''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring

Jackie Gleason Herbert John Gleason (born Herbert Walton Gleason Jr.; February 26, 1916June 24, 1987), known as Jackie Gleason, was an American comedian, actor, writer, and composer also known as "The Great One". He developed a style and characters from growin ...

, and based on a recurring

comedy sketch Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It follows the lives of New York City bus driver Ralph Kramden (Gleason), his wife Alice (

Audrey Meadows Audrey Meadows (born Audrey Cotter; February 8, 1922 – February 3, 1996) 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 H ...

), Ralph's best friend Ed Norton (

Art Carney Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best kn ...

) and Ed's wife Trixie ( Joyce Randolph) as they get involved with various schemes in their day-to-day living. Most episodes revolve around Ralph's poor choices in absurd dilemmas that frequently show his judgmental attitude in a comedic tone. The show occasionally features more serious issues such as

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

and

social status Social status is the relative level of social value a person is considered to possess. Such social value includes respect, honour, honor, assumed competence, and deference. On one hand, social scientists view status as a "reward" for group members ...

. The original comedy sketches first aired on the DuMont network's variety series ''Cavalcade of Stars'', which Gleason hosted, and subsequently on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

network's ''

The Jackie Gleason Show ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' is a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason, which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms. ''Cavalcade of Stars'' Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMont Televisio ...

'', which was broadcast live in front of a theater audience. The popularity of the sketches led Gleason to rework ''The Honeymooners'' as a filmed half-hour series, which debuted on CBS on October 1, 1955, replacing the variety series. It was initially a ratings success as the No. 2 show in the United States, facing stiff competition from ''

The Perry Como Show Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

'' on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. Gleason's show eventually dropped to No. 19, and production ended after 39 episodes (now referred to as the "Classic 39 episodes"). The final episode of ''The Honeymooners'' aired on September 22, 1956, and Gleason sporadically revived the characters until 1978. ''The Honeymooners'' was one of the first U.S. television shows to portray working-class married couples in a gritty, non-idyllic manner, as the show is mostly set in the Kramdens' kitchen in a neglected

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

apartment building.Conner (2010)
Sitcoms Often Reinforce Racial Ethnic Stereotypes
One of the sponsors of the show was

Buick Buick () is a division (business), division of the Automotive industry in the United States, American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American automobil ...

Cast and characters

The majority of ''The Honeymooners'' episodes focus on four principal characters and generally use fixed sets within their Brooklyn apartment building. Although various secondary characters make multiple appearances, and occasional exterior shots are incorporated during editing, virtually all action and dialogue is "on stage" inside the normal backdrop.

Ralph Kramden

Played by

, a bus driver for the fictional Gotham Bus Company based in New York City. He is never seen driving a bus (except in publicity photos), but sometimes is shown at the bus depot. Ralph is frustrated by his lack of success and often develops

get-rich-quick scheme A get-rich-quick scheme is a plan to obtain high rates of return for a small investment. Most schemes create an impression that participants can obtain this high rate of return with little risk, skill, effort, or time. The term "get rich qui ...

s. He is short-tempered, frequently resorting to bellowing, insults, and hollow threats. Well-hidden beneath the many layers of bluster, however, is a softhearted man who loves his wife and is devoted to his best friend, Ed Norton. Ralph enjoys bowling and playing pool; he is proficient at both and is an enthusiastic member of the Loyal Order of Raccoons (although in several episodes, a blackboard at the lodge lists his dues as being in arrears). Ralph's mother rarely is mentioned, although she appears in one episode. Ralph's father is mentioned in only one episode ("Young Man with a Horn") as having given Ralph a

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...

he learned to play as a boy, and Ralph insists on keeping the cornet when Alice suggests it be thrown away. The Ralph Kramden character was given honorary membership in the real New York City bus drivers' union (Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union) during the run of the show, and a Brooklyn bus depot was named in Gleason's honor after his death. Ralph Kramden was the inspiration for the animated character

Fred Flintstone Fred Flintstone is the main character of the animated sitcom '' The Flintstones'', which aired during prime-time on ABC during the original series' run from 1960 to 1966. Fred is the husband of Wilma Flintstone and father of Pebbles Flintst ...

.Fischer, Stuart ''Kids' TV: The First Twenty-Five Years'' "The Flintstones" An eight-foot-tall bronze statue of a jolly Jackie Gleason in a bus driver's uniform was erected in 1999 in front of Manhattan's midtown Port Authority Bus Terminal.

TV Land TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division's MTV Entertainment Group. It was originally launched as Nick at Nite’s TV Land as a spinoff of Nick at Nite programing block consisting e ...

funded the statue in cooperation with Gleason's estate and the

Port Authority A port authority (less commonly a port district) is a governmental or quasi-governmental public authority for a special-purpose district usually formed by a legislative body (or bodies) to operate ports and other transportation infrastructure. ...

. Also in 1999, Ralph was ranked #13 on ''TV Guides list of the 50 greatest TV characters.

Alice Kramden

Alice (née Alice Gibson), played in the first nine skits from 1951 to January 1952 by

Pert Kelton Pert L. Kelton (October 14, 1907 – October 30, 1968) was an American stage, movie, radio, and television actress. She was the original The Honeymooners#Alice Kramden, Alice Kramden in ''The Honeymooners'' with Jackie Gleason. During the ...

, by

until 1966, then by Sheila MacRae, is Ralph's patient but sharp-tongued wife of 14 years. She often finds herself bearing the brunt of Ralph's tantrums and demands, which she returns with biting sarcasm. She is levelheaded, in contrast to Ralph's pattern of inventing various schemes to enhance his wealth or his pride. She sees his schemes' unworkability, but he becomes angry and ignores her advice (and by the end of the episode, her misgivings almost always prove correct). Upon discovering the failures of his schemes and subsequent cover-ups, she demands to Ralph: "Oh, how I wish you had an explanation for that." Alice runs the finances of the Kramden household, and Ralph frequently has to beg her for money to pay for his lodge dues or crazy schemes. Alice studied to be a secretary before her marriage and works briefly in that capacity when Ralph is laid off.

Wilma Flintstone Wilma Flintstone is a fictional character in the television animated series ''The Flintstones''. Wilma is married to Fred Flintstone, daughter of Pearl Slaghoople, and mother of Pebbles Flintstone. Her best friend is her next door neighbor, Bet ...

is based on Alice Kramden. Another

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ma ...

for Ralph is Alice's mother, who is even sharper-tongued than her daughter and despises Ralph as a bad provider. Alice's father is occasionally mentioned, but never seen. Alice's sister Agnes appears in episode 22, "Here Comes The Bride". (Ralph jeopardizes his newlywed sister-in-law's marriage after giving some bad advice to the groom, but it all works out in the end). Ralph and Alice lived with her mother for six years after getting married before they got their own apartment. In a 1967 revival, Ralph refers to Alice (played by MacRae in 1966–70 and once more in 1973) as being one of 12 children, and to her father as never working. ''The Honeymooners'' originally appeared as a sketch on the DuMont Network's ''Cavalcade of Stars'', with the role of Alice played by Pert Kelton (1907–1968). When his contract with DuMont expired, Gleason moved to the CBS network where he had ''The Jackie Gleason Show'', and the role of Alice went to Audrey Meadows because Kelton had been

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list; if people are on a blacklist, then they are considere ...

. According to playwright

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

, a family friend, writing many years later in his autobiography ''Timebends: A Life'', extensive inquiries finally revealed that her blacklisting was due to the fact that her husband Ralph had, many years earlier, marched in a May Day parade. "Ralph, I knew, 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." The character's name is mentioned in the 1998 American stoner comedy film ''

Half Baked ''Half Baked'' is a 1998 American stoner film starring Dave Chappelle, Jim Breuer, Harland Williams, and Guillermo Díaz. The film was directed by Tamra Davis, co-written by Chappelle and Neal Brennan and produced by Robert Simonds. ''Half ...

