GLEASON, JACKIE 1916-1987

Comedian and actor

Meteoric Rise

Jackie Gleason enjoyed a meteoric rise in television during the early 1950s. From humble beginnings in Brooklyn, New York, Gleason worked his way to success through all kinds of show business jobs—at different times Gleason was a bouncer, carnival barker, radio disc jockey, and cabaret performer—before signing a one-year contract with Warner Bros. Pictures in 1941. After appearing in three movies for Warner Bros, and one for 20th Century—Fox in 1941 and 1942, Gleason returned to New York to work on Broadway and in comedy clubs. He continued to work in clubs and at resorts for seven years, until he was signed in 1949 by the Du Mont television network to star in the adaption to television of the "Life of Riley" radio series.

"Cavalcade of Stars."

After twenty-six weeks as Chester A. Riley, Gleason was named host of the Du Mont television show "Cavalcade of Stars." It was this show that Gleason used to hone the characters that made him a television institution. Ralph Kramden, the Poor Soul, Joe the Bartender, and Reginald Van Gleason III all made their television debuts on "Cavalcade of Stars." Gleason's presence raised the show's ratings from nine to thirty-eight in two years, garnering the attention of the other networks. The executives at CBS were especially interested in the fact that Gleason could draw such ratings on DuMont, a network without a nationwide audience.

Move to CBS

His contract with DuMont due to expire in 1952, Gleason approached CBS about signing with them. The contract was a blockbuster. CBS promised to cover the production costs for "The Jackie Gleason Show"—three hundred thousand dollars annually—and Gleason was promised a ten-thousand-dollars-per-week salary. Premiering 20 September 1952, "The Jackie Gleason Show" was in the top ten and had reached second place by 1954. The show's popularity in its Saturday night 8:00 time slot gained Gleason the nickname "Mr. Saturday Night."

New Contract

In 1954 Gleason canceled "The Jackie Gleason Show" in favor of a weekly half-hour broadcast of "The Honeymooners," a Gleason's skit that featured Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden. The contract that produced the switch in shows was the biggest in television's short history. CBS agreed to pay Gleason a total of eleven million dollars for two years of shows, with an option for a third year. In 1956 Gleason began a thirty-minute "Jackie Gleason Show." He starred in shows that ran on the network in various forms until 1971.

Classic Comedian

During his television career Gleason was a bigger-than-life character. Not always consistent or reliable, Gleason was the classic television comedian. Jim Bishop, in his 1956 biography of Gleason, attempts to summarize the contradictions:

Gleason, I am convinced, has a king-sized soul. And a loud conscience. These, coupled with a body which was intended to enjoy all of the sensual pleasures, making for a disparate, sometimes desperate, character. He has a gargantuan appetite for food, women, music and charity. They do not all pull in the same direction.

Sources:

Jim Bishop, The Golden Ham: A Candid Biography of Jackie Gleason (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1956);

"Jack for Jackie," Time (3 January 1955): 52;

Eric Pace, "Jackie Gleason Dies of Cancer; Comedian and Actor Was 71," New York Times, 25 June 1987, pp. A1, B16;

Sally Bedell Smith, In All His Glory: The Life of William S. Paley (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1990).

Gleason, [Herbert John] Jackie (1916–87), comic actor. The burly, aggressive Brooklyn‐born comedian is best known to Americans for his popular television series. He first appeared on Broadway in Keep Off the Grass (1940) but is recalled primarily for his clowning in Follow the Girls (1944), Along Fifth Avenue (1949), and Take Me Along (1959).