The Honeymooners airs on TV
On Oct. 1, 1955, at 8:30 p.m., the first episode of The Honeymooners premiered on CBS titled “TV or Not TV,” starring Jackie Gleason (Ralph Kramden), Audrey Meadows (Alice Kramden), Art Carney (Edward Lillywhite “Ed & Eddie” Norton), and Joyce Randolph (Thelma “Trixie” Norton), in which Ralph cons Norton into paying for half a TV Set; Ralph fights with Norton over a TV that they share but is in Ralph’s apartment. This episode has Ralph doing a double take when Norton watches Captain Video and His Video Rangers! Many viewers considered the episode among the best.
Filmed before a live audience, The Honeymooners was one of the first U.S. television shows to portray working-class married couples in a gritty, non-idyllic manner (the show is set mostly in the Kramdens’ kitchen, in a neglected Brooklyn apartment complex. many viewers considered among the best. Although the show was an instant hit becoming the #2 show in the United States during its first season, it faced stiff competition from The Perry Como Show, and eventually dropped to #19, ending its production after only 39 episodes. For one amazing year, CBS aired those “Classic 39” episodes — “Live on Film” as the New York Times ad called it on that night — that are so beloved by generations of TV viewers.
Art Carney won five Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Ed Norton, two for the original Jackie Gleason Show, one for The Honeymooners, and two for the final version of The Jackie Gleason Show. He was nominated for another two (1957, 1966) but lost. Gleason and Meadows were both nominated in 1956 for their work on The Honeymooners. Gleason was nominated for Best Actor – Continuing Performance but lost to Phil Silvers, while Meadows was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role but lost to Nanette Fabray. Meadows was also nominated for Emmys for her portrayal of Alice Kramden in 1954 and 1957.
Celebrating 60 Years of The Honeymooners
Tonight, on October 1, 2015, to mark the 60th anniversary on the exact night that the first episode of “The Honeymooners” premiered on TV, PIX11 will show that first episode, “TV or Not TV,” at 11 p.m. In addition, at 11:30 p.m., they will show the 39th and final episode, “A Man’s Pride.”
I will be watching. Happy 60th anniversary, The Honeymooners!!!
By Shamarie Knight, 1st Oct 2015
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