View source for Jackie Gleason

{{Short description|American comedian and actor (1916–1987)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| image              = Publicity photo young gleason.jpg
| caption            = Gleason in the 1940s
| birth_name         = Herbert Walton Gleason Jr.
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1916|02|26}}
| birth_place        = New York City, U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|mf=yes|1987|06|24|1916|02|26}}
| death_place        = [[Lauderhill, Florida]], U.S.
| burial_place       = Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery<br>[[Doral, Florida]], U.S.
| years_active       = 1935{{ndash}}1986
| party              = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| occupation         = {{hlist|Comedian|actor|musician|writer|composer|conductor}}
| spouse             = {{ubl
  |{{marriage|Genevieve Halford|1936|1970|end=div}}
  |{{marriage|Beverly McKittrick|1970|1975|end=div}}
  |{{marriage|Marilyn Taylor|1975<!--As marriage ended by death of Gleason, not by death of his spouse, the year 1987 is omitted here. See instructions on [[Template:Marriage]] for more info-->}}
}}
| children           = 2, including [[Linda Miller (actress)|Linda Miller]]
| relatives          = [[Jason Patric]] (grandson)
}}
'''Herbert John Gleason''' (born '''Herbert Walton Gleason Jr.'''; February 26, 1916{{snds}}June 24, 1987), known as '''Jackie Gleason''', was an American comedian, actor, writer, and composer also known as "The Great One".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ipnrAgAAQBAJ&q=jackie+gleason+february+1916+1987&pg=PT118|title=Conductors and Composers of Popular Orchestral Music: A Biographical and Discographical Sourcebook|first1=Naomi|last1=Musiker|first2=Reuben|last2=Musiker|date=February 25, 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=9781135917708|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jackiegleason.com/bio.html |title=Jackie Gleason Biography |publisher=JackieGleason.com |access-date=November 27, 2020 |archive-date=November 2, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081102194913/http://www.jackiegleason.com/bio.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="great"/> He developed a style and characters from growing up in [[Brooklyn]], New York, and was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy, exemplified by his city bus driver character Ralph Kramden in the television series ''[[The Honeymooners]]''. He also developed ''[[The Jackie Gleason Show]]'', which maintained high ratings from the mid-1950s through 1970. The series originated in New York City, but filming moved to [[Miami Beach]], Florida, in 1964 after Gleason took up permanent residence there.

Among his notable film roles were [[Minnesota Fats (character)|Minnesota Fats]] in 1961's ''[[The Hustler]]'' (co-starring with [[Paul Newman]]) and [[Buford T. Justice]] in the ''[[Smokey and the Bandit]]'' trilogy from 1977 to 1983 (co-starring [[Burt Reynolds]]).

Gleason enjoyed a prominent secondary music career during the 1950s and 1960s, producing a series of bestselling "[[Easy listening#History|mood music]]" albums. His first album ''[[Music for Lovers Only]]'' still holds the record for the longest stay on the ''Billboard'' Top Ten Charts (153 weeks), and his first ten albums sold over a million copies each.<ref name=billboard>''[[Joel Whitburn]] Presents the Billboard Albums, 6th edition'', {{ISBN|0-89820-166-7}}</ref> His output includes more than 20 singles, nearly 60 long-playing record albums, and more than 40 CDs.

During his career, Gleason received nomination for an [[Academy Award]], three [[Golden Globe Awards]], and five [[Primetime Emmy Awards]]. 

==Early life==
Gleason was born Herbert Walton Gleason Jr. on February 26, 1916, at 364 Chauncey Street in the Stuyvesant Heights (now [[Bedford–Stuyvesant]]) section of [[Brooklyn]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Kid's talk |newspaper=[[News & Record]] |date=September 19, 1995 |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=GB&p_theme=gb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF8657904AB687&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D |access-date=June 8, 2009 |via=newsbank.com }}{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> He was later baptized as 'John Herbert Gleason'<ref name="bio">{{cite web |title=Jackie Gleason Biography |website=JackieGleason.com |url=http://www.jackiegleason.com/bio.html |access-date=November 23, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081102194913/http://www.jackiegleason.com/bio.html |archive-date=November 2, 2008}}</ref> and grew up at 328 Chauncey Street, Apartment 1A (an address he later used for Ralph and Alice Kramden on ''[[The Honeymooners]]'').<ref>{{cite web |title=Honeymooners |website=Fifties Web |date=April 30, 1999 |url=https://fiftiesweb.com/tv/honeymooners/ |access-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-date=November 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126182745/https://fiftiesweb.com/tv/honeymooners/ |url-status=live }} Retrieved November 26, 2023.</ref> His parents were Herbert Walton "Herb" Gleason (1883–1964), born in New York City to an Irish father and an American mother, and Mae Agnes "Maisie" ([[Maiden and married names|née]] Kelly; 1886–1935), an Irish immigrant from [[Farranree]], County Cork.<ref name="The Milwaukee Journal">{{cite news |author=Yudell, Cliff |date=December 28, 1980 |title=Famed funnyman shows a simpler, wiser side |newspaper=[[The Milwaukee Journal]] }}</ref><ref name=ref1>
{{cite web
 |title        = Jackie Gleason Biography (1916–1987)
 |publisher    = filmreference.com
 |url          = http://www.filmreference.com/film/85/Jackie-Gleason.html
 |access-date  = January 13, 2009
|url-status   = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081222020829/http://www.filmreference.com/film/85/Jackie-Gleason.html
 |archive-date = December 22, 2008
|df           = dmy-all
}}
</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Bishop, Jim |date=February 11, 1976 |title=Jackie Gleason soon to be 60 |newspaper=Reading Eagle |page=8 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=boNVAAAAIBAJ&pg=2481,140188 |archive-date=November 3, 2023 |access-date=September 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103172543/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=boNVAAAAIBAJ&pg=2481,140188 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Eric |last=Pace |date=June 25, 1987 |title=Jackie Gleason dies of cancer; comedian and actor was 71 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |type=obituary |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/25/obituaries/jackie-gleason-dies-of-cancer-comedian-and-actor-was-71.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313165445/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/25/obituaries/jackie-gleason-dies-of-cancer-comedian-and-actor-was-71.html |archive-date=March 13, 2017 }}</ref> Gleason was the younger of two children; his elder brother, Clement, died from complications of [[meningitis]] at age 14 in 1919.<ref name="The Milwaukee Journal"/>

Gleason remembered Clement and his father having "beautiful handwriting". He watched his father work at the family's kitchen table, writing insurance policies in the evenings. On the night of December 14, 1925, Gleason's father disposed of any family photos in which he appeared; just after noon on December 15, he collected his hat, coat, and paycheck, and permanently left his family and job at the insurance company. Once it became evident that he was not coming back, Mae went to work as a subway attendant for the [[Brooklyn–Manhattan Transit Corporation]] (BMT).<ref name=NewYorkMag/>

After his father abandoned the family, young Gleason began hanging around with a local gang, hustling pool.<ref name=NewYorkMag/> He attended P.S. 73 Elementary School in Brooklyn, [[John Adams High School (Queens)|John Adams High School]] in Queens, and Bushwick High School in Brooklyn. Gleason became interested in performing after being part of a class play; he quit school before graduating and got a job that paid $4{{nbsp}}per night ({{Inflation|US|4|1933|fmt=eq}}) as [[master of ceremonies]] at a theater. Other jobs he held at that time included pool hall worker, stunt driver, and [[Barker (occupation)|carnival barker]].<ref name=NewYorkMag/><ref name=Hill/> Gleason and his friends made the rounds of the local theaters; he put an act together with one of his friends, and the pair performed on an amateur night at the Halsey Theater, where Gleason replaced his friend Sammy Birch as master of ceremonies. He performed the same duties twice a week at the Folly Theater.<ref name=NewYorkMag/>

Gleason was 19 when his mother died in 1935 from complications of [[sepsis]] from a large neck [[carbuncle]] that young Jackie had tried to lance.<ref name="bio"/> He had nowhere to go and 36 cents to his name. The family of his first girlfriend, Julie Dennehy, offered to take him in; Gleason, however, was headstrong and insisted that he was going into the heart of the city.<ref name=NewYorkMag/> His friend Birch made room for him in the hotel room he shared with another comedian.<ref name=Sweet>{{cite book |last1=Bacon |first1=James |title=How Sweet It Is |date=1985 |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |isbn=0-31239621-X |page=26 |oclc=1380359068 }}</ref> Birch also told him of a week-long gig in [[Reading, Pennsylvania]], which would pay $19—more money than Gleason could imagine (equivalent to $440 in 2025). The booking agent advanced his bus fare for the trip against his salary, granting Gleason his first job as a professional comedian. Following this, he would always have regular work in small clubs.<ref name=Funny>{{cite news |author=Bacon, James |date=June 30, 1987 |title=Funny comic, terrible husband |newspaper=[[The Milwaukee Journal]] }}</ref>