'' in the lyrics to the song by the movie's character "Sir Smoka-Alot".

Edward Lillywhite/Ethelbert "Ed" Norton

Played by

; a New York City municipal sewer worker and Ralph's best friend (and upstairs neighbor). He is considerably more good-natured than Ralph, but nonetheless trades insults with him on a regular basis. Ed (typically called "Norton" by Ralph and sometimes by his own wife, Trixie) often gets mixed up in Ralph's schemes. His carefree and rather dimwitted nature usually results in raising Ralph's ire, while Ralph often showers him with verbal abuse and throws him out of the apartment when Ed irritates him. In most episodes, Ed is shown to be better-read, better-liked, more worldly and more even-tempered than Ralph, despite his unassuming manner and the fact that he usually lets Ralph take the lead in their escapades. Ed and Ralph both are members of the fictional Raccoon Lodge. Like Ralph, Ed enjoys and is good at bowling and playing pool. Unlike Ralph, Ed is good at

ping-pong Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

. Ed worked for the New York City sewer department, and described his job as a "Sub-supervisor in the sub-division of the department of subterranean sanitation, I just keep things moving along." He served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, and used his

G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...

money to pay for typing school, but felt he was unable to work in an office because he hated working in confined spaces. The relatively few scenes set in the Norton apartment showed it to have the same layout as the Kramdens' but more nicely furnished. Though Norton makes the same weekly $62 salary as Ralph (roughly $ in dollars), their higher standard of living might be explained by Norton's freer use of credit; at one point he admits to having 19 charge accounts. Ed is the inspiration for

Barney Rubble Barney Rubble is a fictional character who appears in the television animated series ''The Flintstones''. He is the diminutive, blond-haired caveman husband of Betty Rubble and adoptive father of Bamm-Bamm Rubble. His best friend is his next ...

in ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...

,'' and for

Yogi Bear Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows, and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in ''The Huckleberry Hound Show''. He was created by Hanna- ...

(in terms of design, clothing, and mannerisms). In 1999, ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' ranked him 2nd on its list of the "50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time". According to ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'', Norton is ranked 8th of the "greatest sidekicks ever".

Thelma "Trixie" Norton

Thelma "Trixie" Norton was Ed's wife and Alice's best friend. She did not appear in every episode and had a less developed character, though she is shown to be somewhat bossy toward her husband. In one episode, she surprisingly is depicted as a pool hustler. Trixie is the inspiration for Betty Rubble in ''The Flintstones''.

Elaine Stritch Elaine Stritch (February 2, 1925 – July 17, 2014) was an American actress, singer, and comedienne, known for her work on Broadway and later, television. She made her professional stage debut in 1944 and appeared in numerous stage plays, music ...

was the first and original Trixie Norton in a ''Honeymooners'' sketch ("The New Television") with Gleason, Carney, and

. Trixie's abrasive ex-burlesque-dancer character was rewritten and recast by Gleason after just one episode, with Joyce Randolph playing the character as a wholesome housewife."Elaine Stritch Biography"
tcm.com, accessed August 31, 2009 Joyce Randolph played the role in earlier sketches and on the 1955–56 sitcom ''The Honeymooners''. Jane Kean played the role in a series of hour-long ''Honeymooners'' episodes, in color and with music, on ''

'' from 1966 to 1970, playing the role for many more years than her predecessor.

Others

Some of the actors who appeared multiple times on the show include George O. Petrie and Frank Marth as various characters, Ethel Owen as Alice's mother, Zamah Cunningham as apartment building neighbor Mrs. Manicotti, and Cliff Hall as the Raccoon Lodge president. Ronnie Burns, son of

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film, and television. His arched eyeb ...

and

Gracie Allen Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen (July 26, 1895 – August 27, 1964) was an American vaudevillian, singer, actress, and comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns, her straight man, ap ...

, made a guest appearance on one episode. On another episode, Norton makes a reference to a co-worker "Nat Birnbaum" (as in "'nat', a three-letter word for bug", says crossword puzzle aficionado Norton). George Burns's real name was Nathan Birnbaum. Seasoned actress

Eileen Heckart Anna Eileen Heckart ( Herbert; March 29, 1919 – December 31, 2001) was an American stage and screen actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years. Early life Heckart was born Anna Eileen Herbert in Columbus, Ohio. Her mother Esther () wed Leo ...

appeared as Alice's mother in the 1978 ''The Honeymooners'' Christmas special (who was in reality just three years older than her "daughter", Alice). Strangely, Heckart's character makes several comments in the episode alluding to her desire to become a grandmother by Ralph and Alice, this despite the fact that Meadows, who played Alice, was in fact 55 years old at that time.

The apartment house

The Kramdens and Nortons lived in an apartment house at 328 Chauncey Street in Brooklyn, New York City, in an area known as "Bushwick" – a nod to the fact that Jackie Gleason lived there after his family moved from his birthplace at 364 Chauncey Street. In the 1955 episode "A Woman's Work is Never Done", the address is referred to as 728 Chauncey Street. The landlord of the apartment house is Mr. Johnson. In ''The Honeymooners'' episodes taped from 1967 to 1970, the address of the apartment house changed to 358 Chauncey Street, and the number of the Kramden apartment is 3B. The actual 328 Chauncey Street is located in the Stuyvesant Heights section of the borough, approximately eight miles northeast of the show's fictional location.

Apartment residents

* Mr. and Mrs. Manicotti: An older couple of Italian descent. * Tyler: Older gentleman who lives on the same floor, who knocks out Ralph's fighter - “Dynamite” for waking him up while he ynamiteworks out on the punching / speed bag. * Tommy Manicotti: He played stickball and contracted the measles. He also left his water pistol in the Kramdens' apartment. * Garrity: A vocal upstairs neighbor with whom Ralph frequently feuds. He fought with Ralph for disturbing the neighbors with practicing for ''

The $99,000 Answer ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fol ...

'' quiz show. But showing some humor in other episodes, he accused Ralph of renting the tuxedo for his sister-in-law's wedding from an undertaker, and loved Ralph's joke about "sending a knight out on a dog like this." * Garrity Boy: He played stickball and contracted the measles. * Mrs. Bennett: Needed her radiator fixed when Ralph was the janitor. * Johnny Bennett: He played stickball, earned an apple for a home-run—and contracted the measles like the other boys. * Mrs. Doyle: Mother of Tommy Doyle. * Tommy Doyle: He was arrested for spending a $100 counterfeit bill that Ralph gave him to take his suits to the cleaners. * Mrs. Stevens: She gave Alice a box for hairpins that was made of matchsticks for Christmas which was the same exact gift Ralph was about to give her but he vastly overpaid for it and thought he had a great gift rather than an insignificant trinket for Alice. Alice gave Mrs. Stevens a kitchen thermometer. * Mrs. Olsen: She said that Ralph broke her Venetian blinds instead of repairing them when Ralph temporarily was the building janitor. * Mrs. Hannah: Needed her bathtub fixed when Ralph was the janitor. * Mrs. Fogerty: Accused Ralph of taking food out of her ice box when Ralph was the janitor. * Mrs. Schwartz: The apartment house blabbermouth who reported that the Kramdens had set the all-time lowest gas bill for the building. She also was curious to know if the house phone was able to connect to

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

when Ralph was the janitor. * Mr. Riley: Had a full garbage can that needed to be emptied when Ralph was the janitor. * Judy Connors: A teenager who did not want her father to meet a boy named Wallace, her date. * Tommy Mullins: A U.S. Navy service member who was home on leave for Christmas. * Carlos Sanchez: A

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

dancer who works at night. * Mr. and Mrs. August Gunther: Former residents of the building. August hit it big with his doughnut business. * Mr. Johnson: The building's landlord.

