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Joyce Randolph Dead at 99: ‘The Honeymooners’ Actress Left Behind an Impactful Legacy
Joyce Randolph, best known for her role as Trixie Norton on The Honeymooners, has died at age 99 of natural causes. The late star’s son, Randolph Charles, confirmed the news to multiple outlets on January 14.
Randolph passed away “peacefully in her sleep” in her Manhattan home. News of her death rattled Hollywood after she cemented herself as one of the most memorable stars of the Golden Age. Tributes poured in on social media to mourn the loss of Randolph, who many remembered as “one of the greatest.”
The Broadway veteran became a staple on The Jackie Gleason Show in the early ‘50s. From 1955 to 1956, she appeared in The Honeymooners, alongside Jackie Gleason, Audrey Meadows, Art Carney and Pert Kelton. The program was filmed in front of a live studio audience at the Adelphi Theatre in New York City for 39 episodes. With its vibrant cast of comedic greats, The Honeymooners was a ratings hit.
In the past, Randolph recalled her time on the famed TV series and working with Gleason, who died in 1987.
“He was tough on the writers, but he was a perfectionist — and just look at the writing he got out of them,” she told The New York Daily News in 2004.
Her other acting credits included roles in The Clock, Modern Romances and The Doctors and The Nurses. Years after The Honeymooners fame, the Michigan native decided to take a step back from Hollywood to focus on her family.
“I didn’t miss a thing by not working all the time,” she told The New York Times in 2007. “I didn’t want a nanny raising [my] wonderful son.”
Randolph welcomed her only child during her marriage to Richard Lincoln Charles, who died in 1997.
“In addition to being a wonderful actress, she was a wonderful mom and loving wife,” Charles told Fox News Digital after his mother’s passing.
Her last acting credit came in 2000’s Everything’s Jake, per IMDb. Randolph revealed that she was often recognized for playing Trixie, even after years had passed.
“One year while [my son] was in college at Yale, he came home and said, ’Did you know that guys and girls come up to me and ask, ‘Is your mom really Trixie?’” the TV icon told The San Antonio Express in 2000. “I guess he hadn’t paid much attention before then.”