==Career==
Gleason worked his way up to larger clubs in Manhattan, first Leon and Eddie's and then Jack White's madcap Club 18, where insulting the patrons was the order of the day. Gleason greeted noted skater [[Sonja Henie]] by handing her an ice cube and saying, "Okay, now do something."<ref name=Sydney/>

"He has an uncanny instinct for hauling willing laughs from paying guests," reported a newspaper columnist in 1941. "His unsmiling, watchful countenance reminds one of a portly Romeo being rebuffed. Audiences instinctively trust him for laughs and are rarely let down. The man can even insult people and make them like it."<ref>''Pittsburgh Press'', Aug. 12, 1941, p. 18.</ref>

By age 24 Gleason began appearing in motion pictures, under the name Jackie C. Gleason (the middle initial standing for Clement, in tribute to his late brother).<ref>''Pittsburgh Press'', p. 18.</ref> When director [[Lloyd Bacon]] visited the Club 18, Gleason took him aside and asked for a chance in pictures. Gleason then took the nightclub floor and began heckling Bacon, which convinced the director to bring Gleason to Hollywood. Gleason signed with [[Warner Bros.]] (at $250 a week) for Bacon's ''[[Navy Blues (1941 film)|Navy Blues]]'' (1941) with [[Ann Sheridan]] and [[Martha Raye]]. Gleason's other major Warner credit was the [[Humphrey Bogart]] feature ''[[All Through the Night (film)|All Through the Night]]'' (1942), which also featured a young [[Phil Silvers]]. Warners cast Gleason in four more films of diminishing importance; one of them, ''[[Lady Gangster]]'' (1942) had Gleason as a getaway-car driver for a gang of bank bandits. 

In the wake of [[Abbott and Costello]], most of the movie studios tried to imitate the team's military comedies. Warners loaned Gleason to [[Columbia Pictures]], where he was paired with nightclub and movie comic Jack Durant for the Army comedy ''[[Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1942 film)|Tramp, Tramp, Tramp]]'' (1942). Gleason accepted another loan-out to [[Twentieth Century-Fox]], where Gleason played [[Glenn Miller]]'s bass player in ''[[Orchestra Wives]]'' (1942). He had a modest part as an actor's agent in the 1942 [[Betty Grable]]–[[Harry James]] musical ''[[Springtime in the Rockies]]''. Warners had no further plans for Gleason and did not renew his contract.

Gleason had supplemented his movie salary by signing a $150-a-week deal to appear at [[Maxie Rosenbloom]]'s popular nightclub. "He was a smash hit," wrote biographer W. J. Weatherby, "but none of the Hollywood executives who congratulated him offered him a movie role worthy of his talent."<ref>W. J. Weatherby, ''Jackie Gleason: An Intimate Portrait'', Berkley, 1992, p. 46.</ref> At the end of 1942, Gleason and [[Lew Parker]] led a large cast of entertainers in the roadshow production of [[Olsen and Johnson]]'s ''New 1943 [[Hellzapoppin (musical)|Hellzapoppin]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iLpRAAAAIBAJ&pg=1683,2316461|title=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Google News Archive Search|website=News.google.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LAwEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Barto+and+Mann%22&pg=PA9 |page=9 |title=Billboard |via=Google Books |date=October 10, 1942 |access-date=August 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/jackie-gleason-lew-parker-239226986 |title=Jackie Gleason Lew Parker Hellzapoppin 1943 Hanna Theater Cleveland OHIO Program (01/14/2012) |publisher=Worthpoint.com |access-date=August 17, 2015 |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904123516/http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/jackie-gleason-lew-parker-239226986 |url-status=live }}</ref> He also became known for hosting all-night parties in his hotel suite; the hotel soundproofed his suite out of consideration for its other guests.<ref name=Sydney/> "Anyone who knew Jackie Gleason in the 1940s", wrote [[CBS]] historian Robert Metz, "would tell you The Fat Man would never make it. His pals at Lindy's watched him spend money as fast as he soaked up the booze."{{citation needed|date=October 2015}} [[Rodney Dangerfield]] wrote that he witnessed Gleason purchasing [[marijuana]] in the 1940s.<ref>{{cite book|title=It's Not Easy Being Me: A Lifetime of No Respect But Plenty of Sex and Drugs|last=Dangerfield|first=Rodney|publisher=HarperCollins|year=2004}}</ref>

Gleason was initially exempt from military service during [[World War II]] because he was a father of two. However, in 1943, the U. S. Army started drafting men with children. When Gleason reported to his induction, doctors discovered that his broken left arm had healed crooked (the area between his thumb and forefinger was nerveless and numb), that a [[pilonidal cyst]] existed at the end of his [[coccyx]], and that he was 100 pounds overweight. Gleason was, therefore, classified 4-F and rejected for military service.<ref>''The Golden Ham: A Candid Biography of Jackie Gleason''</ref>

During an acute employment slump in late 1943, Gleason took the only job he could get: a guest shot on [[National Broadcasting Company|NBC's]] radio show ''[[The Chamber Music Society of Lower Basin Street]]'', a hot-jazz jam session. Gleason was that week's "intermission commentator" and delivered a comic monologue about a girl who ran off with a trumpet player. He collected $350 for the appearance. As W. J. Weatherby related, "There were so many phone calls praising it as the funniest program listeners had ever heard that Jackie was invited back. 'Wait till I'm that desperate again,' he said."<ref>Weatherby, p. 50.</ref>

Gleason's first significant recognition as an entertainer came on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] when he appeared in the hit musical ''[[Follow the Girls]]'' (1944), starring singer [[Gertrude Niesen]] and comic dancer [[Tim Herbert]].

==={{anchor|Entering television}}Early television===
[[File:Jackie Gleason Rosemary DeCamp The Life of Riley 1949.JPG|thumb|Gleason and [[Rosemary DeCamp]] as Chester and Peg Riley in ''The Life of Riley'']]
[[File:Jackie Gleason show 1955.JPG|thumb|Gleason and Margaret Jeanne (of the June Taylor dancers) get ready for [[St. Patrick's Day]] 1955.|alt=Jackie Gleason straightening a dancer's hat]]

Gleason's big break occurred in 1949 when, working nightclubs and earning the attention of New York City's inner circle, he landed work with the fledgling [[DuMont Television Network]].<ref name=NewYorkMag/> His first role with DuMont was the role of blunt but softhearted aircraft worker Chester A. Riley for the first television version of the radio comedy ''[[The Life of Riley]]'', replacing [[William Bendix]], who was unable to take the role due to contractual issues. Despite positive reviews, the show was canceled after one year, in part to DuMont's substantial disadvantages. (Bendix did resume the role beginning in 1953 for a more successful five-year series.)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=lifeofriley|title=The Life of Riley|publisher=Museum of Broadcast Communications|access-date=February 3, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211021032/http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=lifeofriley|archive-date=February 11, 2011}}</ref><ref name=Sydney/> As Gleason's time on ''The Life of Riley'' ended in 1950, DuMont's ''Cavalcade of Stars'' variety hour in 1950 had an opening when that show's host [[Jerry Lester]] jumped to [[NBC]] to host the first [[late-night talk show|late-night comedy/variety series]] ''[[Broadway Open House]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/people/jerry-lester/biography/|title=Jerry Lester Biography|publisher=tv.com|accessdate=10 February 2015|archive-date=February 6, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150206044546/http://www.tv.com/people/jerry-lester/biography/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Comedy writer [[Harry Crane]], whom Gleason knew from his days as a stand-up comedian in New York, recommended Gleason for the job.<ref name=UCLA>[http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/UCLA-Library-Acquires-Papers-of-5661 UCLA Newsroom: "UCLA Library Acquires Papers of Television Pioneer Harry Crane" by Teri Bond Michael] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150731034259/http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/UCLA-Library-Acquires-Papers-of-5661 |date=July 31, 2015 }} November 18, 2004</ref> The program initially had rotating hosts; Gleason was first offered two weeks at $750 per week. The offer was extended to four weeks when he responded that this arrangement would not be worth the train trip to New York. Gleason returned to New York for the show and soon became permanent host.<ref name=NewYorkMag/> He framed the acts with splashy dance numbers, developed sketch characters he would refine over the next decade, and became enough of a presence that CBS wooed him to its network in 1952.

