1950's Television: "The Honeymooners" on DuMont Television Network

1950's Television: A early "Honeymooners" sketch with Jackie Gleason, Art Carney and Pert Kelton. This sketch aired on the DuMont Television Network, before Jackie Gleason moved to CBS-TV.

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• 1950's
• Television
• 50s
• TV
• 1950s
• 50's
• Fifties
• DuMont
• Network
• Du
• Mont
• Jackie
• Gleason
• Pert
• Kelton
• Art
• Carney
• Old

[wileycoyote64]

I read that most of the old DuMont TV shows were dumped in the hudson river

because no one would pay for storage

[MattTheSaiyan]

@wileycoyote64 That's what actress Edie Adams claimed when asked about her troubles finding copies of her husbands work. I don't how much DuMont itself kept, but it does appear a lot more what kept by the network than currently exists.

[conductorron]

Was this an excerp from one of the episodes or is this theentire episode without commercials?

[MattTheSaiyan]

It's from "Cavalcade of Stars". It's a sketch from the days when the show was still sketches on a variety show. "Cavalcade of Stars" has been said to have had about 10 30-to-60 second commercials and hence had about 47 to 52 minutes of actual show per an episode.

[vividwatch47]

Joyce Randolph was actually the second Trixie. Elaine Stritch played her in the very first "Honeymooners" sketch that aired on "Cavalcade Of Stars", then was replaced by Randolph.

[Noveltooner]

But Gleason always took care of his friends. Pert Kelton returned to "The Honeymooners" in 1968 to play Alice's mother in the color episodes from "The Jackie Gleason Show." When Gleason presented her during the cast introductions at the end, she received a huge standing ovation. There were a lot of "DuMonters" in the the Florida audience, and they remembered. Sadly, she passed away in October of the same year.

[frumnyc]

Seems like they adopted this plot line for a full episode. I loved Audrey Meadows, but this version of Alice does seem more fitting for teh "class" these players are in. I guess this was well before his weight became the object of many a joke like

[nailband]

so....anyone ever wonder where this "ALICE" character ended up...FAMILY GUY, That's where! LOIS is a direct descendant, and Peter is just a reincarnation of Ralph!

If you just listen to the audio, you'd swear it was a Family Guy Episode.

[joesphx19]

The DuMont network had the luck of selling their shows to other networks who then made hits of them. Still, DuMont was real TV on the cheap, sort of like an early community access channel in quality.

[BobWXXI]

Jackie Gleason saved most of these episodes from both the DuMont and CBS series, by having them personally kinescoped--he figured they'd be valuable someday.

[tomitstube]

@ShawDAMAN ~ i know audrey is a favorite of many people, she was good, but i think kelton was more of an honest fit, this version had a flim noir to it that was still in vogue. plus the writing changed after she was blackballed, so it's hard to say. and it's hard to argue with something that did so well (altho not at the time) i do have a soft spot for the actors ruined by mccarthy.

[ShawDAMAN]

@tomitstube I'm not sure I like this *better,* as meadows made such a mark as Alice, but I do like Kelton... first time I've seen this. She's kind of cute in a homely way haha... more what you would expect perhaps

[tomitstube]

i actually like this better, more realistic, less slapstick. i think pert kelton was a better actress and jackie didn't want to lose her, i have no doubt it would have been just as much a hit. but unfortunately the mccarthy fascists got her blacklisted before the season began.

[44032]

12/7/51. The fifth ever "Honeymooners" and Joyce Randolph's first appearance as Trixie. Norton had shown up in the third episode.

[DocWyoming]

Alice was actually having an affair, it's just that she and Joe were fast talkers and they came up with a back story in case they got caught.

[spxmet]

@cafemartini Give Joaquin a few years. With all the shit he does, he'll look like Jackie in no time.