‘The Honeymooners’ and How it Went From TV Sketch to Beloved Sitcom

Back in 1950s and ’60s television, you really never saw a family struggling to get by. But then came The Honeymooners. Think about it: I Love Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, Leave It to Beaver, My Three Sons — usually there was domestic bliss for the most part. But that wasn’t the case with the Classic TV series that starred Jackie Gleason as bus driver Ralph Kramden, Audrey Meadows as his long-suffering wife, Alice; Art Carney as dim-witted but lovable best friend and sidekick, Ed Norton; and the last living member of The Honeymooners Joyce Randolph as his wife, Trixie.

The two couples lived in a Bensonhurst apartment in Brooklyn, New York, struggling to get by. And it was exactly that struggle, and wanting to break free of it, that propelled much of the comedy. Ralph was the get-rich-quick scheming, short-tempered, soft-hearted guy who was always striving for greatness, but never made it out of that two-room Brooklyn apartment. And that’s one of the main attractions for even the most casual of viewers: the characters are so identifiable. As Jackie himself said at the time, “Everything we did could have happened. People like the show, because we are them.”

Scroll down and see for yourself as we take this little trip back in time to 328 Chauncey Street and how Jackie created a true classic.

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