Renamed ''[[The Jackie Gleason Show]]'', the program became the country's second-highest-rated television show during the 1954–55 season.<ref name="Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle 2007">{{cite book|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–present|author1=Brooks, Tim  |author2=Marsh, Earle|year=2007|publisher=[[Ballantine Books]]|isbn=978-0-345-49773-4|title-link=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–present }}</ref> Gleason amplified the show with even splashier opening dance numbers inspired by [[Busby Berkeley]]'s screen dance routines and featuring the precision-choreographed [[June Taylor Dancers]]. Following the dance performance, he would do an opening monologue. Then, accompanied by "a little travelin' music" ("[[That's a Plenty]]", a [[Dixieland]] classic from 1914), he would shuffle toward the wings, clapping his hands and shouting, "And awaaay we go!" The phrase became one of his trademarks, along with "How sweet it is!" (which he used in reaction to almost anything).<ref name="Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle 2007"/> Theona Bryant, a former [[John Robert Powers|Powers Girl]], became Gleason's "And awaaay we go" girl. [[Ray Bloch]] was Gleason's first music director, followed by [[Sammy Spear]], who stayed with him through the 1960s; Gleason often kidded with his music directors during his opening monologues. He continued developing comic characters, including:
* ''Reginald Van Gleason III'', a top-hatted millionaire with a taste for both the good life and fantasy;
* ''Rudy the Repairman,'' boisterous and boorish;
* ''Joe the Bartender'', gregarious and with friendly words for the never-seen Mr. Dennehy (who was always the first one at the bar);
* ''The Poor Soul'', a silent character who could (and often did) come to grief in the least-expected places (or demonstrated gratitude at such gifts as being allowed to share a newspaper on a subway);
* ''Rum Dum'', a character with a brush-like mustache who often stumbled around as though drunk and confused;
* ''Fenwick Babbitt'', a friendly, addle-headed young man usually depicted working at various jobs and invariably failing;
* ''Charlie Bratton'', a loudmouth who frequently picked on the mild-mannered Clem Finch (portrayed by [[Art Carney]], a future ''Honeymooners'' co-star);
* ''Stanley R. Sogg'', a pitchman who usually appeared on commercials during late-night TV movies, often selling items that came with extras or bonuses (the ultimate inducement was a 100-pound wedge of "Mother Fletcher's Fatchamara's Matzoroni" cheese); and
* ''The Bachelor,'' a silent character (accompanied by the song "Somebody Loves Me") doing everyday things in an unusually lazy (or makeshift) way.

[[File:Jackie Gleason Poor Soul Toast of the Town 1954.JPG|thumb|right|Gleason as the Poor Soul on ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show|Toast of the Town]]'' in 1954|alt=The Poor Soul, staring at a stretching ballerina]]

In a 1985 interview Gleason explained how some of his invented comic characters were associated with his youth in Brooklyn. The Mr. Dennehy whom Joe the Bartender greets is a tribute to Gleason's first love, Julie Dennehy. The character of The Poor Soul was drawn from an assistant manager of an outdoor theater he frequented.<ref name=NewYorkMag/> When one of Gleason's biographers likened him to [[Charlie Chaplin]], Gleason asked, "Couldn't you compare me to [[Buster Keaton]]? Chaplin only plays one role, but Buster Keaton had a whole group of fantastic characters -- fantastic, but earthbound, too."<ref>Weatherby, p. 6.</ref>

Gleason disliked rehearsing. Using [[photographic memory]]<ref>{{cite web|title=After 53 Years in the Limelight, Jackie Gleason Revels in How Sweet It Still Is|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20077779,00.html|work=People|publisher=Time Inc|access-date=August 16, 2012|author=Jim Callo|date=November 3, 1980|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130214053733/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20077779,00.html|archive-date=February 14, 2013}}</ref> he read the script once, then watched a rehearsal with his co-stars and stand-in and shot the show later that day. When he made mistakes, he often blamed the cue cards.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mistakes & Blunders|url=http://www.tvparty.com/emistakes.html|work=www.TVParty.com|publisher=Billy Ingram|access-date=August 16, 2012|author=Billy Ingram|year=1995–2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923151636/http://www.tvparty.com/emistakes.html|archive-date=September 23, 2012}}</ref>

====''The Honeymooners''====
{{Main|The Honeymooners}}
[[File:Gleason meadows honeymooners 1955.jpg|thumb|Gleason as Ralph Kramden with [[Audrey Meadows]] as Alice, circa 1955|alt=Alice Kramden kissing Ralph after he gives her a bouquet]]
Gleason's most famous character by far was blustery bus driver Ralph Kramden. Drawn mainly from Gleason's harsh Brooklyn childhood, the Ralph Kramden sketches became known as ''The Honeymooners.'' The show was based on Ralph's many get-rich-quick schemes, his ambition, his antics with his best friend and neighbor, scatterbrained sewer worker Ed Norton, and clashes with his sensible wife, Alice, who typically pulled Ralph's head down from the clouds.

Gleason developed catchphrases he used on ''The Honeymooners'', such as threats to Alice: "One of these days, Alice, pow! right in the kisser" and "Bang! Zoom! To the Moon, Alice, to the Moon!"

''The Honeymooners'' originated from a sketch Gleason was developing with his show's writers. He said he had an idea he wanted to enlarge: a skit with a smart, quiet wife and her very vocal husband. He described that while the couple had their fights, underneath it all, they loved each other. Titles for the sketch were tossed around until someone came up with ''The Honeymooners''.<ref name=NewYorkMag>{{cite magazine|title=Gleason's Second Honeymoon|author=Hamill, Pete|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CLkBAAAAMBAJ&q=sammy%20birch%20gleason&pg=PA42|date=September 23, 1985|magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York Magazine]]|access-date=February 3, 2011}}</ref>

''The Honeymooners'' first appeared on ''Cavalcade of Stars'' on October 5, 1951, with Carney in a guest appearance as a cop (Norton did not appear until a few episodes later) and character actress [[Pert Kelton]] as Alice. Darker and fiercer than the milder later version with [[Audrey Meadows]] as Alice, the sketches proved popular with critics and viewers. In these early episodes with Kelton playing Alice, Gleason's frustrated bus driver character had a battleaxe of a wife, and the arguments between them were harrowingly realistic; when Meadows (who was 15 years younger than Kelton) took over the role after Kelton was [[Hollywood blacklist|blacklisted]], the tone of the episodes softened considerably.

When Gleason moved to CBS, Kelton was left behind; her name had been published in ''[[Red Channels]]'', a book that listed and described reputed communists (and communist sympathizers) who worked in television and radio, and CBS did not want to hire her. Gleason reluctantly let her be removed from the cast; the reason was covered up by telling the media that she had "heart trouble". At first, Gleason turned down Meadows as Kelton's replacement. Meadows wrote in her memoir that after her unsuccessful audition, she frumped herself up and slipped back in to audition again to convince Gleason that she could handle the role of a frustrated (but loving) working-class wife. Rounding out the cast, [[Joyce Randolph]] played Trixie, Ed Norton's wife. [[Elaine Stritch]] had played the role of a tall and attractive blonde in the first sketch but was quickly replaced by Randolph. Comedy writer [[Leonard B. Stern|Leonard Stern]] always felt ''The Honeymooners'' was more than sketch material and persuaded Gleason to make it into a full-hour-long episode.

In 1955 Gleason gambled on making it a [[The Honeymooners|separate series entirely]]. The result was the "Classic 39" episodes, which finished 19th in the ratings during their only season.<ref name="Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle 2007"/> They were filmed with a new DuMont process, [[Electronicam]]. Like [[kinescopes]], it preserved a live performance on film; unlike kinescopes (which were screenshots), the film was of higher quality and comparable to a motion picture.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dumonthistory.com/a4.html|title=Electronicam|publisher=DuMont Television Network Historical Website|author=Ingraham, Clarke|access-date=February 16, 2022|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214203201/https://dumonthistory.com/a4.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Using this higher-quality video process turned out to be Gleason's most prescient move. A decade later, he aired the half-hour ''Honeymooners'' in syndicated reruns that began to build a loyal and growing audience, making the show a television [[Pop icon|icon]]. Its popularity was such that in 2000, a life-sized statue of Jackie Gleason, in uniform as bus driver Ralph Kramden, was installed outside the [[Port Authority Bus Terminal]] in New York City.