Plot

Most of ''The Honeymooners'' takes place in Ralph and Alice Kramden's small, sparsely furnished two-room apartment. Other settings used in the show included the Gotham Bus Company depot, the Raccoon Lodge, a neighborhood pool parlor, a park bench where Ralph and Ed occasionally meet for lunch, and on occasion the Nortons' apartment (always noticeably better-furnished than the Kramdens'). Many episodes begin with a shot of Alice in the apartment awaiting Ralph's arrival from work. Most episodes focus on Ralph's and Ed's characters, although Alice played a substantial role. Trixie played a smaller role in the series, and did not appear in every episode as did the other three. Each episode presented a self-contained story, which rarely carried over into a subsequent one. The show employed a number of standard sitcom

cliché A cliché ( or ; ) is a saying, idea, or element of an artistic work that has become overused to the point of losing its original meaning, novelty, or literal and figurative language, figurative or artistic power, even to the point of now being b ...

s and plots, particularly those of

jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of Emotional insecurity, insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, he ...

, get-rich-quick schemes, and comic misunderstanding. As to the occasional plot continuations, there were two such one concerning Ralph being sent to a psychiatrist because of "impatient" behavior during work that resulted in several passengers lodging complaints about his professional demeanor, and one that continued for two sequential shows in which Aunt Ethel visited and Ralph hatched a scheme to marry her off to the neighborhood butcher. The series presents Ralph as an

everyman The everyman is a stock character of fiction. An ordinary and humble character, the everyman is generally a protagonist whose benign conduct fosters the audience's identification with them. Origin and history The term ''everyman'' was used ...

and an

underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or wikt:top dog, top dog. In the case where an under ...

who struggles to make a better life for himself and his wife, but who ultimately fails due to his own shortcomings. He, often along with Ed, devises a number of get-rich-quick schemes, none of which succeed. Ralph would be quick to blame others for his misfortune until it was pointed out to him where he had fallen short. Ralph's anger then would be replaced by short-lived remorse, and he would apologize for his actions. Many of these apologies to Alice ended with Ralph saying in a heartfelt manner, "Baby, you're the greatest," followed by a hug and kiss. In most episodes, Ralph's short temper got the best of him, leading him to yell at others and to threaten comical physical violence, usually against Alice. Ralph's favorite threats to her were "One of these days ... One of these days ... Pow! right in the kisser!" or to knock her "to the Moon, Alice!" (Sometimes this last threat was simply abbreviated: as "Bang, zoom!") On other occasions, Ralph simply told Alice, "Oh, are you gonna get yours." All of this led to criticism, more than 40 years later, that the show displayed an ironic acceptance of

domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...

. But Ralph never carried out his threats, and others have pointed out that Alice knew he never would because of their deep love for each indeed, Alice never was seen to back down during any of Ralph's tirades. In retaliation, the targets of Ralph's verbal abuse often responded by simply joking about his weight, a common theme throughout the series. For the "Classic 39" episodes of ''The Honeymooners'', there was no continuing story arc. Each episode is self-contained. For example, in the series premiere episode "TV or Not TV", Ralph and Norton buy a television set with the intent to share it. By the next week's show, the set is gone although in later episodes a set is shown in the Nortons' apartment. In the installment "The Baby Sitter", the Kramdens get a telephone, but in the next episode, it is gone. And, in the episode, "A Dog's Life", Alice gets a dog from the pound which Ralph tries to return. But, in the end, Ralph finds himself growing to love the dog and decides to keep it along with a few other dogs. However, in the next episode, the dogs are nowhere to be seen and are never referred to again. Occasionally, references to earlier episodes were made, including to Ralph's various "crazy harebrained schemes" from the lost episodes. Norton's

sleepwalking Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during the slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of ...

in "The Sleepwalker" was referenced in "Oh My Aching Back", but it was not until the 1967 "Trip To Europe" shows that a ''Honeymooners'' story arc is finally used.

History

Origins

In July 1950, Jackie Gleason became the host of ''Cavalcade of Stars'', a variety show that aired on the struggling

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...

. After the first year, he and his writers

Harry Crane Harry Crane (April 23, 1914 – September 13, 1999) was an American comedy writer who helped to create the concept for ''The Honeymooners'' and its signature characters.''New York Times'': "Harry Crane, 85, Who Helped Create 'The Honeymooners'" by Nick Ravo
Monday September 20, 1999''Variety'': "Harry Crane" by Doug Galloway
September 16, 1999 developed a sketch that drew upon familiar domestic situations for its material. Based on the popular radio show ''

The Bickersons ''The Bickersons'' was a series of radio and television comedy sketches which began in 1946 on NBC radio. The show's married protagonists, portrayed by Don Ameche (later by Lew Parker) and Frances Langford, spent nearly all their time toget ...

'', Gleason wanted a realistic portrayal of life for a poor husband and wife living in

, his home borough. The couple would continually argue but ultimately show their love for each other. After rejecting titles such as "The Beast", "The Lovers" and "The Couple Next Door", Gleason and his staff settled on "The Honeymooners". Gleason took the role of Ralph Kramden, a blustery bus driver, and he chose veteran comedy film actress

for the role of Alice Kramden, Ralph's acerbic and long-suffering wife. "The Honeymooners" debuted on October 5, 1951, as a six-minute sketch. Ensemble cast member

made a brief appearance as a police officer who is hit with flour that Ralph throws from the window. The tone of these early sketches was much darker than that of the later series, with Ralph exhibiting great bitterness and frustration with his marriage to an equally bitter and argumentative middle-aged woman (Kelton was nine years older than was Gleason). The Kramdens' financial struggles mirrored those of Gleason's early life in Brooklyn, and he took great pains to model the set on his memory of the apartment where he had lived. The Kramdens—and later the Nortons when those characters were added—are childless, an issue only occasionally explored, but a condition upon which Gleason insisted. Ralph and Alice did legally adopt a baby girl whom they named Ralphina. However, the biological mother requested to have her baby returned. A few later sketches had Ralph mistakenly believe that Alice was pregnant. Early cast additions in later sketches were upstairs neighbors Ed and Trixie Norton. Ed was a sewer worker and Ralph's best friend, although his innocent and guileless nature was the source of many arguments between the two men. Trixie (maiden name never mentioned), Ed's wife, was originally portrayed by

as a burlesque dancer, but was replaced after just one appearance by the more wholesome-looking Joyce Randolph. Trixie is a

to Ed, just as Alice is to Ralph, but often offscreen. With the colorful array of characters whom Gleason had invented, including the cast of "The Honeymooners" sketches, ''Cavalcade of Stars'' became a great success for DuMont and increased its

audience share Audience measurement calculates how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic. The term is sometim ...

from 9% to 25%. Gleason's contract with DuMont expired in the summer of 1952, and the financially struggling network (which suffered through ten rounds of layoffs from July through October 1953) was unable to retain him, and he moved to CBS.

