine Stritch, an American actress, singer, and comedienne, played Trixie Norton in one episode of The Honeymooners. Stritch was born on February 2, 1925, and passed away on July 17, 2014, at the age of 89. She had a long and illustrious career in theatre, film, and television.
The Honeymooners was an American television sitcom that aired from 1955 to 1956. The show focused on the lives of a bus driver, Ralph Kramden, and his sewer worker friend, Ed Norton, as they attempted to get rich through various schemes, much to the weary patience of their wives. The four principal characters were played by Jackie Gleason (Ralph Kramden), Audrey Meadows (Alice, Ralph's wife), Art Carney (Ed Norton), and Joyce Randolph (Trixie Norton, Ed's wife).
Elaine Stritch was the first and original Trixie Norton, appearing in just one episode of The Honeymooners sketch, "The New Television", before the character was recast. Trixie was depicted as a burlesque dancer in this first sketch, but the role was later rewritten as a wholesome housewife, which may have been more in line with the show's focus on domestic situations and the portrayal of loving, if argumentative, couples.
Stritch's other television credits include The Growing Paynes (1949), Goodyear Television Playhouse (1953-1955), The Edge of Night, The Ellen Burstyn Show (1986), The Cosby Show (1989-90), Law & Order (1992, 1997), Oz (1998), 3rd Rock From the Sun (1997, 2001), and 30 Rock (2007). She also had a successful career on Broadway, receiving four Tony Award nominations and winning in 2002 for her one-woman show, Elaine Stritch at Liberty.
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Jane Kean played Trixie Norton in colour episodes
Jane Kean, the American actress and singer whose career spanned seven decades, played Trixie Norton in The Honeymooners. Kean took on the role of Trixie, the long-suffering wife of Ed Norton, in the 1966 revival of the TV show. This was when the show moved to Miami Beach for another version of The Jackie Gleason Show, reuniting Jackie Gleason with Art Carney.
Kean succeeded Joyce Randolph, who played Trixie in the original 1955–56 sitcom. Kean's Trixie was featured in a series of hour-long Honeymooners episodes, in colour and with music, on The Jackie Gleason Show from 1966 to 1970. She played the role for many more years than her predecessor.
Kean first started working with Gleason in the 1940s when they were both on the vaudeville circuit. They also appeared in several stage productions in the 1950s. Kean is best known for her role as Trixie, although she played diverse roles in a four-decade career. She also did voice-over work for commercials and in animated movies such as Pete's Dragon (1977) and TV specials including Mr Magoo's Christmas Carol (1962).
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Sheila MacRae played Alice in colour episodes
The original run of The Honeymooners aired from 1955 to 1956, with Audrey Meadows playing the role of Ralph Kramden's wife, Alice. When The Jackie Gleason Show returned in 1966, the Honeymooners sketches were in colour for the first time. Sheila MacRae took over the role of Alice from Meadows, starring in 52 episodes of the show from 1966 to 1970.
Sheila Margaret MacRae (née Stephens) was an English-born American actress, singer and dancer. She was born in London in 1921 but was evacuated with her parents to Long Island, New York, in 1939, shortly before World War II. MacRae was married to actor-singer Gordon MacRae in 1941, and they appeared together in several musical productions, including a 1964 staging of "The Bells Are Ringing" and a revival of "Guys and Dolls" in which she played Miss Adelaide on Broadway. They had four children together: daughters Heather and Meredith, and sons William Gordon and Robert Bruce.
MacRae made her big-screen debut in the 1950 film "Caged", and went on to star in other films including "Backfire" (1950) and "Sex and the Single Girl" (1964). On television, she played herself in an episode of "I Love Lucy" called "The Fashion Show", in which she asks Lucy to participate in a Hollywood fashion show featuring actors' wives as models. In addition to her role in "The Honeymooners", MacRae had her own short-lived television series, "The Sheila MacRae Show", and played Madelyn Richmond in the soap opera "General Hospital" in 1991. She was also a series regular on the single-season show "Parenthood" in 1990-91 and guested on series including "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", "The Love Boat" and "Murder, She Wrote".
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Frequently asked questions
Three. Audrey Meadows played Ralph Kramden's wife, Alice Kramden. Joyce Randolph played Trixie Norton, Ed Norton's wife. In the Honeymooners sketches that were aired in colour for the first time in 1966, Sheila MacRae played Alice and Jane Kean played Trixie.
Audrey Meadows (born Audrey Cotter) was an American actress who portrayed the deadpan housewife Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners. She was born in New York City in 1922 and passed away in 1996.
Joyce Randolph played Trixie, Norton's wife, in earlier sketches and on the 1955–56 sitcom The Honeymooners. She revealed in a 1999 interview that Trixie was not her character's real name.
Sheila MacRae played Alice in the 1966 Honeymooners sketches.
Jane Kean played Trixie in a series of hour-long Honeymooners episodes, in colour and with music, on The Jackie Gleason Show from 1966 to 1970.
