About me: "Everyone is insecure to a degree. My business is composed of a mass of crisis. It all adds up to the manufacturing of insecurity. Some people find escape in comfort, dames, liquor, or food. But that is not enough." --Jackie Gleason
Nickname
"The Great One"
Height
5' 11 1/2"
Spouse
'Marilyn Taylor' (1975 - 24 June 1987) (his death)
'Beverly McKittrick' (1970 - 1974) (divorced)
'Genevieve Halford' (1936 - 1970) (divorced); 2 daughters
Trivia
Patric's father, Gleason's son-in-law, is actor/playwright Jason Miller.
Gleason designed his own fantastic round house that was built in Peekskill, NY in the 1950s and remains a modern marvel. The precious wood interior took special crafting by Swedish carpenters who were brought to the U.S. for a year to work on the house. It contained a basement disco and one of the very first in-home video projection systems. Despite the enormous cost, the Gleason dream house long suffered from a leaky wooden roof.
Gleason was legendary for his dislike of rehearsal, even in the early days of live TV. Yet he was equally renowned for his total mastery and control over each production detail and insisted on the show credit: "Entire Production Supervised by Jackie Gleason."
Jackie was prone to excess with wine, women, song and work, a lifestyle which often led to exhaustion. In such cases, he would check into a hospital for some needed rest. But one famous story has it, when Gleason really felt "sick", he checked himself OUT of the hospital, and went home to be taken care of!
Despite his iconic stature as a TV-comedy giant, Gleason never won an EMMY.
Grandfather of actor Jason Patric.
Namesake of the Jackie Gleason (formerly 5th Avenue) Bus Depot in Brooklyn, NY.
Had an interest in the occult as well as an extensive collection of books on the paranormal.
Gleason is buried in Miami.His grave site is all that one would expect. Engraved in the "riser" of the second step from the top is the classic, "AND AWAY WE GO".
Personal quotes
"Drinking removes warts and pimples. Not from me. But from those I look at."
Biography from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:
Actor. (b. Feb. 26, 1916, Brooklyn, as Herbert John Gleason; d. June 24, 1987.) The man who would help define TV comedy in the 1950s toiled without distinction in Hollywood a decade earlier. Minor roles in films with major stars like Bogart and Grable All Through the Night, Springtime in the Rockies both 1942) led nowhere, and the comedy lead in a 1942 B picture called Tramp, Tramp, Tramp was likewise a dead end. Only after his tremendous success on TV, with his own variety show and the immortal "Honeymooners" skits and half-hour series, did Gleason return to the big screen-not in comedy roles, for the most part, but in dramatic characterizations that showed another facet of his great talent. His big-screen peak, reached in the early 1960s, included an Oscar-nominated supporting performance as billiard king Minnesota Fats in The Hustler (1961), and skillful starring turns in Requiem for a Heavyweight, Gigot (both 1962 the latter a Chaplinesque vehicle which he also cowrote), Papa's Delicate Condition and Soldier in the Rain (both 1963). He also appeared in Skidoo (1965), Don't Drink the Water (based on a Woody Allen play), and How to Commit Marriage (both 1969; in the latter teamed with Bob Hope). Considerably slimmed down, he made a screen comeback in the late 1970s, scoring a commercial smash in Smokey and the Bandit (1977), as a caricatured redneck sheriff; he also appeared in the 1980 and 1983 sequels. Other late credits include Mr. Bil lion (1977), The Sting II, The Toy (both 1982), and Nothing in Common (1986), which gave him one of his all-time best roles, as Tom Hanks' aging and irascible father. He and "Honeymooners" costar Art Carney were reunited in the made-for-TV movie Izzy and Moe (1985)
Who I'd like to meet: Heya.. Check this out!
www.jackiegleason.com
Obviously this is a tribute page. There is only one cast member still living and that is Joyce Randalph (Trixie). I would like to meet HER. I would like to travel to Florida and visit Jackie's grave and go to New York to see his statue.
I love Jackie's work and have found no other tribute to him. I am so moved by his spontaneous work. I watch The Honeymooners almost every night as I am a complete Honeymooner's GEEK! (I own everything ever published.... The Classics as well as the Lost Episodes!). I find it hard to watch 'Life Of Riely' as I can feel the leash was tightly pulled on Jackie's freedom to be his off the cuff, wild self.
I have the A&E Biography on Jackie's life and BAWL every time I watch it. It always gets to me about how rough he had it growing up and the self destructive path he took as a symptom of that rough childhood. As an artist who had a less than peachy childhood, I relate to these things and wonder if we even would have The Great One if his life had indeed been peachy-keen. I know that we wouldn't have The Honeymooners since he drew his inspireation from his parent's arguments and rough hand to mouth life in the Bronx.
The Honeymooners shook up the world with it's realism and delightful look into a life that wasn't your average happy, squeaky clean TV family that was normally portrayed during the early years of television. (see Life Of Riley)
The world wanted to see something more "real" and Gleason delivered that.
Thank you Jackie. We still love you!
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