Gleason returned to a live show format for 1956–57, with short and long versions, including hour-long musicals. Ten years later, these musical presentations were reprised in color, with Sheila MacRae and Jane Kean as Alice and Trixie.

Audrey Meadows reappeared for one black-and-white remake of the '50s sketch "The Adoption," telecast January 8, 1966. Ten years later, she rejoined Gleason and Carney (with Jane Kean replacing Joyce Randolph) for several TV specials (one special from 1973 was shelved).

''The Jackie Gleason Show'' ended in June 1957. In 1959, Gleason discussed the possibility of bringing back ''The Honeymooners'' in new episodes; his dream was partially realized with a Kramden-Norton sketch on a CBS variety show in late 1960, and two more sketches on his hour-long CBS show ''The American Scene Magazine'' in 1962. ''Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine'' ran from 1962-1966, and ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' was reprised from 1966-1970. The Paley Center for Media considers all iterations as one series, running from 1952-1970.<ref>"[https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item?item=T%3A11936 Jackie Gleason Show], The {THE Honeymooners: The Honeymooners In England} (TV)," ''The Paley Center for Media,'' © 1995–2025. Retrieved Aug 3 2025.</ref>

===Music===
[[File:Brendan Behan and Jackie Gleason NYWTS.jpg|left|thumb|Irish writer [[Brendan Behan]] (left) with Jackie Gleason in Gleason's dressing room after a performance of ''[[Take Me Along]]'' (1960)|alt=Gleason standing with Irish author Brendan Behan, arms around each other]]
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Gleason enjoyed a prominent secondary music career, producing a series of bestselling "[[Beautiful music|mood music]]" albums with [[jazz]] overtones for [[Capitol Records]]. Gleason believed there was a ready market for romantic instrumentals. His goal was to make "musical wallpaper that should never be intrusive, but conducive".<ref>{{cite web|title=Jackie Gleason Albums |url=http://music.aol.com/album/the-romantic-moods-of-jackie-gleason/191846 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712164054/http://music.aol.com/album/the-romantic-moods-of-jackie-gleason/191846 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 12, 2012 |work=AoL Music |publisher=AOL Inc |access-date=August 16, 2012 |author=AoL Music |year=2012 }}</ref> He recalled seeing [[Clark Gable]] play love scenes in movies; the romance was, in his words, "magnified a thousand percent" by background music. Gleason reasoned, "If ''Gable'' needs strings, what about some poor schmuck from Brooklyn?"<ref name=NewYorkMag/>

Gleason's first album, ''Music for Lovers Only'' ([[Capitol Records|Capitol]], 1952), still holds the record for the longest stay on the ''Billboard'' Top Ten Charts (153 weeks), and his first ten albums sold over a million copies each.<ref name=billboard/> At one point, Gleason held the record for charting the most number-one albums on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] without charting any hits on the Top 40 of the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] singles chart.<ref>Gael Fashingbauer Cooper (June 15, 2014). [http://www.today.com/entertainment/casey-kasems-american-top-40-reached-stars-2D79759364 Casey Kasem's 'American Top 40' reached for the stars] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140615181757/http://www.today.com/entertainment/casey-kasems-american-top-40-reached-stars-2D79759364 |date=June 15, 2014 }}. ''NBC News''. Retrieved June 15, 2014. "An unparalleled storyteller, Kasem loved to drop a teasing question about a song or a band, then cut to commercial, making his trivia so tantalizing that listeners just had to stay tuned to find out the answer. [...] Who had the most No. 1 albums without a Top 40 single? (Comic and mood-music expert Jackie Gleason, at least at the time.)"</ref>

Gleason could not read or write music; he was said to have conceived melodies in his head and described them vocally to assistants who transcribed them into musical notes.<ref name=NewYorkMag/> These included the well-remembered themes of both ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' ("Melancholy Serenade") and ''The Honeymooners'' ("You're My Greatest Love").<ref name=Hill>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ry4tAAAAIBAJ&pg=5473,8881587 |title=Entertainer Jackie Gleason, the Great One, dies of cancer |author=Lester, Will |date=June 25, 1987 |newspaper=The Rock Hill Herald |access-date=January 20, 2011 }}{{dead link|date=May 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In spite of period accounts establishing his direct involvement in musical production, varying opinions have appeared over the years as to how much credit Gleason should have received for the finished products. Biographer [[William A. Henry III|William A. Henry]] wrote in his 1992 book, ''The Great One: The Life and Legend of Jackie Gleason'', that beyond the possible conceptualizing of many of the song melodies, Gleason had no direct involvement (such as conducting) in making the recordings. [[Red Nichols]], a jazz great who had fallen on hard times and led one of the group's recordings, was not paid as session-leader. Cornetist and trumpeter [[Bobby Hackett]] soloed on several of Gleason's albums and was leader for seven of them. Asked late in life by musician–journalist Harry Currie in Toronto what Gleason really did at the recording sessions, Hackett replied, "He brought the checks".

But years earlier Hackett had glowingly told writer James Bacon:

<blockquote>Jackie knows a lot more about music than people give him credit for. I have seen him conduct a 60-piece orchestra and detect one discordant note in the brass section. He would immediately stop the music and locate the wrong note. It always amazed the professional musicians how a guy who technically did not know one note from another could do that. And he was never wrong.<ref>Bacon, James. ''How Sweet It Is''. {{ISBN|0-312-39621-X}}. p. 118.</ref></blockquote>

The composer and arranger [[George Williams (musician)|George Williams]] has been cited in various biographies as having served as [[ghostwriter]] for the majority of arrangements heard on many of Gleason's albums of the 1950s and 1960s.<ref name="great">{{cite book |title=The Great One: The Life and Legend of Jackie Gleason |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780385415330 |year=1992 |last1=Henry |first1=William A. |author1-link=William A. Henry III |via=[[Internet Archive]] |isbn=978-0-385-41533-0 |oclc=651898009 |publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]}}</ref><ref name="Bacon, James 1986">{{cite book|title=How Sweet it Is: The Jackie Gleason Story|author=Bacon, James|author-link=James Bacon (author)|year=1986|publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]]|isbn=0-312-90229-8|url=https://archive.org/details/howsweetitisjack00baco}}</ref> Williams was not given credit for his work until the early 1960s, albeit only in small print on the backs of [[album cover]]s.<ref name="great"/><ref name="Bacon, James 1986"/>

Gleason's lead role in the musical ''[[Take Me Along]]'' (1959–60) won him a [[Tony Awards|Tony Award]] for [[Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical|Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical]].

===Return to television===
[[File:Jackie Gleason Edward R Murrow Person to Person 1956.JPG|thumb|[[Edward R. Murrow]] and Gleason when the comedian was the subject of an interview on ''[[Person to Person]]'' in 1956|alt=Edward R. Murrow (standing) lighting Gleason's cigarette; Gleason is seated in an armchair]]
In 1956 Gleason revived his original variety hour (including ''The Honeymooners''), winning a [[Peabody Award]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8188795/peabody_award/|title=Como, Gleason Win Peabody Award|date=April 12, 1956|newspaper=Long Beach Independent|page=32|access-date=January 5, 2017|via=Newspapers.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106103129/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8188795/peabody_award/|archive-date=January 6, 2017}} {{Open access}}</ref> He abandoned the show in 1957 when his ratings for the season came in at No. 29<ref name="Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle 2007"/> and the network "suggested" he needed a break.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jX0_AAAAIBAJ&pg=1362,888501|title=Gleason Blasts Ratings As Senseless TV Critics|author=Slifka, Adrian M.|date=July 4, 1957|newspaper=Youngstown Vindicator|access-date=November 29, 2010|archive-date=February 1, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201035747/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=jX0_AAAAIBAJ&pg=1362%2C888501|url-status=live}} For his final season, 1956–57, he returned to live Honeymooners of varying lengths and presented a number of hour long musicals (reprised a decade later, in colour, with a "new" Alice and Tricia, Sheila McCrae and Jane Kean).</ref> He returned in 1958 with a half-hour show featuring [[Buddy Hackett]], which did not catch on.

