Who Played Rita On The Honeymooners?

Freda Rosen, an American actress best known for her role as Rita Wedemeyer in the 1956 episode of The Honeymooners, died at 87. Rosen played the glamorous new wife of Ralph Kramden, a co-worker of Ralph. The show was created by and starred Jackie Gleason, with her portrayal of the bus driver.

Audrey Meadows, born Audrey Cotter in 1922, was an American actress best known for her role as the deadpan housewife Alice Kramden on the 1950s American television comedy The Honeymooners. She had a lengthy career on stage, radio, and television. In her early sixties, during the mid-1950s, she had a memorable recurring TV role on The Honeymooners, playing Mrs. Gibson, Ralph Kramden’s sharp-tongued, interfering wife.

Her only known acting role was an uncredited role on a classic episode of The Honeymooners called Alice and the Blonde. Rosen played Rita Wiedemeyer, the bombshell wife of Burt Wiedemeyer, a fellow employee at Ralph Kramden’s bus company whom Ralph believes is going to be made general manager.

Freda Rosen was married to Arnie Rosen and died at the age of 87. She was best known for her role as Rita Wedemeyer, who was embarrassingly fawned over by Jackie Gleason and Art Carney at a couples dinner with their wives.

Why did Honeymooners change Alice?

Kelton appeared in the original sketches, which were shorter than the later one-season episodes and 1960s hour-long musical versions. She was replaced by Audrey Meadows because she was blacklisted. Her producers said she left because of heart problems. Kelton and her husband were listed in Red Channels, a 1950s publication of communists in the U.S. entertainment industry. Kelton sued the publication for libel, but later dropped the suit. In his book, David Weinstein wrote that Kelton remained on Cavalcade of Stars through the final season of the series (1951–1952). He suggests that it may have been because Jackie Gleason had resisted attempts at having her dropped. In the 1960s, Kelton returned to Gleason’s CBS show to play Alice’s mother in an episode of the musical version of The Honeymooners. In 1963, Kelton appeared on The Twilight Zone, playing Robert Duvall’s overbearing mother in the episode Miniature. The next year, she guest-starred on My Three Sons. In this episode, Kelton plays Thelma Wilson, a stage actress who wants a settled life but realizes it’s not for her.

Is Joyce Randolph alive?

• Deathedit. Randolph was the last surviving cast member of The Honeymooners.5 She died of natural causes at age 99 at home in Manhattans Upper West Side on January 13, 2024.1213 *^ The Honeymooners Star Joyce Randolph Turns 97. Forbes. October 21, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
• ^ Randolph, Joyce. The Lambs, Inc. December 28, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
• ^ a b c d Collins, Glenn (January 27, 2007). For TVs Trixie, the Honeymoon Lives On. The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
• ^ Merwin, Gregory (February 1956). Truly a Honeymooner. TV Radio Mirror. 45: 68–69, 102–103.
• ^ a b Happy 91st birthday to Joyce Randolph, Trixie Norton of The Honeymooners. MeTV. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
• ^ Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nded.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p.521. ISBN978-0-7864-6477-7.
• ^ JOYCE RANDOLPH 2015 INTERVIEW: Jackie Gleason / Honeymooners / Ripper the Clown Podcast. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
• ^ Niemietz, Brian (January 16, 2021). Honeymooners star Joyce Randolph gives her approval to pandemic era series The Honeyzoomers. Daily News. New York. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
• ^ Joyce Randolph. Internet Broadway Database\. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
• ^ Miller, Bryan (February 6, 1994). Trixie and Alice stuck in Endless TV honeymoon. Wisconsin State Journal. Wisconsin, Madison. The New York Times. p.9 F. Retrieved March 12, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
• ^ Noble, Marty (January 22, 2009). Rose over the Moon about Redding
• New Mets pitcher sure to provide lots of material for broadcasts. MLB.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
• ^ Barnes, Mike (January 14, 2024). Joyce Randolph, Trixie on The Honeymooners, Dies at 99. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
• ^ The Honeymooners star Joyce Randolph, who played Trixie Norton, dies at 99. AP News. January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
• *External linksedit. Joyce Randolph, The Last-Surviving Honeymooner
• Joyce Randolph at IMDb
• Joyce Randolph at the Internet Broadway Database
• Joyce Randolph at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television
• Joyce Randolph obituary

Who is the heaviest smoker of all time?

