Tinseltown Talks
Last of The Honeymooners
Corporate Office
3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512 Phone 717.285.1350 • Fax 717.285.1360 Chester County: 610.675.6240 Cumberland County/Dauphin County: 717.770.0140 Berks County/Lancaster County/ Lebanon County/York County: 717.285.1350 E-mail address: info@onlinepub.com Website address: www.onlinepub.com
PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER Donna K. Anderson
EDITORIAL
Vice President and Managing Editor Christianne Rupp Editor, 50plus Publications Megan Joyce
ART DEPARTMENT Project Coordinator Renee McWilliams Production Artists Lauren McNallen Janys Ruth
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Account Executives Angie McComsey Jacoby Amy Kieffer Ranee Shaub Miller Account Representatives Brantley Lefever Sales & Event Coordinator Eileen Culp Events Manager Kimberly Shaffer Marketing Coordinator Mariah Hammacher
CIRCULATION
Project Coordinator Loren Gochnauer
ADMINISTRATION Business Manager Elizabeth Duvall
Member of
Awards
50plus LIFE is published by On-Line Publishers, Inc. and is distributed monthly among senior centers, retirement communities, banks, grocers, libraries and other outlets serving the senior community. On-Line Publishers, Inc. will not knowingly accept or publish advertising which may be fraudulent or misleading in nature. Views expressed in opinion stories, contributions, articles and letters are not necessarily the views of the publisher. The appearance of advertisements for products or services does not constitute an endorsement of the particular product or service. The publisher will not be responsible for mistakes in advertisements unless notified within five days of publication. On-Line Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to revise or reject any and all advertising. No part of this publication may be reproduced or reprinted without permission of On-Line Publishers, Inc. We will not knowingly publish any advertisement or information not in compliance with the Federal Fair Housing Act, Pennsylvania State laws or other local laws.
4
March 2016
50plus LIFE t
Nick Thomas
From I Love Lucy and All in the Family to Married … with Children and Seinfeld, structuring a sitcom around four lead characters often proved a successful formula. “It was the perfect format for The Honeymooners,” said Joyce Randolph, who starred as Trixie in the popular 1950s series based on two tenement-dwelling couples: the Kramdens and the Nortons. As the sole surviving member of the original series cast—which included Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, and Audrey Meadows— Randolph, who turned 91 last year, continues to be identified with the show. “I worked mostly in theater and early TV, but people still recognize me as Trixie,” said Randolph. “I’m amazed by the show’s longevity.” The Honeymooners was originally a series of short sketches on the DuMont Network’s Cavalcade of Stars and later featured regularly on The Jackie Gleason Show at CBS. “I had done a breath mint commercial and got a call that Jackie wanted ‘that serious actor’ to audition for a skit called ‘The Honeymooners’ and to play the sewer worker’s wife,” recalled Randolph. “It didn’t pay much and my character was less developed than the other three, but I was happy to have a job.” Gleason soon recognized that the chemistry between himself, Carney, Meadows, and Randolph had sitcom potential and expanded The Honeymooners into a half-hour series that ran initially for 39 episodes during 1955-1956. The show was filmed with a live audience at the Adelphi Theater in Manhattan and generally without full rehearsals. “Jackie hated to rehearse and
wanted shows to be spontaneous, so Art, Audrey, and I would go over the script together on Saturday mornings,” said Randolph. “Jackie ran everything and nobody told him what to do. “He was extremely talented, and for a big guy was incredibly
Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows, and Joyce Randolph in The Honeymooners on CBS.
Recent Joyce Randoph photo provided by Randoph’s son, Randy Charles.
light on his feet doing physical comedy. For one roller-skating skit, I went with Art and Audrey to practice at a roller-skating palace here in New York. But we never saw Jackie practice. He just came out on the skates and amazed us.” Gleason, however, was not the most convivial of coworkers. “Jackie was a very strange man, not overly friendly and very moody,” said Randolph. “He just never sat around and talked. Audrey was very professional
and would have the whole script memorized. If Jackie forgot a line, she got him back on track. “Art was quiet, and it was well known he had a long history of problems with alcohol, but was a wonderful and talented guy.” And while fans like to imagine their sitcom stars from a favorite show palling around after hours, that wasn’t the case with The Honeymooners’ foursome. “We just didn’t hang out,” said Randolph. “At 9 o’clock, when we finished filming, we all went our own way.” Randolph continued in the role when it once again became part of a new Jackie Gleason show. But when Gleason moved to Florida and revived The Honeymooners in several TV movies and in another show from 1966-1970, Randolph wasn’t invited. “Years later I saw Audrey, and she said Jackie had looked for me, but couldn’t find me,” Randolph recalled. “Well, that was a lot of nonsense. Jackie wanted to use his longtime friend Jane Kean to play Trixie, and that’s what he did. “But that was fine with me because I wasn’t going to move from New York where my husband had his job, and I was happily raising my son.” Today, when she ventures from her New York apartment of 55 years, Randolph happily greets devoted Honeymooners fans. “Strangers still come up and want to hug and kiss me and tell me how much they love the show,” she said. “You learn to accept it, but it’s fun and people are nice. The show continues to influence my life.” Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for more than 600 magazines and newspapers. Follow @TinseltownTalks
www.50plusLifePA.com