In addition to his salary and royalties, CBS paid for Gleason's [[Peekskill, New York]], mansion "[[Round Rock Hill]]".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F4071FFF385C0C768EDDAF0894DF484D81|title=Jackie Gleason Dies of Cancer; Comedian And Actor Was 71|author=Pace, Eric|date=June 15, 1987|access-date=November 21, 2010|work=The New York Times}}</ref> Set on six acres, the architecturally noteworthy complex included a round main home, guest house, and storage building. It took Gleason two years to design the house, which was completed in 1959.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/28/jackie-gleasons-round-house/|title=Jackie Gleason's Round House|date=April 1960|publisher=Popular Mechanix|access-date=November 21, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231023657/http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2007/12/28/jackie-gleasons-round-house/|archive-date=December 31, 2010}}</ref> Gleason sold the home when he relocated to Miami.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ujk0AAAAIBAJ&pg=5347,7607716|title=Jackie Gleason's fabulous home is now up for sale|author=Statham, Richard|date=July 31, 1963|work=Ottawa Citizen|access-date=November 21, 2010|archive-date=August 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806171527/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ujk0AAAAIBAJ&pg=5347,7607716|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ChUmAAAAIBAJ&pg=5930,4180792|title=Here's House For Sale, Jackie Gleason Special|date=July 28, 1963|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|access-date=November 21, 2010|archive-date=April 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426173415/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ChUmAAAAIBAJ&pg=5930,4180792|url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 1960 Gleason and Carney briefly returned for a ''Honeymooners'' sketch on a TV special. His next foray into television was the game show ''[[You're in the Picture]]'', which was canceled after a disastrously received premiere episode but was followed the next week by a broadcast of Gleason's<ref>{{cite book|title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–present|author1=Brooks, Tim |author2=Marsh, Earle|year=2007|publisher=[[Ballantine Books]] |isbn=978-0-345-49773-4|title-link=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946–present }}</ref> humorous half-hour apology, which was much better appreciated.<ref name=Hill/> For the rest of its scheduled run, the game show was replaced by a talk show named ''The Jackie Gleason Show''.

In 1962 Gleason resurrected his variety show with more splashiness and a new hook: a fictitious general-interest magazine called ''The American Scene Magazine'', through which Gleason trotted out his old characters in new scenarios, including two new Honeymooners sketches. He also added another catchphrase to the American vernacular, first uttered in the 1963 film ''[[Papa's Delicate Condition]]'': "How sweet it is!" ''The Jackie Gleason Show: The American Scene Magazine'' was a hit that continued for four seasons. Each show began with Gleason delivering a monologue and commenting on the attention-getting outfits of band leader [[Sammy Spear]]. Then the "magazine" features would be trotted out, from Hollywood gossip (reported by comedian Barbara Heller) to news flashes (played for laughs with a stock company of second bananas, chorus girls and dwarfs). Comedienne [[Alice Ghostley]] occasionally appeared as a downtrodden tenement resident sitting on her front step and listening to boorish boyfriend Gleason for several minutes. After the boyfriend took his leave, the smitten Ghostley would exclaim, "I'm the luckiest girl in the world!" Veteran comics Johnny Morgan, Sid Fields, and Hank Ladd were occasionally seen opposite Gleason in comedy sketches. Helen Curtis played alongside him as a singer and actress, delighting audiences with her 'Madame Plumpadore' sketches with 'Reginald Van Gleason.'

The final sketch was always set in Joe the Bartender's saloon with Joe singing "My Gal Sal" and greeting his regular customer, the unseen Mr. Dennehy (the TV audience, as Gleason spoke to the camera in this section). During the sketch Joe would tell Dennehy about an article he had read in the fictitious ''American Scene'' magazine, holding a copy across the bar. It had two covers: one featured the New York skyline and the other palm trees (after the show moved to Florida). Joe would bring out [[Frank Fontaine]] as Crazy Guggenheim, who would regale Joe with the latest adventures of his neighborhood pals and sometimes show Joe his current ''[[Top Cat]]'' comic book. Joe usually asked Crazy to sing—almost always a sentimental ballad in his fine, lilting baritone.

[[File:Jackie Gleason Show Miami Beach Auditorium 1968.JPG|thumb|left|[[Miami Beach Convention Center#Fillmore Miami Beach|The Fillmore Miami Beach (originally the Miami Beach Municipal Auditorium)]], where Gleason recorded his shows after his move to Florida|alt=Autographed color photo of Gleason in front of Miami Beach Auditorium]]
Gleason revived ''The Honeymooners''—first with [[Sue Ane Langdon]] as Alice and Patricia Wilson as Trixie for two episodes of ''The American Scene Magazine'', then with [[Sheila MacRae]] as Alice and [[Jane Kean]] as Trixie for the 1966 series.<ref name=Hill/> By 1964 Gleason had moved the production from New York to [[Miami Beach, Florida]], reportedly because he liked year-round access to the golf course at the nearby Inverrary Country Club in [[Lauderhill, Florida|Lauderhill]] (where he built his final home). His closing line became, almost invariably, "As always, the Miami Beach audience is the greatest audience in the world!" In 1966, he abandoned the ''American Scene Magazine'' format and converted the show into a standard variety hour with guest performers.
[[File:Lucille Ball and Jackie Gleason 1975.JPG|thumb|right|Gleason and [[Lucille Ball]] in a TV special "Tea for Two" (1975) ]]
Gleason kicked off the 1966–1967 season with new, color episodes of ''The Honeymooners''. Carney returned as Ed Norton, with MacRae as Alice and Kean as Trixie. The sketches were remakes of the 1957 world-tour episodes, in which Kramden and Norton win a slogan contest and take their wives to international destinations. Each of the nine episodes was a full-scale musical comedy, with Gleason and company performing original songs by Lyn Duddy and Jerry Bresler. Occasionally Gleason would devote the show to musicals with a single theme, such as college comedy or political satire, with the stars abandoning their ''Honeymooners'' roles for different character roles. This was the show's format until its cancellation in 1970. (The exception was the 1968–1969 season, which had no hour-long ''Honeymooners'' episodes; that season, ''The Honeymooners'' was presented only in short sketches.) The musicals pushed Gleason back into the top five in ratings, but audiences soon began to decline. By its final season, Gleason's show was no longer in the top 25. In the last original ''Honeymooners'' episode aired on [[CBS]] ("Operation Protest" on February 28, 1970), Ralph encounters the youth-protest movement of the late 1960s, a sign of changing times in both television and society.

Gleason (who had signed a deal in the 1950s that included a guaranteed $100,000 annual payment for 20 years, even if he never went on the air) wanted ''The Honeymooners'' to be just a portion of his format, but CBS wanted another season of only ''The Honeymooners''. The network had canceled a mainstay variety show hosted by [[Red Skelton]] and would cancel ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' in 1971 because they had become too expensive to produce and attracted, in the executives' opinion, too old an audience. Gleason simply stopped doing the show in 1970 and left CBS when his contract expired.

===={{anchor|Revival of The Honeymooners}}''Honeymooners'' revival====
Gleason did two ''Jackie Gleason Show'' specials for CBS after giving up his regular show in the 1970s, including ''Honeymooners'' segments and a Reginald Van Gleason III sketch in which the gregarious millionaire was portrayed as a comic drunk. When the CBS deal expired, Gleason signed with [[NBC]]. He later did a series of ''Honeymooners'' specials for [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]. Gleason hosted four ABC specials during the mid-1970s. Gleason and Carney also made a television movie, ''[[Izzy and Moe]]'' (1985), about an unusual pair of historic Federal prohibition agents in New York City who achieved an unbeatable arrest record with highly successful techniques including impersonations and humor, which aired on CBS in 1985.

In April 1974 Gleason revived several of his classic characters (including Ralph Kramden, Joe the Bartender and Reginald Van Gleason III) in a television special with [[Julie Andrews]]. In a song-and-dance routine, the two performed "Take Me Along" from Gleason's Broadway musical.

In 1985, three decades after the "Classic 39" began filming, Gleason revealed he had carefully preserved [[kinescopes]] of his live 1950s programs in a vault for future use (including ''Honeymooners'' sketches with [[Pert Kelton]] as Alice). These "lost episodes" (as they came to be called) were initially previewed at the [[The Paley Center for Media|Museum of Television and Radio]] in New York City, aired on the [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]] cable network in 1985, and later were added to the ''Honeymooners'' syndication package.
Some of them include earlier versions of plot lines later used in the 'classic 39' episodes. One (a Christmas episode duplicated several years later with Meadows as Alice) had all Gleason's best-known characters (Ralph Kramden, the Poor Soul, Rudy the Repairman, Reginald Van Gleason, Fenwick Babbitt and Joe the Bartender) featured in and outside of the Kramden apartment. The storyline involved a wild Christmas party hosted by Reginald Van Gleason up the block from the Kramdens' building at Joe the Bartender's place.

