Jackie Gleason knew that The Honeymooners would last forever
Was Babe Ruth really looking into the future when he called his shot in the fifth inning of Game 3 of the 1932 World Series? Or was he so sure of his skills, so confident in his ability, that he was able to change reality around him?
In an interview back in 1986, Jackie Gleason foresaw a distant future when people would still be watching The Honeymooners. Sure, people had already been watching the Kramdens for thirty years at that point. Surely it would take some sort of mystical fortune-telling prowess to correctly predict that the trend would continue for another forty, right?
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But, if anybody understood what made The Honeymooners special, it was Gleason. More than anyone else, Gleason knew why people responded to the characters he and his cohorts played. To him, one of the primary reasons for the episodes' longevity was because "they aren't topical."
"They are about characters that the audience cares about. That's the important element," Gleason told The Tampa Tribune.
The characters were archetypes. "I knew guys just like that in Brooklyn," said Gleason. The beauty of the show was that everybody seemingly knew guys like that. Maybe there was a Ralph in your family. Maybe you were Ralph.
In addition to the characters, Gleason said it was the actors who played them that made the show great.
Gleason was a legendary performer but knew to surround himself with people who could hold their own, onstage and on camera. That's why Ralph Kramden isn't the only memorable character on the show.
"The show was good because of the cast," said Gleason. "Art Carney was 90 percent of the show."
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