Move to CBS

In July 1952,

president

William S. Paley William Samuel Paley (September 28, 1901 – October 26, 1990) was an American businessman, primarily involved in the media, and best known as the chief executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) from a small radio network into o ...

sent Gleason and his cast on a highly successful nationwide five-week promotional tour, performing musical numbers and sketches (including the popular "The Honeymooners"). However, Kelton, who played Alice Kramden and other roles, was

and replaced on the tour by '' Beulah'' actress Ginger Jones, who also became blacklisted (having earlier been named on the ''Red Channels'' blacklist) by CBS. As a result, yet another Alice was needed.
Honeymooners full cast 1963

Jones's replacement was

, known for her work in the 1951 Broadway musical '' Top Banana'' and on the ''Bob & Ray'' television show. However, Gleason was concerned that Meadows was too attractive to make a credible Alice. To convince him, Meadows 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. When Gleason saw the photos, he said, "That's our Alice." When he learned that it was Meadows in the photos, he reportedly said, "Any dame who has a sense of humor like that deserves the job." The lineup of Gleason, Carney, Meadows and Randolph was now in place. The increasingly popular "The Honeymooners" sketches were prominent in episodes of ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' variety show. During the first season, they appeared on a regular basis (although not weekly) as a series of short sketches ranging in length from seven to thirteen minutes. For the 1953–54 season, the shorter sketches were outnumbered by ones that ran for 30 minutes or longer. During the 1954–55 season, most episodes of ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' consisted entirely of "The Honeymooners". Fan response became overwhelming, and Meadows received hundreds of

curtain A curtain is a piece of cloth or other material intended to block or obscure light, air drafts, or (in the case of a shower curtain) water. Curtains are often hung on the inside of a building's windows to block the passage of light. For instan ...

s and

apron An apron is a garment worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body to protect from liquids. They have several purposes, most commonly as a functional accessory that protects clothes and skin from stains and marks. However, other typ ...

s in the mail from fans who wanted to help Alice lead a fancier life. By January 1955, ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' was competing with—and sometimes beating—''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'' as the most-watched television show in the United States. Audience members would queue around the block hours in advance in order to attend the show.

The "Classic 39" episodes

The "Classic 39" episodes of ''The Honeymooners'' are those that originally aired as a weekly half-hour sitcom on CBS from October 1955 to September 1956. Gleason meadows honeymooners 1955

Before Gleason's initial three-year contract with CBS expired, he was offered a much larger contract by CBS and

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

division. The three-year contract, reportedly valued at $11million (about $million now), was one of the largest in showbusiness history at the time. It called for Gleason to produce 78 filmed episodes of ''The Honeymooners'' over two seasons, with an option for a third season of 39 more. He was scheduled to receive $65,000 for each episode ($ now) and $70,000 per episode in the second season ($ now), but he had to pay all production costs out of that amount. Art Carney received $3,500 per week ($ now), Audrey Meadows $2,000 ($ now), and Joyce Randolph (who did not appear in every episode) $500 per week ($ now). Production was handled by Jackie Gleason Enterprises Inc., which also produced ''Stage Show'', a program that aired directly before episodes of ''The Honeymooners'' and starred the Dorsey Brothers. Meadows, who later became a banker, was reportedly the only cast member to receive residuals when the "Classic 39" episodes were rebroadcast in syndication because her brother Edward, a lawyer, had inserted language to that effect into her contract. Randolph received royalty payments when the "lost" ''Honeymooners'' episodes from the variety shows were released. The first episode of the new half-hour series aired on Saturday, October 1, 1955, at 8:30 p.m.

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, and the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico. * Eastern Standard Time (EST) is five hours behi ...

opposite ''

Ozark Jubilee ''Ozark Jubilee'' is a 1950s American television program that featured country music's top stars of the day. It was produced in Springfield, Missouri. The weekly live stage show premiered on ABC-TV on January 22, 1955, was renamed ''Country Mu ...

'' on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

and ''

'' on

. Because the show was sponsored by Buick, the opening credits originally ended with a sponsor identification by announcer Jack Lescoulie ("Brought to you by your Buick dealer. And away we go!"), and the show concluded with a brief Gleason sales pitch for the company, all common practices at the time. All references to Buick were removed when the show entered syndication in 1957, although Gleason frequently said "And away we go!" frequently in various shows, and the quote is inscribed on his gravestone. The initial critical reaction to the half-hour sitcom ''Honeymooners'' was mixed. ''The New York Times'' and ''Broadcasting & Telecasting Magazine'' wrote that it was "labored" and lacked the spontaneity of the live sketches. But ''

'' praised it as "rollicking", "slapsticky" and "fast-paced". In February 1956, the show was moved to the 8:00 p.m. ET timeslot, but it already had begun losing viewers to the hugely popular ''Perry Como Show''. Gleason's writers also had begun to feel confined by the restrictive half-hour format—in previous seasons, "The Honeymooners" sketches typically ran 35 minutes or more—and Gleason felt that were beginning to exhaust original ideas. After just one season, Gleason and CBS agreed to cancel ''The Honeymooners'', which aired its 39th and final original episode on September22, 1956. In explaining his decision to end the show with $7million remaining on his contract, Gleason said, "The excellence of the material could not be maintained, and I had too much fondness for the show to cheapen it." Gleason subsequently sold the films of the "Classic 39" episodes of the show to CBS for $1.5million.

Production

In 1955, many television shows (including ''The Jackie Gleason Show'') were performed live and recorded using

kinescope Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 1940s ...

technology, although many sitcoms were recorded on film, such as ''

Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' was an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago then later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio sho ...

'', ''

The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' is an American television sitcom that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 3, 1952, to April 23, 1966, and starred the real-life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was b ...

'', ''

My Little Margie ''My Little Margie'' is an American television sitcom starring Gale Storm and Charles Farrell that alternated between CBS and NBC from 1952 to 1955. The series was created by Frank Fox and produced in Los Angeles, California, at Hal Roach Stud ...

'' and '' I Married Joan''. ''

'', which was recorded directly onto 35mm film, had influenced television production companies to produce directly on film. For ''The Honeymooners'', Gleason utilized the Electronicam TV film system, developed by DuMont in the early 1950s, which allowed for a live performance to be directly captured on film. As a result of the superior picture and sound quality afforded by the system, episodes of ''The Honeymooners'' were much more suitable for rebroadcast than were most other live shows of the era. All 39 episodes of ''The Honeymooners'' were filmed at the DuMont Television Network's

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

at 152 West 54th Street in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

before an audience of 1,000. Episodes were never fully rehearsed because Gleason felt that rehearsals would rob the show of its spontaneity. As a result, mistakes often were made, with lines recited incorrectly or altogether forgotten, and actors did not always follow the scripted action directions. To compensate, the cast developed visual cues for each other. For example, Gleason patted his stomach when he forgot a line, while Meadows would glance at the icebox when someone else was supposed to retrieve something from it. In contrast to other popular comedies of the era (such as ''

Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young (actor), Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray (actor), Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six ...

'', ''

Leave It to Beaver ''Leave It to Beaver'' is an American television sitcom that follows the misadventures of a suburban boy, his family and his friends. It starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers. CBS first broadcast the show ...

'' and ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''), which depicted their characters in comfortable,

middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Commo ...

suburban environments, Richard Rychtarik's set design for ''The Honeymooners'' reflected the

blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a person who performs manual labor or skilled trades. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involve manufacturing, retail, warehousing, mining, carpentry, electrical work, custodia ...

existence of its characters. The Kramdens lived in a small, sparsely furnished two-room apartment in a tenement building at least four stories high (the Kramdens lived on the third floor and the Nortons lived one floor above them). They used the single main room as the kitchen, dining and living room. It consisted of a table and chairs, a chest of drawers, a curtainless window with a painted backdrop view of a fire escape and adjoining tenements, a noisy sink and an outdated

icebox An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrig ...

. The Kramdens' bedroom never was seen. One of the few other sitcoms about a blue-collar family was ''

The Life of Riley ''The Life of Riley'' is an American radio situation comedy series of the 1940s that was adapted into a 1949 feature film, as well as two different television series, and a comic book. Radio series The radio program initially aired on the B ...

'', a show that featured Gleason in its first season (1949–50). The instrumental

theme song Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...

for ''The Honeymooners'', titled "You're My Greatest Love", was composed by Gleason and performed by an orchestra led by Ray Bloch, previously the orchestra leader for Gleason's variety show as well as for ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

''. Although lyrics were composed, they were never sung. Sammy Spear, who later became Gleason's musical director, provided the arrangement. The music heard in the episodes was not performed during the show, so to enhance the feeling of a live performance for the studio audience, an orchestra performed before filming and during breaks. The show's original announcer was Jack Lescoulie, who also was a spokesman for the sponsor, Buick. For the unsponsored syndicated version, the introduction was voiced by CBS staff announcer Gaylord Avery.