===Film===
[[File:The-Time-of-Your-Life-1958-Playhouse-90.jpg|right|thumb|With [[Betsy Palmer]] in "[[The Time of Your Life (TV film)|The Time of Your Life]]" on ''[[Playhouse 90]]'' (1958)]]
Gleason did not restrict his acting to comedic roles. He had also earned acclaim for live television drama performances in "The Laugh Maker" (1953) on CBS's ''[[Studio One (US TV series)|Studio One]]'' and [[William Saroyan]]'s "[[The Time of Your Life (TV film)|The Time of Your Life]]" (1958), which was produced as an episode of the anthology series ''[[Playhouse 90]]''.

He was nominated for a [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] Academy Award for his portrayal of pool shark Minnesota Fats in ''The Hustler'' (1961), starring [[Paul Newman]]. Gleason made all his own trick pool shots.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brown|first1=Wesley|title=Gleason showed real Hustler skills in Augusta|url=http://chronicle.augusta.com/life/life-style/2014-07-12/gleason-showed-real-hustler-skills-augusta|website=The Augusta Chronicle|access-date=December 20, 2014|location=Augusta, Georgia, US|date=July 12, 2014|quote=Jackie Gleason needed no help to portray the real-life Minnesota Fats, the cutthroat pool shark he portrayed in the 1961 film who toyed with opponents before making decisive trick shots to collect from local hustlers.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220052026/http://chronicle.augusta.com/life/life-style/2014-07-12/gleason-showed-real-hustler-skills-augusta|archive-date=December 20, 2014}}</ref> In his 1985 appearance on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'', Gleason told [[Johnny Carson]] that he had played [[Pool (cue sports)|pool]] frequently since childhood, and drew from those experiences in ''The Hustler''. He was extremely well-received as a beleaguered [[boxing]] manager in the film version of [[Rod Serling]]'s ''[[Requiem for a Heavyweight]]'' (1962). Gleason played a world-weary army sergeant in ''[[Soldier in the Rain]]'' (1963), in which he received top billing over [[Steve McQueen]].

 [[File:Jackie Gleason - 1966.jpg|thumb|left|Gleason as [[Minnesota Fats (character)|Minnesota Fats]] in ''[[The Hustler]]'' (1961)]]
Gleason wrote, produced and starred in ''[[Gigot (film)|Gigot]]'' (1962), in which he played a poor, mute janitor who befriended and rescued a prostitute and her small daughter. It was a box office flop. But the film's script was adapted and produced as the television film ''[[The Wool Cap]]'' (2004), starring [[William H. Macy]] in the role of the mute janitor; the television film received modestly good reviews.

Gleason played the lead in the [[Otto Preminger]]-directed ''[[Skidoo (film)|Skidoo]]'' (1968), considered an all-star failure. In 1969 [[William Friedkin]] wanted to cast Gleason as [[Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle|"Popeye" Doyle]] in ''[[The French Connection (film)|The French Connection]]'' (1971), and Gleason wanted the part, but the studio refused because of the poor reception of ''Gigot'' and ''Skidoo''. Instead, Gleason wound up in ''[[How to Commit Marriage]]'' (1969) with [[Bob Hope]], as well as the movie version of [[Woody Allen]]'s play ''[[Don't Drink the Water (1969 film)|Don't Drink the Water]]'' (1969). Both were unsuccessful.

Eight years passed before Gleason had another hit film. This role was the cantankerous and cursing Texas sheriff [[Buford T. Justice]] in the films ''[[Smokey and the Bandit]]'' (1977), ''[[Smokey and the Bandit II]]'' (1980) and ''[[Smokey and the Bandit Part 3]]'' (1983). He co-starred with [[Burt Reynolds]] as the Bandit, [[Sally Field]] as Carrie (the Bandit's love interest), and [[Jerry Reed]] as Cledus "Snowman" Snow, the Bandit's truck-driving partner. Former NFL linebacker [[Mike Henry (football)|Mike Henry]] played his dimwitted son, Junior Justice. Gleason's gruff and frustrated demeanor and lines such as "I'm gonna barbecue yo' ass in molasses!" made the first ''Bandit'' movie a hit.

Years later, when interviewed by [[Larry King]], Reynolds said he agreed to do the film only if the studio hired Jackie Gleason to play the part of Sheriff Buford T. Justice (the name of a real Florida highway patrolman, who knew Reynolds' father). Reynolds said that director [[Hal Needham]] gave Gleason free rein to ad-lib a great deal of his dialogue and make suggestions for the film; the scene at the "Choke and Puke" was Gleason's idea. Reynolds and Needham knew Gleason's comic talent would help make the film a success, and Gleason's characterization of Sheriff Justice strengthened the film's appeal to blue-collar audiences.

During the 1980s Gleason earned positive reviews playing opposite [[Laurence Olivier]] in the HBO dramatic two-man special, ''[[Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson]]'' (1983). He also gave a memorable performance as wealthy businessman U.S. Bates in the comedy ''[[The Toy (1982 film)|The Toy]]'' (1982) opposite [[Richard Pryor]]. Although the film was critically panned, Gleason and Pryor's performances were praised. His last film performance was opposite [[Tom Hanks]] in the [[Garry Marshall]]-directed ''[[Nothing in Common]]'' (1986), a success both critically and financially.

==Personal life==
[[File:Gerald Ford playing golf with Jackie Gleason at the Lago Mar County Club- Fort Lauderdale, Florida.jpg|thumb|right|Gleason playing golf with President [[Gerald Ford]], c. 1975]]

===Fear of flying===
For many years Gleason traveled only by train; his [[fear of flying]] arose from an incident in his early film career when he was flying back and forth to Los Angeles for relatively minor film work. During one flight to New York two of the plane's engines stopped, and the pilot executed an emergency landing in [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]].<ref name=Flying>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BYApAAAAIBAJ&pg=3420,4342788|title=The Great Gleason|author=Bishop, Jim|date=December 31, 1976|newspaper=Lewiston Evening Journal|access-date=January 21, 2011|archive-date=November 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103172547/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BYApAAAAIBAJ&pg=3420,4342788|url-status=live}}</ref> Gleason borrowed $200 from a Tulsa hardware-store owner to purchase a train passage to New York.<ref name="Flying" />

===Interest in the paranormal===
[[File:President Richard Nixon and Jackie Gleason.jpg|thumb|right|Gleason and President [[Richard Nixon]] in a golf cart with an audience in February 1973]]
Gleason was interested in the [[paranormal]], reading many books on the topic as well as books on [[parapsychology]] and [[Unidentified flying object|UFO]]s.<ref name=Back>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=V1RNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3638,6411758|title=Jackie Gleason: Why The Great One Is Great|author=Rosenblatt, Andy|date=May 21, 1978|newspaper=Lakeland Ledger|access-date=January 21, 2011|archive-date=November 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103172546/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=V1RNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3638,6411758|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="great"/><ref name="Bacon, James 1986"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Love, Alice: My Life as a Honeymooner |last1=Meadows |first1=Audrey |author-link1=Audrey Meadows |last2=Daley |first2=Joe |publisher=[[Crown Publishing Group]] |year=1994 |chapter=Jackie the Hypnotist |isbn=0-517-59881-7 |chapter-url=http://www.audreymeadows.com/FunStuff/Jackiestory2.html  |url=https://archive.org/details/lovealicemylifea00mead }}</ref> During the 1950s he was a semi-regular guest on a paranormal-themed overnight radio show hosted by [[Long John Nebel]], and he also wrote the introduction to [[Donald Bain (writer)|Donald Bain]]'s biography of Nebel.<ref>{{cite book|author=Bain, Donald|author-link=Donald Bain (writer)|title=Long John Nebel: Radio Talk King, Master Salesman, and Magnificent Charlatan|year=1974|location=New York|publisher=[[Macmillan Inc.]]|isbn=0-02-505950-5}}</ref> After his death, his large book collection was donated to the library of the [[University of Miami]].<ref name="collection">{{cite web|url=http://scholar.library.miami.edu/gleason|title=The Jackie Gleason Collection|publisher=[[University of Miami]]|access-date=August 17, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150828023516/http://scholar.library.miami.edu/gleason/|archive-date=August 28, 2015}}</ref>

According to writer Larry Holcombe, Gleason's interest in UFOs prompted [[Richard Nixon|President Richard Nixon]] to share information with him and to disclose some UFO data publicly.<ref>Larry Holcombe: ''The Presidents and UFOs: A Secret History from FDR to Obama''. New York: Macmillan, March 2015.</ref>

