Sunday, January 14, 2024

The Honeymooners - Now They Are All Gone & All Missed

 Joyce Randolph, who played Trixie Norton on the classic workingman's comedy The Honeymooners, has passed onto the great beyond at age 99. Jackie Gleason who played Ralph Kramden, Art Carney who played Ed Norton and arguably my all time favorite TV wife Alice Kramden who was played by Audrey Meadows all preceded her.

The cast of "The Honeymooners," Jackie Gleason, Art Carney, Audrey Meadows, and Joyce Randolph appear in a still from the show.
That is Joyce Randolph to the viewers right.

 The Honeymooners (the actual TV show, not including the shorts from the Jackie Gleason show that started it all)  is truly a timeless classic. If humanity survives another thousand years and still has something akin to television, then people will watch reruns of The Honeymooners at least that far into and likely further than that into the future. If you are too young to know what I mean or just have never seen it, search out the show online or on cable to see if you can watch it. It was unbelievably only a one season show in 1955 and consisted of 39 weekly episodes; seasons actually went from September or October through May or June back then. 

It is as funny as anything I have ever watched on TV, and in fact funnier than 99.9% of all other comedies ever in my opinion. It is hard to believe they cancelled it and I do not hesitate to guess that the network, producers and cast all regretted it was cancelled based on how long it's been making folks laugh. Damn, it is as old as me and that's not young. 

Note, the first few or several episodes (known as the lost episodes) had a different actress portray Alice. She in no way compared to Audrey Meadows, not to say she was not a good actress - they just were two very different types in character as Alice. Either would have made the show funny, but the ultimate cast of Gleason, Meadows, Carney and Randolph made it not only hilarious but immortal as well.

My condolences to the family, loved ones, friends and fans of Joyce Randolph. RIP.

All the best,
Glenn B

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