Revivals

On September 29, 1956, one week after ''The Honeymooners'' ended as a weekly 30-minute series, ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' returned. "The Honeymooners" returned as part of the revived variety show. Eight episodes were produced as original full hour "Honeymooners" musicals with music and lyrics by Lyn Duddy and Jerry Bresler. The stories featured the Kramdens and Nortons touring Europe after winning a contest. Live musicals had become popular on live television following the success of the 1954-1955 live broadcasts of

Mary Martin Mary Virginia Martin (December 1, 1913 – November 3, 1990) was an American actress and singer. A muse of Rodgers and Hammerstein, she originated many leading roles on stage over her career, including Nellie Forbush in ''South Pacific (musica ...

in ''Peter Pan'' as well as that of several Max Leibman original musicals. Including the musical episodes, a total of 20 skits of various lengths were performed that season, including restaging of several older skits. (One episode, featuring a remake of "Six Months of Live" is still missing.) In 1959, ''TV Guide'' magazine mentioned Gleason's interest in producing new ''Honeymooners'' shows. This did not happen for several years, but Gleason did team with Carney to revive an old ''Honeymooners'' scene for an October 1960 CBS special titled ''The Big Sell''. After the spectacular failure of Gleason's 1961 game show ''

You're in the Picture ''You're in the Picture'' is an American television game show that aired on CBS for only one episode on Friday, January 20, 1961 at 9:30pm. The show, created by Don Lipp and Bob Synes, was an attempt by its host and star Jackie Gleason to "de ...

'' and the relative success of the eight-episode talk show that Gleason used to fill its time slot, his variety show returned in 1962 under the title ''Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine''. The "Honeymooners" sketches returned as part of the show whenever Carney was available. However, Meadows and Randolph were replaced by Sue Ane Langdon and Patricia Wilson for two sketches. In January 1966, Meadows returned on Gleason's ''American Scene Magazine'' variety series as Alice for "The Honeymooners: The Adoption", a reenactment of a 1955 non-musical sketch of the same name, with original songs added by Duddy and Bresler. When ''

'', by then based at Gleason's relocated headquarters in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, returned in 1966, the "Honeymooners" sketches, in color for the first time, featured Sheila MacRae and Jane Kean in the roles of Alice and Trixie, as Meadows and Randolph declined to relocate to Miami. Gleason did not object to recasting the roles of the wives but was adamant that the Ed Norton role should never be played by anyone other than Carney. The 1966 videotaped "Honeymooners" were also musical episodes that comprised 18 of the first season's 32 shows. Most of these were updated remakes of 1956-57 musical episodes with songs by Duddy and Bresler, expanded with new material. This include an addition episode added to the "Trip To Europe" sketches. Ten of these programs were syndicated for local stations as ''The Honeymooners Go to Europe'' and the 1966-1970 color hour shows were released on DVD as ''The Color Honeymooners''. One notable 1967 segment featured the return of

(in one of her last performances before her death in 1968), but as Alice's mother. "The Honeymooners" ended again when CBS announced the cancellation of ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' on February 16, 1970, the result of a disagreement in direction between Gleason and the network. Gleason wanted to continue interspersing "The Honeymooners" within his regular variety show, while CBS wanted a full-hour "Honeymooners" every week. CBS's ongoing effort to move its product toward younger audiences and away from established variety show stars was another potential factor in the show's demise. On October 11, 1973, Gleason, Carney, MacRae and Kean reunited for a "Honeymooners" sketch titled "Women's Lib" as part of a Gleason special on CBS. Four final one-hour specials aired on ABC from 1976 to 1978, with Meadows returning as Alice and Kean as Trixie. These specials came at a time when Gleason and Carney were each achieving newfound expanded fame, with Gleason's prominent role in the box office smash ''

Smokey and the Bandit ''Smokey and the Bandit'' is a 1977 American action comedy road film starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jackie Gleason, Jerry Reed, Pat McCormick, Paul Williams, and Mike Henry. The film marks the directorial debut of stuntman Hal Needham ...

'' and Carney winning an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for his leading role in ''

Harry and Tonto Harry may refer to: Television * ''Harry'' (American TV series), 1987 comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (New Zealand TV series), 2013 crime drama starring Oscar K ...

''. These were the final original "Honeymooners" productions. In May 2022, MPI released ''Jackie Gleason TV Treasures'', which includes three previously unreleased "Honeymooners" sketches from the early 1960s, the 1966 musical remake of "The Honeymooners: The Adoption" episode and seven color "Honeymooners" sketch episodes not included in previous collections.

Awards

Carney won five

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for his portrayal of Ed Norton—two for the original ''Jackie Gleason Show'', one for ''The Honeymooners'' and two for the final version of ''The Jackie Gleason Show''. He was nominated for another two in 1957 and 1966, but lost. Gleason and Meadows both were nominated in 1956 for their work on ''The Honeymooners''. Gleason was nominated for Best Actor–Continuing Performance but lost to

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly 60 years. He achieved major popularity w ...

, while Meadows was nominated for Best Actress-Supporting Role but lost to

Nanette Fabray Nanette Fabray (born Ruby Bernadette Nanette Theresa Fabares; October 27, 1920 – February 22, 2018) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She began her career performing in vaudeville as a child and became a musical-theatre actress dur ...

. Meadows also was nominated for Emmys for her portrayal of Alice Kramden in 1954 and 1957. The following table summarizes award wins by cast members, both for ''The Honeymooners'' and ''The Jackie Gleason Show''.

Broadcast history

Episodes

Syndication and home media releases

''The Honeymooners'' gained its greatest fame in syndication, where it has aired continually since its original cancellation.

WPIX WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City, serving as the ''de facto'' flagship of The CW Television Network. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, the station is operated by CW majority owner Nexstar Media Group under a local market ...

in New York City has aired the series for more than five decades (after it had initially run in 1957–1958 on WRCA-TV), with occasional brief breaks. It regularly airs on WPIX with a marathon that begins on the final hour of New Year's Eve and runs well into New Year's Day. In the United Kingdom, it originally aired on ITV between 1958–1963.

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

aired 38 of the original 39 episodes beginning in 1989 and ending in 1991. The show also has aired in Australia,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, Ireland and

Suriname Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...

. It previously was seen on

WGN America WGN America was an American subscription television network that operated from November 9, 1978 to February 28, 2021. The service was originally uplinked to satellite by United Video Inc. as a national feed of Chicago independent station WGN-T ...

from June 2008 to September 2009 and on

Me-TV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...

from December 2010 to September 2011. In April 2012, the show returned to Me-TV. The show currently airs on the network on Sunday nights. Reruns of the show also air on

Catchy Comedy Catchy Comedy, formerly known as Decades, is an Americans, American Digital terrestrial television, digital broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. The network, which is mainly carried on the digital subchannels of television ...

. In 1984, the Museum of Television and Radio announced the discovery of four original "Honeymooners" sketches from ''The Jackie Gleason Show'', and response was overwhelmingly positive. In January 1985, Gleason announced the release of an additional group of "lost" episodes from his private vault. As with the previously released sketches, these "lost episodes" were actually

s from the 1952–55 and 1956–57 runs of ''The Jackie Gleason Show''. Because the prints had not been stored under ideal conditions, parts of the soundtracks of three episodes were unusable, and the voices had to be redubbed. Gleason personally approved the soundalike actors, with noted voice actor

Joe Alaskey Joseph Francis Alaskey III (April 17, 1952 – February 3, 2016) was an American actor and comedian. He was one of Mel Blanc's successors at the Warner Bros. Animation studio until his death. He alternated with Jeff Bergman, Greg Burson, Ji ...

providing Ralph Kramden's lines. Gleason sold the broadcast rights to the "lost" episodes to

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2005), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Pa ...