===Marriages and family===
[[File:June Taylor dancers gleason special.JPG|thumb|left|[[June Taylor]] Dancers with Gleason on one of his television specials]]
Gleason met dancer Genevieve Halford when they were working in [[vaudeville]] and they were married on September 20, 1936.<ref name=Funny/><ref name=Linda/><ref name=Divorce>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a8QmAAAAIBAJ&pg=1880,1794083|title=Jackie Gleason Asks Divorce in New York|date=October 24, 1968|newspaper=The Times-News|access-date=January 28, 2011|archive-date=November 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103172540/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=a8QmAAAAIBAJ&pg=1880,1794083|url-status=live}}</ref> Halford wanted a quiet home life but Gleason led an active nightlife.<ref name="Funny" /> Separated for the first time in 1941 and reconciled in 1948,<ref name="Sydney">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8cNVAAAAIBAJ&pg=2762,5075135|title=A sound-proof suite for the noisiest man on Broadway|date=December 26, 1954|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=January 28, 2011|archive-date=December 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209022519/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8cNVAAAAIBAJ&pg=2762,5075135|url-status=live}}</ref> the couple had two daughters, Geraldine ({{abbr|b.|born}} 1940) and [[Linda Miller (actress)|Linda]] (b. 1942).<ref>{{cite news|title=Squabble Erupts in Hospital Room For Bedridden Gleason's Affections |newspaper=[[The Miami News]] |date=February 9, 1954 }}{{dead link|date=August 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="Squabble" /> Gleason and his wife informally separated again in 1951.<ref name="Divorce" /> It was during this period that Gleason had a romantic relationship with his secretary [[Honey Merrill]], who had been a showgirl and Miss Hollywood of 1956.<ref>{{cite book |url={{Google books|LongDwAAQBAJ|page=111|plainurl=yes}} |title=Pat: A Biography of Hollywood's Blonde Starlet |first=Samuel |last=Clemens |publisher=Sequoia Press |year=2020 |page=111 |isbn=978-0578682822}}</ref>

In early 1954 Gleason suffered a broken leg and ankle on-air during his television show. His injuries sidelined him for several weeks.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2kBSAAAAIBAJ&pg=1902,5621497|title=New York|author=Wilson, Earl|date=February 13, 1954|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|access-date=November 19, 2010|archive-date=November 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103172541/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2kBSAAAAIBAJ&pg=1902,5621497|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wrg_AAAAIBAJ&pg=5940,3233|title=Gleason's Ankle, Leg Are Broken|date=February 1, 1954|newspaper=Youngstown Vindicator|access-date=November 19, 2010|archive-date=November 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103172539/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wrg_AAAAIBAJ&pg=5940,3233|url-status=live}}</ref> When Halford went to visit Gleason in the hospital, she discovered that Marilyn Taylor, a dancer from his television show, was also visiting him. Halford filed for a legal separation in April 1954.<ref name=Squabble>{{cite news|title=Squabble Erupts in Hospital Room For Bedridden Gleason's Affections |date=February 9, 1954 |newspaper=The Miami News }}{{dead link|date=August 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> A devout [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], Halford did not grant Gleason a divorce until 1970.<ref name="peopleobit">{{cite news|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20096724,00.html|title=A Fond Goodbye to the Great One|date=July 13, 1987|author=Darrach, Brad|magazine=People|access-date=February 17, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217180310/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20096724,00.html|archive-date=February 17, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9nMlAAAAIBAJ&pg=2134,568911|title=Jackie Gleason Is Granted Divorce|date=June 24, 1970|newspaper=Gettysburg Times|access-date=November 19, 2010|archive-date=April 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426085702/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9nMlAAAAIBAJ&pg=2134,568911|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gleason met his second wife, Beverly McKittrick, at a country club in 1968, where she worked as a secretary. Ten days after his divorce from Halford was final, Gleason and McKittrick were married in [[Ashford, Surrey|Ashford, England]] on July 4, 1970.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_QwdAAAAIBAJ&pg=3936,773820|title=Jackie Gleason Weds Secretary|author=Forbes, Donald|date=July 4, 1970|newspaper=The Tuscaloosa News|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-date=November 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114020054/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_QwdAAAAIBAJ&pg=3936,773820|url-status=live}}</ref> The couple divorced in 1975.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ndVgAAAAIBAJ&pg=3866,3452055|title=Gleasons Divorce|date=November 20, 1975|newspaper=The Evening News|access-date=January 20, 2011}}</ref> Gleason reconnected with Taylor and married her in December 1975. They remained married until he died in 1987.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lFVRAAAAIBAJ&pg=5811,2979105|title=How Sweet She Is|date=December 17, 1975|newspaper=The Evening News|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-date=August 6, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806171524/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lFVRAAAAIBAJ&pg=5811,2979105|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Back" /><ref name="Obit" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iwEkAAAAIBAJ&pg=6167,5582544|title=Jackie Gleason To Marry For Third Time Tuesday|date=December 12, 1975|newspaper=Sarasota Herald-Tribune|access-date=November 19, 2010|archive-date=February 16, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216025356/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iwEkAAAAIBAJ&pg=6167%2C5582544|url-status=live}}</ref>

Gleason's daughter Linda became an actress and married actor-playwright [[Jason Miller (playwright)|Jason Miller]]. Their son is actor [[Jason Patric]].<ref name="Linda" />

===Later years, health problems and death===
As early as 1952, when ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' captured Saturday night for CBS, Gleason regularly smoked six packs of cigarettes a day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://people.com/archive/jackie-gleason/|title=Jackie Gleason|website=people.com|access-date=April 27, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206074629/http://people.com/archive/jackie-gleason/|archive-date=December 6, 2017 }}</ref>

Gleason struggled with weight issues throughout much of his life, often weighing close to 300 pounds. His diet primarily consisted of red meat and rich desserts, with little to no vegetables. Additionally, Gleason did not engage in regular exercise and consumed alcohol excessively.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mirkin |first=Gabe |date=April 18, 2018 |title=Jackie Gleason's unhealthy lifestyle contributed to his death |url=https://www.villages-news.com/2018/04/18/jackie-gleasons-unhealthy-lifestyle-contributed-to-his-death/#google_vignette |access-date=August 20, 2024 |website=Villages-News: News, photos, events in The Villages, Florida |language=en-US |archive-date=August 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240820193458/https://www.villages-news.com/2018/04/18/jackie-gleasons-unhealthy-lifestyle-contributed-to-his-death/#google_vignette |url-status=live }}</ref>

In ''The Golden Ham: A Candid Biography of Jackie Gleason'', author [[Jim Bishop]] notes that Gleason had three separate wardrobes to accommodate his fluctuating weight, which varied between 185 and 285 pounds.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ngo |first=Sheiresa |date=November 30, 2020 |title='The Honeymooners': Jackie Gleason's Weight Fluctuated So Much He Had 3 Different Wardrobes |url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-honeymooners-jackie-gleason-weight-fluctuated-so-much-he-had-3-different-wardrobes.html/ |access-date=August 20, 2024 |website=Showbiz Cheat Sheet |language=en-US |archive-date=August 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240820193456/https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-honeymooners-jackie-gleason-weight-fluctuated-so-much-he-had-3-different-wardrobes.html/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Jackie Gleason Mausoleum.JPG|thumb|right|Gleason's sarcophagus—with the inscription "And Away We Go"—at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery in Miami]]
In 1978 he suffered chest pains while touring in the lead role of [[Larry Gelbart]]'s play ''[[Sly Fox]]'' and later underwent triple-bypass surgery.<ref name="surgery">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xQ4qAAAAIBAJ&pg=1452,1731651 |title=Doctors Say heart attack was imminent before Gleason surgery |date=June 6, 1978 |newspaper=Daytona Beach Morning Journal |access-date=April 9, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Gleason ails; Schnoz better |date=June 1, 1978 |newspaper=The Miami News }}{{dead link|date=August 2016 |bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pMJBAAAAIBAJ&pg=2859,4502692 |title=Gleason in hospital again |date=May 30, 1978 |newspaper=The Telegraph-Herald |access-date=April 9, 2012 |archive-date=December 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209022052/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pMJBAAAAIBAJ&pg=2859,4502692 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Gleason delivered a critically acclaimed performance as an infirm, acerbic, and somewhat [[Archie Bunker]]-like character in the [[Tom Hanks]] comedy-drama ''[[Nothing in Common]]'' (1986), Gleason's final film role. During production he was diagnosed with [[colorectal cancer|colon cancer]], which had metastasized to his liver. He was also suffering from [[phlebitis]] and [[diabetes]]. He kept his medical problems private, although there were rumors that he was seriously ill.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JbwbAAAAIBAJ&pg=5207,6089028 |title=Gleason hid nature of illness from fans |author=Wilson, Catherine |date=June 26, 1987 |newspaper=The Times-News |access-date=January 28, 2011 |archive-date=April 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220425172843/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JbwbAAAAIBAJ&pg=5207,6089028 |url-status=live }}</ref> On June 24, 1987, he died at age 71 in his Florida home.<ref>{{cite news |author=Konicki, Steve |date=June 25, 1987 |title=Gleason's death came quietly at age 71 |newspaper=The Miami News}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pace |first=Eric |date=June 25, 1987 |title=JACKIE GLEASON DIES OF CANCER; COMEDIAN AND ACTOR WAS 71 |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/25/obituaries/jackie-gleason-dies-of-cancer-comedian-and-actor-was-71.html |access-date=April 9, 2022 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918230919/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/25/obituaries/jackie-gleason-dies-of-cancer-comedian-and-actor-was-71.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

