Junior Rasmussen
The Honeymooners was a sitcom that aired from 1955 to 1956, with creator Jackie Gleason starring as Ralph Kramden, a bus driver with a short temper who often finds himself in absurd situations. The cast also included Art Carney as Ed Norton, Ralph's goofy neighbour and best friend, Pert Kelton and later Audrey Meadows as Ralph's wife, Alice Kramden, and Joyce Randolph as Trixie Norton, Ed's wife. Joyce Randolph, the last surviving member of the core four cast members, passed away in 2024 at the age of 99. After the show ended, Gleason went on to focus on his music career and later tried to revive the characters of the show, releasing new colour episodes for the 1966-67 season.
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What You'll Learn
Jackie Gleason's career after The Honeymooners
Jackie Gleason had a prolific career after The Honeymooners, with his work spanning television, music, and film.
Gleason created and starred in The Jackie Gleason Show, which ran from 1952 to 1955, and again from 1961 to 1970. The show was initially a live variety show, but later became a filmed sitcom. It was during the former iteration of the show that The Honeymooners first appeared as a sketch, before it was developed into a standalone series. The Jackie Gleason Show was known for its high ratings and musical numbers, and it originated in New York City before moving to Miami Beach, Florida, in 1964.
Gleason also enjoyed a prominent music career during the 1950s and 1960s, producing a series of bestselling "mood music" albums with jazz overtones for Capitol Records. He composed the well-remembered theme songs for both The Jackie Gleason Show ("Melancholy Serenade") and The Honeymooners ("You're My Greatest Love").
In terms of acting, Gleason took on notable film roles such as Minnesota Fats in The Hustler (1961), co-starring Paul Newman, and Buford T. Justice in the Smokey and the Bandit trilogy (1977-1983), co-starring Burt Reynolds.
Gleason sporadically revived The Honeymooners characters until 1978, including a Kramden-Norton sketch on a CBS variety show in 1960, and two more sketches on his hour-long CBS show The American Scene Magazine in 1962.
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Pert Kelton's blacklisting
Pert Kelton, born in 1907 in Montana, began her career in entertainment at the age of three when she debuted on stage in Cape Town, Union of South Africa. She went on to perform with her parents as "The Three Keltons" and later as a solo act in vaudeville. By the age of 17, she had made it to Broadway and soon after, Hollywood.
Kelton is best known for her role as Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners, which she played from 1950 to 1952. However, she was abruptly dropped from the role and replaced by Audrey Meadows. While it was rumoured that Kelton had left due to heart problems, the true reason for her departure was that she had been blacklisted. Kelton and her husband, actor-director Ralph Bell, were listed in Red Channels, a publication that accused those in the US entertainment industry of being communists or fellow travellers.
Kelton sued Red Channels for libel, seeking $300,000 in damages as her income had dropped significantly following the publication. She later dropped the lawsuit. Despite being blacklisted, Kelton continued to find success in her career, appearing in over 20 feature films and shorts, as well as numerous Broadway productions. She also had a successful career in radio and later, television. In the late 1960s, she even returned to The Honeymooners, playing the mother of Alice, now portrayed by Sheila MacRae.
Pert Kelton passed away in 1968, shortly before the release of her final film, The Comic, in 1969.
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Joyce Randolph's life after the show
After "The Honeymooners" ended its run in 1956, Joyce Randolph, who played the iconic role of Trixie Norton, wife of Art Carney's Ed Norton, continued to work in television and theatre. She remained a familiar face on the small screen, appearing in a number of popular TV shows over the next few decades.
One of her first roles after "The Honeymooners" was in the 1956 drama "The United States Steel Hour," where she appeared in an episode titled 'The Bogey Man' alongside a young Martin Balsam. She also made a number of appearances on "The Phil Silvers Show" from 1957 to 1959, playing various characters, including a nurse and a telephone operator. In 1960, she returned to the world of comedy with a guest spot on "The Danny Thomas Show," playing a character named Miss Kelly.
In the 1960s, Randolph continued to work steadily, appearing in a number of TV movies and making guest appearances on shows such as "Dr. Kildare" (1961), "The Defenders" (1962), and "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1964). In 1965, she had a small role in the film "Young Dillinger," a biopic about the famous Depression-era outlaw. But it was her role in "The Honeymooners" that continued to define her career.