, and they first were aired from 1985 to 1986 as a series of 68 22-minute episodes on the Showtime cable network. They since have joined the original 39 episodes in syndication and also have been released on VHS and DVD. In September 2004, another "lost" episode was discovered at the

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

archives in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. The episode, titled "Love Letter", originally aired on ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' on October 16, 1954. It aired for the first time since then on October 16, 2004, its 50th anniversary, on TVLand. Viacom successor

CBS Media Ventures CBS Media Ventures, Inc. (formerly CBS Paramount Domestic Television and CBS Television Distribution) is the television broadcast syndication arm of CBS Studios, a division of the CBS Entertainment Group, in turn a division of Paramount Global, ...

, via CBS Broadcasting, owns the "Classic 39" series outright, while the Gleason estate owns the "lost episodes".

Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, originally Paramount Home Video, and operating as the namesake film studio since 2022) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures. The division oversees Para ...

/ CBS DVD released a six-disc DVD box set titled ''The Honeymooners "Classic 39" Episodes'' in November 2003 (only available in Region 1). The set contains all 39 episodes from the series' original 1955–56 broadcast run. Also included in the set is an edited version of a 1990 anniversary special hosted by Meadows as well as original show openings and closings sponsored by Buick that were removed when the show entered syndication. MPI Home Video released 80 of the "lost episodes" in Region 1 DVD format in 2001–02 on 24 single-disc volumes. MPI subsequently re-packaged the 24 volumes into six four-disc box sets. Production of the 24 individual volumes and the six four-disc box sets ceased in 2008, but MPI has since renewed its deal with Jackie Gleason Enterprises and has continued to release new editions of the "lost" episodes and other ''Honeymooners'' material not currently owned by CBS. In 2011, MPI announced the release of a completely restored set of all existing ''Honeymooners Lost Episodes'' from 1951 to 1957. The 50-hour, 15-DVD set contains 107 ''Honeymooners'' sketches and the home-video debut of the nine existing original DuMont Network sketches, six other sketches never before released on home video and the eight musical ''Honeymooners'' episodes from 1957 (the "Trip To Europe" shows). The set was released on October 4, 2011. In June 2006, MPI released ''The Color Honeymooners – Collection 1'' (

NTSC NTSC (from National Television System Committee) is the first American standard for analog television, published and adopted in 1941. In 1961, it was assigned the designation System M. It is also known as EIA standard 170. In 1953, a second ...

and

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

), which collects the "Trip to Europe" story arc presented on ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' in 1966. It has since released an additional three volumes featuring additional episodes from this story arc. AmericanLife TV Network has also aired ''The Color Honeymooners'' shows under license from Gleason Enterprises and Paul Brownstein Productions. In May 2022, MPI released ''Jackie Gleason TV Treasures'', which includes three previously unreleased "Honeymooners" sketches from the early 1960s, the 1966 musical remake of "The Honeymooners: The Adoption" episode and seven color "Honeymooners" sketch episodes not included in previous collections. Paramount and CBS Home Entertainment released the 39 episodes on

Blu-ray disc Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...

in March 2014. In Australia (Region 4), Shock Entertainment released "The Honeymooners - Classic 39 Episodes" five-disc set in

format on November 13, 2009, rereleased on August 5, 2020.

Impact

* In 1997, the episodes "The $99,000 Answer" and "TV or Not TV" were respectively ranked No. 6 and No. 26 on " ''TV Guide''s 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time". * In 1999, ''

'' published a list titled "TV's 100 Greatest Characters Ever!" Ed Norton was No. 20, and Ralph Kramden was No. 2. * In 2002, ''The Honeymooners'' was listed at No. 3 on ''TV Guide''s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. * On June 1, 2007, FOX aired a ''TV's Funniest Moments'' special, in which a clip from the episode "The $99,000 Answer" was on the list. In the clip, Ralph lamely identifies the composer of " Swanee River" as being "Ed Norton". * In 2013, ''TV Guide'' ranked ''The Honeymooners'' No. 13 on their list of the 60 Greatest Shows of All Time. * In 2013, the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

ranked ''The Honeymooners'' #31 on their list of the 101 Best Written TV Series. * The instrument used for visible and

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

imaging on the ''

New Horizons ''New Horizons'' is an Interplanetary spaceflight, interplanetary space probe launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program. Engineered by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) and the Southwest Research Institut ...

'' space probe was named after Ralph Kramden, in parallel to the Alice instrument (naming not related to the TV show).

Legacy

Because of its enduring popularity, ''The Honeymooners'' has been referenced numerous times in American

pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...

, and has served as the inspiration for other television shows, most notably ''The Flintstones''. The show also introduced memorable

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

s into American culture such as "Bang, zoom, straight to the Moon!", "One of these days... one of these days...," "Homina, homina, homina," and "Baby, you're the greatest."

''The Flintstones''

In 1960, the

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...

-produced animated sitcom ''

'' debuted on ABC. Many critics and viewers noted the close resemblance of the show's premise and characters to those of ''The Honeymooners'', and

William Hanna William Denby Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator, voice actor, and musician who is best known for co-creating ''Tom and Jerry'' and providing the vocal effects for the series' title characters. Alongside Joseph B ...

and

Joseph Barbera Joseph Roland Barbera ( ; ; March 24, 1911 – December 18, 2006) was an American animator and cartoonist, best known as the co-founder of the animation studio Hanna-Barbera. Born to Italian Americans, Italian immigrants in New York City, Bar ...

have both stated that ''The Honeymooners'' was among their inspirations for ''The Flintstones''. Gleason later said that he considered suing but decided that becoming known as "the guy who yanked Fred Flintstone off the air" was not worth the negative publicity. ''The Honeymooners'' had been compared in its day to the similar comedy series ''

'' as well as to the work of

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American double act, comedy duo during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957) ...

(particularly ''

Sons of the Desert ''Sons of the Desert'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film starring Laurel and Hardy. Directed by William A. Seiter, it was released in the United States on December 29, 1933. In the United Kingdom, the film was originally released under ...

''). ''The Flintstones'' series and its spinoffs changed over the years and deviated from the similarities to ''The Honeymooners''.

Spoofs, parodies and importation

* In the ''

Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company and later revived by Comedy Central, and then Hulu. The series follows Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1 ...

'' episode " The Series Has Landed", Ralph Kramden is believed to have been an early astronaut, due to his catchphrase (which Fry protests was "a metaphor for beating his wife".) * In the episode " Spanish Fry" of the same show, Lrrr says, "One of these days, Ndnd, bang! zoom! straight to the third moon of Omicron Persei 8!!" * The '' Moonlighting'' episode "A Trip to the Moon" contains a lengthy parody of ''The Honeymooners'' as ''The Bluemooners'', with

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and has appeared in over one hundred films, gaining ...

as Ralph,

Charles Rocket Charles Adams Claverie (August 28, 1949 – October 7, 2005), known by stage names Charlie Hamburger, Charlie Kennedy, and Charles Rocket, was an American actor. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live,'' played the villain Nicholas Andre ...

as Norton,

Allyce Beasley Allyce Beasley ( Tannenberg; born July 6, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as rhyming, love-struck receptionist Agnes DiPesto in the television series '' Moonlighting''. From 2001 to 2007, she was the announcer on Pla ...

as Trixie, and

Cybill Shepherd Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress, singer and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama '' The Last Picture Show'' (1971) alongside Jef ...

as Alice. * The sitcom ''

The King of Queens ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, with a total of 207 half-hour episodes spanning nine seasons. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who al ...

'' was partially inspired by ''The Honeymooners''.''The Honeymooners'', among other shows, was parodied directly in a dream sequence in the episode "Inner Tube". *

Robert McKimson Robert Porter McKimson Sr. (October 13, 1910 – September 29, 1977) was an American animator and illustrator, best known for his work on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Bros. Cartoons and later DePa ...

would pay homage the show with a series of animated ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...

