Happy 95th Birthday to "The Great One"

The fall of 2011 will mark the 60th anniversary of the creation of Ralph Kramden. He will forever be known as a pioneer among other television characters and also one of the greatest television characters of all time. The man who brought him to life on television on both a regular and recurring basis from 1951 until 1978 would've turned 95 years old today and so at this moment let us look back at the magical legacy he left behind. From his days as a carnival barker and vaudeville performer to his days in Hollywood films The Great One always knew what he was doing and how it should be done. In 1949 he played the lead role of Chester A. Riley on the television version of "The Life of Riley." He also played the character on a single radio broadcast. By 1950 he landed a job as host of the "Cavalcade of Stars" and the rest as they say, was history. It was while working on the variety show that he first met performers Art Carney and Pert Kelton and it was also where he first introduced the world to "The Honeymooners." The Great One was Ralph Kramden, a Brooklyn bus driver with a big mouth, Pert Kelton was his long suffering but loving wife Alice and Art Carney was upstairs neighbor Ed Norton. Soon enough Gleason provided Carney's character with a wife - Trixie, played by Elaine Stritch in a single sketch and then permanently by Joyce Randolph. By 1952 Gleason was on CBS hosting "The Jackie Gleason Show." Carney and Randolph followed but Pert Kelton did not....while the reason given was health issues the truth came out that she had been blacklisted. A sharp tongued stage actress who worked mostly in summer stock stepped in to play the new Alice Kramden....the man found pure gold when he hired Audrey Meadows. No woman on the planet could've made a better Alice Kramden. From 1955 to 1956 the Kramdens and the Nortons were seen in a half hour sitcom of their own. Other memorable characters played by The Great One include Rudy the Repairman, The Poor Soul, Reginald Van Gleason III, Joe the Bartendar and others. The first version of "The Jackie Gleason Show" ended in 1957 and the actor took time to appear in a few films include Requiem for a Heavyweight, Gigot and The Hustler. In 1962, he returned to television with "Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine" which featured "The Honeymooners" sketches. Art Carney was on board but Sue Ane Langdon and Patricia Wilson played Alice and Trixie. By 1966, the show was once again called "The Jackie Gleason Show" and was filmed in Miami Beach, Florida. The new location also saw new leading ladies in the form of Sheila MacRae as Alice and Jane Kean as Trixie. This version stayed on the air until 1970. Other films include All Through the Night, How to Commit Marriage and Smokey and the Bandit. Television guest appearances included "Playhouse 90", "The Red Skelton Show", "Here's Lucy", "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and "The Frank Sinatra Show." Throughtout the 1970's and 1980's he appeared in several made for television specials and films. He brought "The Honeymooners" back five times 1973, 1976, 1977 and twice in 1978. He also teamed up with good friend Lucille Ball for one of her specials in 1975. His final acting role was in the film Nothing in Common in 1986. He passed away on June 24, 1987...

He was a marvelous performer. All of the characters were his own and he put his heart and soul into everyone of them. As Ralph Kramden he created his own form of communication just by making those facial expressions or those sounds with his throat. The look on his face said a thousand words and the audience knew exactly what he was thinking. He was a genius and he had a huge hand in helping to mold the television domestic sitcom as we know it today. Because of a simple idea he had sixty years ago the arguments of a husband and wife on television are still funny today...On what would've been his 95th birthday...

In Memoriam Proudly Remembers: Jackie Gleason