In the 1970s, Randolph made a successful transition into theatre, appearing in a number of plays, including a national tour of "Barefoot in the Park." She also reprised her role as Trixie Norton in a number of "Honeymooners" reunions and spin-offs, including the 1973 TV movie "The Honeymooners: Second Honeymoon" and the short-lived 1976 series "The Honeymooners' Second Honeymoon."
Randolph's career slowed down in the 1980s, but she continued to make occasional appearances on television, including a role in the 1985 TV movie "Alice in Wonderland," where she played a character named Mouse. In the 1990s, she largely retired from acting, but she remained a beloved figure from her time on "The Honeymooners." She made a few public appearances at events celebrating the show, and in 2001, she published a memoir titled "'Trixie from Honeymooners': The Joyce Randolph Story."
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Audrey Meadows' contract
Audrey Meadows, born Audrey Cotter on February 8, 1922, was an American actress who portrayed the deadpan housewife Alice Kramden on the 1950s American television comedy The Honeymooners. She was the younger sister of Hollywood actress Jayne Meadows.
Meadows was the only member of the Honeymooners cast to earn residual royalties after the "Classic 39" episodes of the show from 1955 to 1956 started airing in reruns. Her brother Edward, a lawyer, had inserted a clause into her original contract, stipulating that she would be paid if the shows were re-broadcast, earning her millions of dollars. Meadows earned $2,000 per episode, equivalent to $23,000 now.
When The Honeymooners became a half-hour situation comedy on CBS, Meadows continued in the role of Alice Kramden. She had initially been rejected by Jackie Gleason for being too chic and pretty for the part, but she managed to convince him otherwise by submitting photographs of herself in frumpy clothes and no makeup. Meadows reprised her role as Alice on other shows as well, including The Steve Allen Show and The Jack Benny Program.
Meadows received four Primetime Emmy nominations for her television work, winning one for The Jackie Gleason Show. She also portrayed Ted Knight's mother-in-law in the 1980s sitcom Too Close for Comfort (1980) and was the live-action model for the cartoon character Wilma Flintstone.
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Art Carney's other roles
Art Carney, born Arthur William Matthew Carney, was an American actor and comedian. He had a long and varied career in radio, television, theatre, and film. Outside of The Honeymooners, Carney had several notable roles, including:
Harry and Tonto (1974)
Carney played the leading character, Harry, in this film. Harry is a lonely senior citizen who goes on a cross-country journey with his pet cat. Carney won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in this film.
The Late Show (1977)
In this crime drama, Carney played an ageing detective named Ira Wells.
House Calls (1978)
Carney played a senile chief surgeon, Dr. Amos Willoughby, in this film.
Going in Style (1979)
Carney portrayed a bored senior citizen who joins in on bank robberies in Going in Style.
Firestarter (1984)
Carney is probably best remembered for his role as the kind-hearted farmer Irv Manders in the horror film Firestarter.
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
Carney played the role of theatrical producer Bernard Crawford in this comedy-drama film.
Last Action Hero (1993)
Carney's final film role was in this 1993 action-comedy film, where he played Frank Slater, the "favorite second cousin" of the protagonist, Jack Slater.
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Frequently asked questions
Joyce Randolph, the last surviving cast member of The Honeymooners, passed away at the age of 99 in 2024. She was known for her role as Trixie Norton, the wife of Ed Norton, played by Art Carney. Gleason, who played Ralph Kramden, passed away in 1987, while Audrey Meadows, who played Alice Kramden, passed away in 1996.
Yes, Gleason sporadically revived the characters until 1978, when he called it quits. For the 1966-67 season, he released new, color episodes of The Honeymooners, with some of the original characters returning.
In 1952, CBS president William S. Paley sent Gleason and the cast on a five-week promotional tour across the nation, performing musical numbers and sketches. Pert Kelton, who played Alice Kramden, was blacklisted and replaced by Ginger Jones, who was also blacklisted soon after. Audrey Meadows, who was known for her work on Broadway, replaced Jones.