'' shorts, in which the principal characters, Ralph and Alice Crumden and Ned and Trixie Morton, are depicted as

mice A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

and Ralph's "big dream" is to get enough cheese to impress Alice. These cartoons are '' The Honey-Mousers'' (1956), '' Cheese It, the Cat!'' (1957), and '' Mice Follies'' (1960). McKimson would also direct the 1956

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...

cartoon '' Half-Fare Hare'', in which Bugs is pitted against caricatures of Ralph and Ed as train-riding hoboes. **

Friz Freleng Isadore "Friz" Freleng (; August 21, 1905May 26, 1995), credited as I. Freleng early in his career, was an American animator, cartoonist, Film director, director, Film producer, producer, and composer known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons ...

would also reference the Honeymooners in the

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

and

Tweety Tweety is an animated character, a yellow canary bird in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. His characteristics are based on Red Skelton's famous "Junior the Mean Widdle Kid". He appeared in ...

short '' Red Riding Hoodwinked'' (1955) also features the usually-cheerful Granny character taking on the role of blustery, female Ralph. In another Sylvester and Tweety cartoon, '' A Bird in a Bonnet'' (1958), when Sylvester falls into an open manhole, inside a voice like Ed Norton's says, "Whoo-hoo-hoo! Hey, look at this, Ralph, a pussycat." To which Sylvester simply peers out of the sewer to the audience. * The writer/comic Louis C.K. stated in an interview that he based the layout of Louie's apartment in the HBO show '' Lucky Louie'' on the Kramdens' apartment, in contrast to other shows such as ''

'' that have very nicely decorated apartments despite the characters' professed low incomes. *

Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, puppeteer, radio personality and advertising creative director. His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...

created a brief audio skit titled "The Honeyearthers", in which Ralph, Alice, Norton, and Trixie are aliens living on the moon. In keeping with the 1950s ideas of what aliens would look like, they have two heads, one eye, one ear, four hands, three feet and antennae. Ralph drives a rocket ship and Norton works in a "green cheese mine". At the end of the skit, Ralph offers to take Alice on a "honeyearth" to renew their marriage. *In ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985 ...

'' (1985) George McFly (

Crispin Glover Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker and artist. He is known for portraying eccentricity (behavior), eccentric Character actor, character roles on screen. His breakout role was as George McFly in ''Back to ...

) and his older son Dave (

Marc McClure Marc McClure (born March 31, 1957) is an American actor. He is known for playing Jimmy Olsen in the ''Superman'' series of films released between 1978 and 1987, and Dave McFly in the ''Back to the Future'' films. Career McClure appeared in the 1 ...

) are seen cracking up in nerdy fashion while watching the episode "The Man from Space". After his younger son Marty (

Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian and American actor and activist. Beginning his career as a child actor in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ...

) goes back in time to November 5, 1955, he watches the same episode at the home of his then-teenaged mother Lorraine Baines (

Lea Thompson Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress, singer, dancer and director. She is best known for her roles as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990), Beverly Switzler in ''Howard t ...

), where her father (

George DiCenzo George Ralph DiCenzo (April 21, 1940 – August 9, 2010) was an American actor, and one-time associate producer for ''Dark Shadows''. He was in the show business for over 30 years, with extensive film, TV, stage, and commercial credits. DiCenzo ...

) wheels their newly acquired television set in front of the family table, saying giddily: "Now we can watch Jackie Gleason while we eat!" – a reference to the TV series. In real life though, November 5, 1955 was the day "The Sleepwalker" aired, while "The Man from Space" aired on December 31. * In the ''

21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired from April 12, 1987 to April 27, 1991, spanning 103 episodes over five s ...

'' season 3 episode "High High" (where the Jump Street team is assigned to go undercover at a performing arts school), Doug Penhall cites ''The Honeymooners'' as one of his favorite shows growing up. Towards the end, he reenacts a scene from the episode "Young Man with a Horn" for acting class. * ''The Honeymooners'' was spoofed in an episode of '' Perfect Strangers'' as a result of the character Balki Bartoukomos (

Bronson Pinchot Bronson Alcott Pinchot (; born May 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Balki Bartokomous on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''Perfect Strangers (TV series), Perfect Strangers'' (1986–1993). He also perform ...

)'s spinning an extended metaphor about the characters' existential situation to an episode of ''The Honeymooners'' he had once seen; Balki's description of the episode is shown in a black-and-white flashback. * As Ralph Kramden was a New York City bus driver, one of the service depots in Brooklyn was renamed the Jackie Gleason Bus Depot in 1988. All buses that originate from the bus depot bear a sticker on the front that has a logo derived from the "face on the Moon" opening credits of ''The Honeymooners''. The MTA also took 1948 GM-TDH5101 bus number 4789, renumbered it to 2969 and made it the 'official Jackie Gleason bus'. * A statue of Gleason as Ralph Kramden stands at the Eighth Avenue entrance to the

Port Authority Bus Terminal The Port Authority Bus Terminal (colloquially known as the Port Authority and by its acronym PABT) is a bus station, bus terminal located in Manhattan in New York City. It is the busiest bus terminal in the world by volume of traffic, serving ab ...

in New York City. The plaque on the base of the statue reads, "Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden — Bus Driver — Raccoon Lodge Treasurer — Dreamer — Presented by the People of

" * An episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'', " The Ten-Per-Cent Solution", includes a fictional rip-off of ''The Honeymooners'' called ''The Adventures of Fatso Flannigan''. * In 2011, an adult parody titled ''The Honeymoaners'' was released by DreamZone Entertainment, with Peter O'Tole as Ralph and Anthony Rosano as Ed. Both actors also played Fred and Barney in ''The Flintstones – A XXX Parody'', an adult parody of the Flintstones, which have a resemblance to the show (as mentioned above). The plot of the parody is similar to the episode "The $99,000 Answer", only here the show is called "The $69,000 Answer" and Ralph is answering questions about sex. * ''The Honeymooners'' was spoofed in episode 22 of the first season of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' (then known as NBC's ''Saturday Night'') in a sketch featuring The Killer Bees (referenced as 'The Bees' in this particular episode).

John Belushi John Adam Belushi ( ; January 24, 1949 – March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer and musician. He was one of seven ''Saturday Night Live'' cast members of the first season. He was arguably the most popular member of the ''Satur ...

took the role of Ralph, with

Gilda Radner Gilda Susan Radner (June 28, 1946 – May 20, 1989) was an American actress and comedian. She was one of the seven Saturday Night Live cast members, original cast members of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on the NBC sketch comedy series ...

as Alice,

Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Aykroyd was a writer and an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" cast on the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Nigh ...

as Norton, and

Jane Curtin Jane Therese Curtin (born September 6, 1947) is an American actress and comedienne. First coming to prominence as an original cast member on the hit TV comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' in 1975, she went on to win back-to-back Emmy Awards ...

as Trixie. * The first adult film parody of the show, ''Honeymooners'', premiered in 1976 and starred John Leslie as the Ralph Kramden character. *The

Toronto Coach Terminal The Toronto Coach Terminal is a decommissioned bus station for intercity bus services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was the central intercity bus station in Toronto until mid-2021, when it was replaced by the Union Station Bus Termi ...

included a restaurant and bar named Kramden's Kafe from 1990 until 2013. * ''The Honeymooners'' was partly the inspiration for the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

series ''

Kenan & Kel ''Kenan & Kel'' is an American sitcom created by Kim Bass that originally aired on Nickelodeon from August 17, 1996, to May 3, 2000. Set in Chicago, the series follows mischievous Kenan Rockmore (Kenan Thompson) and his happy-go-lucky best frien ...

''. * In 1988 Ron Jeremy led a cast of adult performers in the critically panned ''The Horneymooners''. * Seth MacFarlane's "Family Guy" has parodied it on numerous occasions.

