The Honeymooners

Tweet

I only became familiar with this most lovable and likable series, "The Honeymooners," long after the last episode had aired on September 22, 1956. That must have been a sad day for fans because at that time no one knew that later on this show would go on to be a legend and be shown in reruns for many years to come. "The Honeymooners" was great comedy and starred four great actors: Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden, Audrey Meadows as his wife Alice Kramden, Art Carney as Ralph’s best pal Ed Norton, and Joyce Randolph as Ed’s wife Trixie. It was all about a bus driver living in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bensonhurst in New York City. They lived in a brownstone, and Ralph spent his days dreaming up get-rich schemes, much to the chagrin of his long-suffering but always loving wife. Occasionally he drags his best friend into the schemes, which upset his wife. However, the two women stand tall as the best of friends against their husbands, who at times behave like little boys needing punishment. "The Honeymooners" was filmed before a live audience and then broadcast at a later date. The shows were all taped at the Adelphi Theater in New York City and always had an audience of around 1,000 people. Jackie Gleason eventually sold The Honeymooners episodes to CBS, which would make a windfall with the show in syndication. Then in 1966 Gleason began to create Honeymooners episodes that were an hour long, and in 1971 these episodes were rebroadcast as their own series until May 9, 1971, when the final episode aired. The show remains among the most memorable TV comedies of all time, right up there with others such as "I Love Lucy." Later, this show had a significant impact on the cartoon series "The Flintstones."" Maybe it was just me, but I always thought that Fred Flinstone sounded a bit like Ralph Kramden even though Jackie Gleason did not supply him his voice. Every time Fred rejected one of Wilma’s ideas, I envisioned Ralph exclaiming, “One of these days, Alice, bang zoom, straight to the moon."