Jackie Gleason knew that The Honeymooners would last forever

He also had a great understanding of why

CBS Television Distribution

Was Babe Ruth really looking into the future when he called his shot in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the 1932 World Series? Or was he so sure of his skills, so confident in his ability, that he was able to change reality around him?

In an interview back in 1986, Jackie Gleason foresaw a distant future when people would still be watching The Honeymooners. Sure, people had already been watching the Kramdens for thirty years at that point. Surely it would take some sort of mystical fortune-telling prowess to correctly predict that the trend would continue for another forty, right? 

But, if anybody understood what made The Honeymooners special, it was Gleason. More than anyone else, Gleason knew why people responded to the characters he and his cohorts played. To him, one of the primary reasons for the episodes' longevity was because "they aren't topical."

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"They are about characters that the audience cares about. That's the important element," Gleason told The Tampa Tribune.

The characters were archetypes. "I knew guys just like that in Brooklyn," said Gleason. The beauty of the show was that everybody seemingly knew guys like that. Maybe there was a Ralph in your family. Maybe you were Ralph.

In addition to the characters, Gleason said it was the actors who played them that made the show great.

Gleason was a legendary performer but knew to surround himself with people who could hold their own, onstage and on camera. That's why Ralph Kramden isn't the only memorable character on the show.

"The show was good because of the cast," said Gleason. "Art Carney was 90 percent of the show."

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10 Comments

AgingDisgracefully 11 days ago
There's always a place for obvious, blow-hole dolts with a penchant for the fake-hearfelt apology.
And the people who tolerate, enable and depend on them.
MrsPhilHarris 12 days ago
This would be a great show for METV to put on at 7, 8 or 9 pm Monday to Friday.
Melfins2024 12 days ago
I have a theory why The Honeymooners is still popular today. IT'S FUNNY.

There a some episodes that I laugh from the start to the end, even though I've watched it over 300 times.
Bapa1 12 days ago
One of the greatest tv shows ever.
Philip 13 days ago
The Honeymooners is an American television sitcom that originally aired from 1955 to 1956
sjbang88 13 days ago
I once read that Jackie Gleason only wanted to do 1 season (39 episodes) of The Honeymooners because he didn't think they could maintain the excellence of the first season going forward.
justjeff 13 days ago
I wonder how the 'classic' version of the Honeymooners would have fared if Pert Kelton (the original Alice) hadn't been swept up in the "Red Scare" (The Communist witch hunts of the 1950s)... Kelton was part of the cast when Jackie Gleason first introduced The Honeymooners on his old "Cavalcade of Stars" variety show...
MikefromJersey justjeff 13 days ago
I believe I read that after the demise of the Red Scare, she was cast as Alice's mother.
The 1960's episodes.
The co- star of the great 1950's classic The Goldbergs was driven to suicide by the
same people. The writing on that series was terrific, I caught a number of episodes
on the JLTV network. They also show Soupy Sales, Groucho, on some Saturdays the
Colcate Comedy Hour with either Abbott & Costello or Martin & Lewis.
cperrynaples justjeff 8 days ago
Those lost episodes have been on Catchy Comedy! Kelton's Alice was MUCH different than Audrey Meadows! YouTube just put up The Comic with Dick Van Dyke which was her last movie! The Goldbergs story is TRUE! He was replaced by Robert H. Harris from How To Make A Monster as well as...PERRY MASON! JLTV has some great shows including Dinah Shore [bet you didn't know SHE was Jewish]!
BrittReid 13 days ago
One of the best shows ever created.
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