{"id":2075876,"date":"2025-10-07T23:13:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T23:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2075876"},"modified":"2025-10-07T23:13:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T23:13:14","slug":"the-honeymooners-and-jackie-gleason-remembered-fondly-70-years-after-iconic-brooklyn-based-sitcoms-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-honeymooners-and-jackie-gleason-remembered-fondly-70-years-after-iconic-brooklyn-based-sitcoms-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;The Honeymooners&#8217; and Jackie Gleason remembered fondly 70-years after iconic, Brooklyn-based sitcom&#8217;s debut"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2025%2F10%2Fnewspress-collage-ywe56sesy-1759875077250.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261759860740\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The honeymoon ain\u2019t over.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been 70 years since the debut of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2016\/12\/23\/get-ready-for-new-years-eve-with-these-10-memorable-honeymooners-moments\/\">\u201cThe Honeymooners\u201d<\/a> but fans of the iconic sitcom say it\u2019s still ingrained in pop culture \u2013 and in the fabric of the Big Apple.<\/p>\n<p>Catchphrases like \u201cto the moon, Alice,\u201d \u201cbaby, you\u2019re the greatest\u201d and \u201chey Ralphie boy\u201d are immediately recognizable as the Brooklyn-based black-and-white comedy keeps people watching over and over again decades after its Oct. 1, 1955, premiere.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><figcaption>The statue of Jackie Gleason\u2019s character Ralph Kramden from \u201cThe Honeymooners\u201d outside of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. <span class=\"credit\">Christopher Sadowski<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The iconic New York City comedy turned 70 years old on Oct. 1. <span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The reason why the episodes are so durable was best explained by the show\u2019s late star and mastermind <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/08\/29\/real-estate\/jackie-gleasons-former-the-mothership-home-asks-5-5m\/\">Jackie Gleason<\/a>, his stepson said in a recent interview.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cWell, Jackie answered that quite simply: Because they\u2019re funny,\u201d said Craig Horwich, the son of Gleason\u2019s widow Marilyn Taylor. \u201cAnd that really is the perennial answer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Honeymooners\u201d lasted only one season \u2013 but the exploits of bus driver Ralph Kramden (Gleason), his always frustrated but ever-forgiving wife Alice (Audrey Meadows) and their neighbors the Nortons lived on for years in prime time syndication and even now is rerun in annual New Year\u2019s Eve marathons on local TV.<\/p>\n<p>Much of the success of the show hinged on the comedic skills of Gleason and co-star Art Carney, who played Ralph\u2019s goofy sewer-worker best buddy Ed Norton \u2013 TV\u2019s first and arguably best wacky neighbor, experts said. Rounding out the main cast was Ed\u2019s wife, Trixie (Joyce Randolph).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Virginia tourists Rick and Deb Witkowsky posing with the Kramden statue. <span class=\"credit\">Kevin Sheehan \/ NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThey knew how to react to other performers. They knew how to listen,\u201d said Horwich, who now co-runs Jackie Gleason Enterprises with Gleason\u2019s two daughters. They were very present and familiar and comfortable in front of an audience. And I think you could put Art Carney and most anyone on a stage and they would be able to hold your attention.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The actors had already been mastering the characters for years, with \u201cThe Honeymooners\u201d beginning as a sketch in October 1951 on the variety show \u201cCavalcade of Stars\u201d with a different Alice (Pert Kelton) and Trixie (Elaine Stritch).<\/p>\n<p>It continued when Gleason jumped to the hour-long \u201cJackie Gleason Show,\u201d where the core four of the series was in place and the show\u2019s essence was firmly set \u2013 with a premise so simple and repeatable it\u2019s been said they could be watched in any order.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Gleason and Audrey Meadows in an episode of \u201cThe Honeymooners.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">CBS \/Landov<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Author and scholar David Sterritt, who wrote a book on \u201cThe Honeymooners\u201d as part of a series called TV Milestones, said the \u201cClassic 39\u201d have a familiar structure like a good rock song or sonnet. Its catchphrases and \u201criffs\u201d recur like a good chorus, he noted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA show like \u2018The Honeymooners,\u2019 which is so musical in its use of language, which is musical in its rhythms, has some of the appeal of music \u2013 and therefore it can be taken in over and over again,\u201d Sterritt, who grew up watching the show on Long Island in the 1950s, told The Post.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"50\" src=\"https:\/\/embeds.nypost.com\/protected-iframe\/ae07a3726bec0fc91a840dddea9d294c\" scrolling=\"auto\" frameborder=\"0\" class=\"\" allow=\"camera; fullscreen;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Although the show is remembered for its laughs, there\u2019s deep pathos in the premise and characters. Ralph and his buddy Ed always have grand plans but their get-rich-quick schemes always end up falling apart. Ralph\u2019s alpha personality usually puts him at odds with his wife or his best friend, before invariably they end up with an apology and back at Square 1.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Plumber CJ Matos and Davide Esposito use the \u201cHoneymooners\u201d statue as a meeting spot at the station. <span class=\"credit\">Kevin Sheehan \/ NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It mostly takes place in a small sparsely decorated one-room bedroom in Bensonhurst, based on the home Gleason grew up in where he\u2019d later say he knew many \u201cKramdens\u201d and \u201cNortons,\u201d according to his stepson. A lot of the show\u2019s staying power is that the characters were relatable \u2013 they argued loudly, they struggled with cash decisions and worked blue-collar jobs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a dark undercurrent for the show, but it\u2019s an undercurrent and the thing is still a comedy, so we can enjoy it,\u201d Sterritt said. \u201cWe can enjoy the darkness of it because we know that it\u2019s not threatening darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Gleason died in 1987, but he\u2019s immortalized in character as Kramden in a statue at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. It even attracts fans and passersby today, like Rick Witkowsky, who stopped for a pic with the statue during a visit from Virginia with his wife, Deb.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we left the hotel to go to Central Park this morning my wife saw the statue and I was like, \u2018Oh man! We got to catch that on the way back cause I just love Ralph,\u201d Witkowsky, 72, said, calling the show \u201cso New York.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Bryan Farrell told The Post the iconic sitcom is \u201ctimeless.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Kevin Sheehan \/ NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Plumber CJ Matos, 32, said he uses the statue as a daily meetup spot to wait for his friends to ride the train home to New Jersey.<\/p>\n<p>I always tell my friends when they\u2019re coming to meet me, I\u2019m standing here next to my buddy Ralph. Ralphie boy,\u201d he said. \u201cI figure it\u2019s fitting, we\u2019re plumbers. Norton was a plumber, right. I mean, he worked in the sewers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bryan Farrell, 52, an exterminator from Levittown, called it a \u201cfantastic timeless show\u201d as he rattled through several plots of the episodes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere never was another show that was that funny. Universally funny,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The honeymoon ain\u2019t over. It\u2019s been 70 years since the debut of \u201cThe Honeymooners\u201d but fans of the iconic sitcom say it\u2019s still ingrained in pop culture \u2013 and in the fabric of the Big Apple. Catchphrases like \u201cto the moon, Alice,\u201d \u201cbaby, you\u2019re the greatest\u201d and \u201chey Ralphie boy\u201d are immediately recognizable as the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2075877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[21741,389707,25879,389708,384060,389709,21913,37798],"class_list":["post-2075876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-entertainment","tag-jackie-gleason","tag-metro","tag-port-authority","tag-statues","tag-the-honeymooners","tag-tv","tag-us-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Honeymooners-and-Jackie-Gleason-remembered-fondly-70-years-after-iconic.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2075876"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2075878,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075876\/revisions\/2075878"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2075877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2075876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2075876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2075876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}