Jackie Gleason
By
Dominic Nicosia
Whether he was TV's loveable loud mouth, Ralph Kramden or the fast
talking pool player, Minnesota Fats, Herbert John A.K.A. Jackie Gleason
could never be accused of giving less than one hundred percent to
a performance.
Born in 1916 to an impoverished Brooklyn Family and abandoned by his
father eight years later, Gleason got his start in performance art
by playing all of New York's night clubs. After his Broadway role
in Hellzapoppin' , The great one signed to "Warner Brothers"
for a two year contract which never paid him more than two hundred
dollars per week. While under the WB umbrella, Gleason was pigeonholed
as a gangster. Due in large part to his size, the studio never saw
him as a leading man. After such films Larceny Inc. with Edward G.
Robinson and Navy Blues with Ann Sheridan, the studio declined renewal
of his contract and Gleason went back to New York.
Returning to the stage in such productions as Artists and Models,
Follow the Girls and Along fifth Avenue, Gleason decided to take a
chance on a new and exciting vehicle in performance art, Television.
Along his adventures on the screen, he assumed hosting duties on a
variety show which featured a skit of a Brooklyn couple living in
a Tenement, the sketch would eventually become The Honeymooners one
of Gleason's most notable endeavors. For 39 hilarious episodes, Gleason
concentrated on sitcom television only. When the series was done in
1949, he went back to his stage career. However, when a couple of
his projects went south he dove back into variety television, reviving
The Honeymooners for a short while. In 1971 he went to film and never
looked back. With such films as The Hustler, Requiem for a Heavyweight
and Gigot in his film portfolio, Gleason proved his strength and yet
another medium. The Great one went on to make a slew of pictures and
continued to work until his death in 1987. Gleason died a success
despite how his life began.