Adaptations and remakes

The success of ''The Honeymooners'' in countries outside the United States has led to the production of new shows based entirely on it.

International remakes

Two series, 26 episodes in all were made for R.C.T.I. in 1996. It was the first sitcom of that style ever attempted in Indonesia. It was titled ''Detak Detik'' (''Ticking Seconds'') and starred Mat Sola as the Jackie Gleason character. Art Carney rang the cast prior to production to give them his best wishes. It was decided to make Mat Sola a Silver Bird taxi driver, as they had a bit more prestige in Indonesia. They left Nurbuat, who mirrored Ed Norton, as a sewerage worker. The chemistry worked well. The series had to remove any references to alcohol, as Indonesia is a country with a Muslim majority population.

French Canada was entertained for years in the 1960s and '70s by a sitcom titled ''Cré Basile'', with

Olivier Guimond Olivier Guimond ( fils; May 21, 1914 – November 29, 1971) was a Canadian actor and humorist. He is the father of voice actor Richard Darbois. Biography Early life Olivier Guimond came from a family of burlesque artists. At the beginning ...

, Béatrice Picard, Denis Drouin and Amulette Garneau, which was an uncredited Quebecois version of ''The Honeymooners''. It could, by contemporary standards, qualify as plagiarism.

In 1994, the Dutch broadcasting network KRO produced a version of ''The Honeymooners'' titled '' Toen Was Geluk Heel Gewoon'' (''Back then happiness was common''), using translated scripts of the original series but changing its setting to 1950s

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. After the original 39 scripts were exhausted, the series' lead actors,

Gerard Cox Gerardus Antonius "Gerard" Cox (born 6 March 1940, Rotterdam) is a Dutch singer, cabaret artist, actor, and director. For fifteen years, he played the lead character of the Dutch sitcom '' Toen Was Geluk Heel Gewoon''. Life In 2018, Cox had a l ...

and Sjoerd Pleijsier, took over writing, adding many new characters and references to Dutch history and popular culture. The series was a hit in the Netherlands and it finished its run after 16 years and 229 episodes in June 2009. The actors reprised their characters five years later in a feature-length movie.

In 1994, the Swedish network TV4 produced a version of ''The Honeymooners'' titled ''Rena Rama Rolf'', but changing its setting to contemporary

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, where Rolf (Ralph), played by

Lasse Brandeby Lasse Brandeby (27 April 1945 – 20 November 2011) was a Swedish actor, comedian and journalist. Biography Brandeby was born in the Majorna district of Gothenburg. After receiving his degree in journalism he worked for Radio Sjuhärad. ...

, is working as a streetcar driver. The show ran until 1998.

In 1998, the Polish network

Polsat Polsat is a Polish free-to-air television channel that was launched on 5 December 1992 by Zygmunt Solorz-Żak. , it is the most watched television channel in Poland with a market share of 11.30% Polsat belongs to Grupa Polsat Plus ( WSE: CP ...

produced a version of ''The Honeymooners'' titled ''Miodowe lata'' which translates to "Honey years" (because in Polish a honeymoon is translated as a "honey month"), using both translated scripts of the original series and new ones, but changing its setting to modern-day

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. The original series ran until 2003 and was continued in 2004 as ''Całkiem nowe lata miodowe''.

Comics

Vince Musacchia created a comic book series based on ''The Honeymooners'' for

Hypergraphics Hypergraphy, also called hypergraphics or metagraphics, is an experimental form of visual communication developed by the Lettrist movement. Hypergraphy abandons the phonetic values communicated by most conventional written languages in favor of ...

between 1987 and 1989.

Film

On June 10, 2005, a feature film remake of ''The Honeymooners'' was released, featuring a predominantly African American cast. The roles of Ralph, Alice, Ed, and Trixie were played by

Cedric the Entertainer Cedric Antonio Kyles (born April 24, 1964), better known by his stage name Cedric the Entertainer, is an American stand-up comedian, actor and television host. He hosted BET's '' ComicView'' during the 1993–1994 season and '' Def Comedy Jam'' ...

Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films '' She's All That ...

Mike Epps Michael Elliot Epps (born November 18, 1970) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He played Day-Day Jones in '' Next Friday'' and its sequel, '' Friday After Next'', and also appeared in ''The Hangover'' and '' The Hangover Part III'' as ...

, and

Regina Hall Regina Lee Hall (born December 12, 1970) is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Brenda Meeks in the comedy horror ''Scary Movie'' film series (2000–2006). Hall received critical acclaim for her role in the film '' Sup ...

, respectively. The movie was a critical and commercial failure, earning slightly more than US$13 million worldwide. The film was released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Video game

In 1988, First Row Software released a ''Honeymooners'' computer game for

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

and

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few op ...

. The game involves the Kramdens and Nortons trying to earn $223 for train fare to

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

, where Ralph wants to host the annual Raccoon Lodge convention, by playing a variety of mini-games related to the series. Additionally, players have the option of trying to double their money after each round by answering a ''Honeymooners''-related question in a bonus round based on "The $99,000 Answer" episode.

Reboots

In December 2016, a CBS reboot of ''The Honeymooners'' with Bob Kushell writing and executive producing the series was announced but it never came to fruition. Producers Sarah Timberman, Carl Beverly, Eric & Kim Tannenbaum, and

Jeff Greenstein Jeff Greenstein (born November 21, 1963) is an American television writer, producer and director. Greenstein was the showrunner of ''Will & Grace'' and '' Dream On'', as well as on '' Partners'' and '' Getting Personal'', both of which he create ...

were also announced as part of the development deal. In January 2022, a CBS reboot of ''The Honeymooners'' with Damon Wayans Jr. executive producing the series was announced.

Musical

In September 2017,

Paper Mill Playhouse Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater containing approximately 1,200 seats located in Millburn, within Essex County, New Jersey, United States, on the banks of the Rahway River. Due to its relative proximity to Manhattan, the theater draw ...

produced the world-premiere of a musical adaptation of ''The Honeymooners'', starring Michael McGrath as Ralph, Michael Mastro as Ed, Leslie Kritzer as Alice, and

Laura Bell Bundy Laura Ashley Bell Bundy-Hinkle (born April 10, 1981) is an American actress and singer. Her career started as a child, when her mother entered her in beauty pageants, where she would sing as a talent. After recognizing her singing ability, her m ...

as Trixie. The musical had a book by Dusty Kay and Bill Nuss, with music by Stephen Weiner and lyrics by Peter Mills. It was directed by

John Rando John Rando is an American stage director who won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for ''Urinetown the Musical'' in 2002. He received his 2nd nomination in the same category in 2015 for the 2014 Broadway revival of '' On the Town''. ...

and choreographed by Joshua Bergasse.The Honeymooners: September 28–October 29, 2017
. ''Paper Mill Playhouse''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Honeymooners, The 1955 American television series debuts 1956 American television series endings 1950s American multi-camera sitcoms American television spinoffs Black-and-white American television shows American English-language television shows Fictional married couples Mass media portrayals of the working class Television series about marriage Television series by CBS Studios Television shows set in Brooklyn Television shows adapted into comics Television shows adapted into films Television shows adapted into video games Television series based on comedy sketches Television shows filmed in New York (state) Television shows filmed in New York City CBS sitcoms

Cast and characters

Ralph Kramden

Alice Kramden

Edward Lillywhite/Ethelbert "Ed" Norton

Thelma "Trixie" Norton

Others

The apartment house

Apartment residents

Plot

History

Origins

Move to CBS

The "Classic 39" episodes

Production

Revivals

Awards

Broadcast history

Episodes

Syndication and home media releases

Impact

Legacy

''The Flintstones''

Spoofs, parodies and importation

Adaptations and remakes

International remakes

Comics

Film

Video game

Reboots

Musical

Further reading

References

External links