Kramden Career Crossroads

When Audrey Meadows first met her eventual TV husband, Jackie Gleason, they were both stars ascending the show business ranks. Meadows was a Broadway veteran, with the very successful Top Banana, co-starring Phil Silvers, under her belt. Meanwhile, Gleason had an unexpected hit with his Cavalcade of Stars. In fact, that show was where viewers first met the "Honeymooners" characters. But there was a snag in bringing the concept to a wider audience: The first Alice Kramden, Pert Kelton, had a heart attack and was unable to continue performing the soon-to-be-legendary character.

Meadows' Thoughts Before the Big-Time Debut

In her book, "Love, Alice: My Life as a Hooneymooner," Meadows reflected on her headspace when she first met Jackie Gleason.

"Naturally handsome, he was stylishly barbered and groomed, dressed comfortably and well," Meadows wrote. "This was no overweight slob. He had a pleasantly modulated and unhurried voice, so unlike the husky rasp or side-of-the-mouth slur he used in character. Unlike many actors and most comedians, he was not on when he was offstage. He didn't focus attention on himself but chatted broadly about a range of subjects using a varied vocabulary and often precise words."

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Gleason Was Protective of His TV Better Half

Meadows continued: "I would learn later that he also never used coarse language when women were present. Many comics would come to visit Jackie on Saturdays in his dressing room, and if four-letter words started to fly around when Joyce Randolph, who portrayed Trixie Norton on The Honeymooners, and I were present, Jackie would say, "Watch it, the girls are here!" 

Audrey Meadows on Jackie Gleason, the Performer

In addition to her opinions of Gleason's backstage behavior, Meadows offered a few thoughts on the Great One as a performer. While she mostly affirms what viewers may have already assumed, it is interesting to consider her close-up perspective.

"As a professional comic, he was known as a great reaction player, whose expressive eyes and mobile face were ideal for television close-ups. Because he was big, Jackie featured physical comedy too— lots of flapping limb movements, trips and sprawls, and pratfalls. But even at his heaviest, his physical stunts were so smooth and coordinated that they amazed fellow performers. Despite his size, he was agile enough to make a perilous fall funny for the crowd and graceful to appreciative actors."