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The Honeymooners,
hailed as one of the most hilarious sitcoms
of all time, revolves around the crazy
schemes of a lovable New York City bus
driver named Ralph Kramden, played by the
comedic genius
Jackie Gleason. Kramden lives
in a dilapidated Brooklyn apartment with his
sharp-tongued wife Alice. Ralph was one of
life’s colorful losers—blustery, ambitious,
greedy, and constantly searching for the one
great moneymaking scheme that would make him
rich, often coercing his pal and neighbor,
Ed Norton, into joining him. Norton was no
better off than “Ralphie-boy”—he worked in
the city’s sewer system—but he remained
unflappable and full of cheer throughout
Ralph’s shenanigans. |
 Ralph and Ed’s schemes never worked out, usually causing friction between Ralph and his more practical wife, Alice. Ralph’s reaction, whenever Alice proved him wrong or disapproved of one of his great ideas, was to threaten to belt her, with such lines as “To the moon, Alice,” or “One of these days, Alice, one of these days...Pow! Right in the kisser!” But Alice understood Ralph, and in the end, at the final curtain, he would beam and admit, “Alice...you’re the greatest.”Created by
Jackie Gleason in 1951 as a segment for Cavalcade of Stars, The Honeymooners originally aired as a series of short comedy sketches within the one-hour variety show. In 1952, Gleason moved The Honeymooners to the CBS network as The Jackie Gleason Show starring
Art Carney as Ed Norton,
Audrey Meadows as Alice Kramden and
Joyce Randolph as Trixie Norton. In 1955, The Honeymooners made its debut as a half-hour series for a full season of 39 episodes. Now referred to as “the classic 39,” these episodes were filmed in front of a live audience and pioneered the sitcom. |
The Honeymooners became a cornerstone of
vintage television reruns soon after the
episodes originally aired. In 1984, fans of
the “classic 39” episodes were treated to
“the Lost Episodes,” a series of
Honeymooners sketches culled from the early
days. Gleason had received a copy of each
episode as part of his contract and
preserved them in his basement. He sold the
“Lost Episodes” 30 years later to a country
dying to see more of their two favorite,
albeit slightly dysfunctional families, the Kramdens and the Nortons.
The Honeymooners “Lost Episodes” are now available on
DVD and
VHS from MPI Home Video. See MPI’s entire catalogue of classic television on DVD and VHS at
www.mpihomevideo.com.
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