Jackie Gleason

By Tom Kirvan

Long known for his portrayal of Minnesota Fats in the 1961 movie “The Hustler,” Jackie Gleason gained fame as an actor and a comedian by the self-anointed nickname “The Great One.”

A New York City native with a lifetime fear of flying, Gleason became a television star in “The Honeymooners,” a show that appeared in various formats during the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. Gleason played the brash city bus driver character Ralph Kramden, whose many get-rich-quick schemes and assorted antics with his neighbor, Ed Norton (portrayed by Art Carney), delighted TV watchers for decades.

His TV profile also rose thanks to the popularity of “The Jackie Gleason Show,” which in the 1954-55 season was the highest rated program on television with nearly 42 percent of the nation’s households tuning in each week. The show served as a forum for his brash comedy style and the stock phrases that he used repeatedly, such as “How sweet it is!” and “Away we go!”

In addition to his career as an actor, Gleason was a music writer and composer of notes, recording more than 35 albums with the Jackie Gleason Orchestra, selling millions of records over the course of his career.

Jackie Gleason*

Gleason, who reportedly possessed a photographic memory, returned to the silver screen in 1977 when he played a Texas sheriff in “Smokey and the Bandit,” an action comedy starring Burt Reynolds and Sally Field. The popularity of the movie spurred the production of two sequels.

In 1985, Gleason was elected to the Television Hall of Fame, an honor that he cherished until dying of cancer on June 24, 1987, at the age of 71.

A man with a voracious appetite, Gleason didn’t hesitate to poke fun at himself, noting that his roly-poly appearance came with a side benefit.

“Thin people are beautiful, but fat people are adorable.”

He then mused: “The second day of a diet is always easier than the first. By the second day, you’re off it.”

*movie studio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons