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N0KFQ > TODAY 09.05.15 16:15l 65 Lines 3028 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 55359_N0KFQ
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Subj: Today in History - May 9
Path: IZ3LSV<IR1UAW<IQ5KG<I0OJJ<N6RME<N0KFQ
Sent: 150509/1403Z 55359@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.4.63
1971
Last Honeymooners episode airs
On this day in 1971, the last original episode of the sitcom The
Honeymooners, starring Jackie Gleason as Brooklyn bus driver
Ralph Kramden, airs.
Although a perennial rerun favorite in syndication, The
Honeymooners actually aired only 39 episodes in its familiar
sitcom format, running for just one season in 1955-56. The show
debuted on October 5, 1951, as a six-minute sketch on the variety
show Cavalcade of Stars, hosted by Jackie Gleason. Cavalcade of
Stars evolved into The Jackie Gleason Show in 1952, and Gleason
continued the sketches, playing the blustery Ralph Kramden.
Regular cast member Audrey Meadows soon replaced the original
casting choice, Pert Kelton, as Ralph's long-suffering wife,
Alice, who deflated his get-rich-quick schemes but often saved
the day. Art Carney played Gleason's friend and sidekick, Ed
Norton, from the beginning, and Joyce Randolph was the most
memorable incarnation of Ed's wife, Trixie.
In 1955, Gleason had tired of the hour-long variety-show format
and wanted to try something new. He suggested creating two
half-hour programs: The Honeymooners and Stage Show, a
musical-variety show, which Gleason would produce. Among Stage
Show's many musical guests was the first-time TV performer Elvis
Presley, who visited the show in January 1956.
In a departure from most TV shows of the time, The Honeymooners
was filmed in front of a live audience and broadcast at a later
date. To allow Gleason more time to pursue other producing
projects, he taped two episodes a week, leaving him free for
several months at the end of the season. Shows were taped at New
York's Adelphi Theatre in front of around 1,000 people.
Unfortunately, the two shows did not appeal to audiences as much
as Gleason had hoped. He soon returned to his hour-long variety
format, occasionally including Honeymooners skits. He sold the
full Honeymooners episodes to CBS for $1.5 million, and they
would go on to earn the network a windfall in syndication. In
1966, Gleason began creating hour-long Honeymooners episodes,
which he aired in lieu of his usual variety format. From 1966 to
1970, about half of Gleason's shows were these hour-long
episodes. In 1971, the episodes were rebroadcast as their own
series, until May 9, 1971, when the final episode aired.
Despite its brief life as a traditional sitcom, The Honeymooners
remains one of the most memorable TV comedies of all time,
rivaled only by I Love Lucy in its pioneering role in television
history. Its influence has stretched into modern-day sitcom
classics such as Roseanne (also a show focused on a working-class
American family) and Seinfeld (another sitcom about wacky New
York neighbors). The devotion of Honeymooners fans throughout the
years has bordered on cultish worship, including the formation of
a club known as RALPH: Royal Association for the Longevity and
Preservation of the Honeymooners.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@gmail.com
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