The Honeymooners

The Honeymooners is a 1950s situation comedy and one of the most-loved (and most-imitated) television comedies of all time. In the early 1950s, Jackie Gleason hosted a variety show, originally titled Cavalcade of Stars and airing on the DuMont Television Network. On the show (which moved to CBS in 1952 as The Jackie Gleason Show), Gleason enacted a number of recurring characters in comedic skits; the most popular of these involved featured Gleason as a Brooklyn bus driver named Ralph Kramden; Pert Kelton (and later Audrey Meadows) as his long-suffering wife, Alice; and Art Carney as Ralph's sewer-worker pal, Ed Norton. The skits became so popular that CBS offered Gleason an opportunity to produce and star in a half-hour sitcom with the characters, titled The Honeymooners. Meadows and Carney (along with Joyce Randolph as Norton's wife Trixie) followed Gleason to the new show, and the first episode aired on October 1, 1955. In all 39 episodes were created by the time the series ended in 1956. Gleason retained the rights to the reruns, which became extremely popular with an almost cult-like following. He later sold the series to CBS for a reported sum of $1 million.

Related Topics:
1950s - Jackie Gleason - Variety show - Cavalcade of Stars - DuMont Television Network - CBS - 1952 - The Jackie Gleason Show - Pert Kelton - Audrey Meadows - Art Carney - Sitcom - Joyce Randolph - October 1 - 1955 - 1956

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In the 1980s, Gleason released a number of so-called "lost episodes" (never lost, in reality - just sitting in Gleason's vault for decades), which were kinescopes of Gleason's live shows for CBS during the 1950s. These episodes were released on home video and sometimes show up in syndication alongside what are known as "The Classic 39". In September 2004 another "lost" episode (this time one that had indeed been misplaced years ago) was reported discovered, with plans for video release pending. This episode, "Love Letter", aired on cable television in October 2004.

Related Topics:
1980s - Kinescopes - 1950s - Home video - Syndication - 2004

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Notable episodes: "TV or Not TV" (where Ralph and Ed share a TV set, not having the money to get each their own) and "Better Living Through Television" (where Ralph and Ed try to sell a household appliance on live TV and make a mess of the proceedings).

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As it debuted on Cavalcade of Stars, The Honeymooners can be considered television's first spin-off.

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In 1960, the animated sitcom The Flintstones debuted; many critics and viewers noted the close resemblance of that show's premise and characters to that of The Honeymooners.

Related Topics:
1960 - Animated - The Flintstones

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In 2005, The Honeymooners was remade as a full-length feature film.

Related Topics:
2005 - Full-length feature film

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