Walter Humphreys chain-smoked 100 cigarettes a day non-stop for 27 years.Mr Humphreys, 58, from Townsville, Queensland, first started smoking at 13.He largely rolled his own cigarettes with a 50g packet of White Ox per day.Bad habit morphed into horrendous addiction while he was in jail in 1990.

A man who chain-smoked 100 cigarettes a day non-stop for 27 years has revealed how he kicked the filthy habit.

Walter Humphreys, 58, would puff on cigarettes from the moment he woke up at 5am until he fell asleep at night at 10pm.

I was a walking disaster, the die-hard smoker from Townsville, Queensland said.It was one after the other, all day and all night.

Was Audrey Meadows a heavy smoker?

Meadows was a heavy smoker and was diagnosed with cancer in 1996. She kept her illness a secret from her family, including her sister, who found out a few days before she died. Meadows died in her sister’s arms five days before her 70th birthday. She is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. Throughout her career, Audrey Meadows showed her talent in many roles. But her fans will remember her as Alice Kramden. Meadows was a pioneer for women on TV. She was a kind and beautiful person. Those who knew her well remember her as a loving sister, aunt, and friend. Fans will always remember her as Jackie Gleason called her on the show. “The Greatest.” Meadows wrote a memoir with Joe Daley, Love Alice. My Life as a Honeymooner is her autobiography about her time on the comedy show. For a tribute to her life, see “Diamond in the Rough,” People Weekly (16 Feb. 1996). Her life story and accomplishments can also be found in the 1958 yearbook and April 1996 issue of Current Biography. The New York Times, Daily News, Variety, U.S. News and World Report, and TV Guide all ran obituaries on February 5, 1996.

Why was The Honeymooners cancelled?

In 1955 the Buick Motor Company offered Gleason six million dollars to produce The Honeymooners as a weekly situation comedy for two years. The corpulent comedian formed his own production company and used a new film technology, the Electronican process, to record the series live on film. The program was shot two times a week before an audience of 1,100 people. During the first season Gleason was disturbed by the amount of rehearsal time and felt that these recorded episodes lacked the spontaneity and originality of the live sketches. He discontinued the series after 39 programs and decided to return to the live, variety format. He sold the films and syndication rights to CBS for a million and half dollars.

The Honeymooners remained a prominent part of Gleasons succeeding variety series with the writers trying to do something unusual with the trusted material. During the 1956-1957 season of The Jackie Gleason Show, the Kramdens and the Nortons took a live musical trip to Europe. At the end of the season, Carney left the series, and Gleason did not revive the sketch until his 1960s extravaganza, The American Scene Magazine. When Carney was available, Gleason revived the sketch on videotape, often with new cast members. Sue Ane Langdon and Sheila MacRae played Alice, while Patricia Wilson and Jean Kean were recruited for Trixie. Despite the changes, the familiar catchphrases remained: One of these days…Pow! Right in the kisser!; and Bang! Zoom, Ralphs stock phrases to Alice as well as Eds greeting to Kramden, Hiya there, Ralphie boy.

After his variety series ended in 1970, Gleason produced four more Honeymooner specials with Carney and the returning Meadows. But Ralph Kramden remained fixed in the popular imagination because the 39 episodes of The Honeymooners were a perennial success in syndication. For over 20 years a local station in Manhattan played them every night. Fans celebrated when the Museum of Broadcasting and Jackie Gleason found the live sketches in the mid-1980s. The lost episodes were shown on cable TV and on home video.

What happened to the original Trixie on The Honeymooners?

Joyce Randolph, who played Trixie Norton on the classic sitcom “The Honeymooners,” died Saturday in New York City. She was 99. Randolph was in hospice care when she died of natural causes. Randolph’s character was married to Carney’s Ed Norton on The Honeymooners. They were neighbors of Ralph and Alice Kramden. She was born Joyce Sirola in Detroit to a Finnish American family. She started in show business when she joined a touring production of “Stage Door” while working at a department store. She then moved to New York, where she acted in theater and on television in shows such as “Buck Rogers.”

Did Audrey Meadows get along with Jackie Gleason?

Losing a loved one is always hard, even after years apart. Audrey Meadows and Jackie Gleason were married on screen in The Honeymooners, but they also had success as actors after the series ended. But they still loved each other as friends. In an interview with The Washington Post, Audrey Meadows said she called Gleason a few days before he died of cancer. Meadows spoke to Marilyn Taylor, Gleason’s wife, because Gleason was very sick. Meadows said, “Marilyn said she was going to take the phone in to him.” His speech is unclear, but I’ll put you on. She said, “Jackie, its Audrey.” It’s Alice. If that doesn’t make you cry, wait another minute to hear what Meadows and Gleason talked about. Meadows said, “I just called to tell you I love you.” He said something, but I didn’t understand. I never thanked you for the part of Alice. And he said, “I knew what I was doing!” The same voice, clear as a bell.

Who did Audrey Meadows replace on The Honeymooners?

After working on the Broadway show Top Banana, Audrey got a job on The Bob & Ray Show. She replaced Pert Kelton as the most famous Alice Kramden of The Honeymooners.

How many actresses played Alice on The Honeymooners?

Alice (née Alice Gibson) was played by Pert Kelton from 1951 to January 1952, by Audrey Meadows until 1966, and then by Sheila MacRae. She was Ralph’s wife for 14 years. She often gets in trouble for Ralph’s bad moods. The Honeymooners is an American TV sitcom that aired from 1955 to 1956. It was created by and starred Jackie Gleason. It was based on a comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason’s variety show. It’s about Ralph Kramden, his wife Alice, Ralph’s best friend Ed Norton, and Ed’s wife Trixie. They get involved in various schemes in their day-to-day lives. Most episodes are about Ralph’s bad choices in funny situations. The show also deals with serious issues like women’s rights and social status.

The original comedy sketches first aired on the DuMont network’s variety series Cavalcade of Stars, which Gleason hosted, and subsequently on the CBS network’s The Jackie Gleason Show, which was broadcast live in front of a theater audience. Gleason reworked The Honeymooners as a half-hour series, which debuted on October 1, 1955 on CBS. It was a hit at first, but then it lost its popularity.

How old was Trixie when she died?

Joyce Randolph, best known for her role in The Honeymooners, died at 99. Her son confirmed it to CBS News on Sunday. Randolph died on Saturday, her son said. She was an actress on Broadway and TV. She starred in a sitcom about a New York City bus driver and his wife.

Did the Flintstones rip off The Honeymooners?

Jackie Gleason said he considered suing but decided it wasn’t worth the negative publicity. A rip-off? No, not at all. It was a satire of The Honeymooners.

Who gets royalties from The Honeymooners?

Meadows was the only Honeymooners cast member to get residuals from the reruns of the show from 1955 to 1956. Her brother Edward, a lawyer, added a clause to her contract that would pay her if the show was re-broadcast. This earned her millions. When the lost episodes were released, Joyce Randolph, who played Trixie Norton, received royalty payments. Meadows was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on the show. She lost to Nanette Fabray in Caesars Hour.

Career outside The Honeymooners. Meadows appeared in an Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode titled Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat. It was one of 17 episodes in the 10-year series Hitchcock directed. It was one of the few episodes in the series that was light-hearted.