After a funeral mass at the [[Cathedral of Saint Mary (Miami)|Cathedral of Saint Mary]], Gleason was entombed in a [[sarcophagus]] in a private outdoor [[mausoleum]] at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Cemetery in Miami.<ref name="Obit">{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RhAhAAAAIBAJ&pg=2532,6768410 |title=Gleason's widow pins last carnation on 'Great One's' lapel; fans gather |author=Dickerson, A. J. |date=June 27, 1987 |newspaper=Schenectady Gazette |access-date=November 19, 2010 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426173416/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=RhAhAAAAIBAJ&pg=2532,6768410 |url-status=live }}</ref> Gleason's sister-in-law [[June Taylor]] is buried to the left of the mausoleum, next to her husband and attorney, Sol Lerner.

==Legacy and honors==
[[File:JackieGleason Ralph bus driver statue PABT.JPG|thumb|Ralph Kramden statue at the [[Port Authority Bus Terminal]] in [[Manhattan]]]]
[[File:Welcome to Brooklyn road sign.jpg|thumb|Sign welcoming drivers to [[Brooklyn]] (circa 2000s)|alt=Rectangular blue-and-green sign reading, "Welcome to Brooklyn. How sweet it is!"]]
[[File:328 Chauncey St.JPG|thumb|The television home of ''[[The Honeymooners]]'' at 328 Chauncey Street in Brooklyn]]
*A 1978 Lincoln Continental limousine, formerly owned by Jackie Gleason, was featured on the TV show "[[Pawn Stars]]". The episode, titled "To The Moon," showcased the car when a seller brought it into the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. The car was a highlight, with Rick Harrison expressing interest due to its celebrity provenance. Ultimately, the car's condition and the expert's assessment determined its fate on the show. 
* Miami Beach in 1987 renamed the [[Miami Beach Convention Center#Fillmore Miami Beach|Miami Beach Auditorium]] as the Jackie Gleason Theater of the Performing Arts. {{as of|2010|May}}, the theater was scheduled to be razed as part of a convention center remodeling project and replaced by a hotel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Jackie-Gleason-Theater-Away-it-goes-92835289.html|title=Jackie Gleason Theater:Away It Goes!|date=May 5, 2010|publisher=NBC Miami|access-date=October 1, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbpulse.com/music/2010/06/16/future-of-former-jackie-gleason-theater-uncertain/ |title=Future of Former Jackie Gleason Theater Uncertain |date=June 16, 2010 |newspaper=Palm Beach Post |access-date=October 1, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100623022552/http://www.pbpulse.com/music/2010/06/16/future-of-former-jackie-gleason-theater-uncertain/ |archive-date=June 23, 2010 }}</ref> The demolition did not take place and [[Miami Beach Convention Center#Fillmore Miami Beach|The Fillmore Miami Beach]] is still in operation {{as of|2024|January|lc=y}}.
* Gleason was inducted into the [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]] [[Television Hall of Fame]] in 1986. 
* In 2000 a statue of him as Ralph Kramden in "And away we go!" pose was installed at the Miami Beach Bus Terminal.
* Gleason was nominated three times for an Emmy Award, but never won. (Carney and Kean did, however.)
* In 1976 at the Sixth Annual [[American Guild of Variety Artists|American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA)]] "Entertainer of the Year Awards", [[Paul Lynde]] received an award for being voted the funniest man of the year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Entertainer of the Year Awards: Special with Jackie Gleason as host |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/43306303/ |access-date=August 15, 2019 |publisher=The Robesonian |date=January 11, 1976 |location=Lumberton, North Carolina |archive-date=August 15, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815192941/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/43306303/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Lynde immediately turned his award over to host Jackie Gleason, citing him as "the funniest man ever." The unexpected gesture shocked Gleason.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rudolph |first1=Cathy |title=Paul Lynde: A Biography - His Life, His Love(s) and His Laughter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LRWEDwAAQBAJ |date=December 2, 2013 |publisher=BearManor Media |isbn=978-1629330655 |pages=202}}</ref>
* On June 30, 1988, the [[Sunset Park, Brooklyn|Sunset Park]] [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority|MTA]], [[NYCT]]'s 5th Avenue Bus Depot in Brooklyn was renamed the [[Jackie Gleason Depot]] in honor of the native Brooklynite.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DKkcAAAAIBAJ&pg=6714,14567|title=Bus Depot is dedicated to Jackie Gleason|date=July 1, 1988|newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press|access-date=January 20, 2011|archive-date=April 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426091711/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DKkcAAAAIBAJ&pg=6714,14567|url-status=live}}</ref>
* A statue of Gleason as Ralph Kramden in his bus driver's uniform was dedicated in August 2000 in New York City in [[Manhattan]] at the 40th Street entrance of the [[Port Authority Bus Terminal]] (PABT). The statue was briefly shown in the film ''[[World Trade Center (film)|World Trade Center]]'' (2006).
* A city park in [[Lauderhill, Florida]], was named the "Jackie Gleason Park" in his honor; it is located near his former home and features racquetball and basketball courts and a children's playground.
* Signs on the [[Brooklyn Bridge]] which advise drivers that they are entering Brooklyn have the Gleason phrase "How Sweet It Is!"
* Late in his life actor-playwright [[Jason Miller (playwright)|Jason Miller]], Gleason's former son-in-law, was writing a screenplay based on Gleason's life. He died before it was completed.<ref name=Linda>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WcsMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2731,721538|title=Actress seeks place beyond the shadow of her legendary father|author=Scott, Vernon|date=November 9, 1983|newspaper=St. Petersburg Times|access-date=January 28, 2011|archive-date=April 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426091709/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WcsMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2731,721538|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Gleason was portrayed by [[Brad Garrett]] in a [[Gleason (2002 film)|2002 television biopic about his life]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Miller|first=Darryl H.|title='Gleason' Just Skims the Star's Surface|date=October 12, 2002|newspaper= [[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-oct-12-et-miller12-story.html|access-date=December 10, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807214234/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/oct/12/entertainment/et-miller12|archive-date=August 7, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Hart|first=Hugh|title=And awaaay he goes / Brad Garrett fulfills dream of playing troubled, talented Jackie Gleason in CBS biopic|date=October 10, 2002|newspaper= [[San Francisco Chronicle]] |url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/And-awaaay-he-goes-Brad-Garrett-fulfills-dream-2763429.php|access-date=December 10, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171211053707/http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/And-awaaay-he-goes-Brad-Garrett-fulfills-dream-2763429.php|archive-date=December 11, 2017}}</ref>

==Works==
===Television===
====1949–1959====
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ''Your Sports Special'' (1949) as Himself
* ''The Lamb's Gambol'' (March 27, 1949) as Himself
* ''On The Two A Day'' (1949, NBC TV) as Himself
* ''[[The Life of Riley]]'' (October 4, 1949 – March 28, 1950, TV Series) as Chester A. Riley
* ''[[The Arrow Show]]'' (1949) as Himself
* ''Tex and Jinx'' (1949) as Himself
* ''[[This Is Show Business]]'' (1950) as Himself
* ''Showtime USA'' (1950) as Himself
* ''Cavalcade of Stars'' (1950–1952, TV Series) as Himself - Host / Ralph Kramden / Reginald Van Gleason III
* ''[[The Frank Sinatra Show (CBS)|The Frank Sinatra Show]]'' (1950) as Himself
* ''[[Ford Star Revue]]'' (1951) as Himself
* ''The Frank Sinatra Show'' (1951) as Himself
* ''Cavalcade of Bands'' (1951) as Himself
* ''Stage Entrance'' (1951, DuMont TV) as Himself
* ''Musical Comedy Time: No! No! Nanette!'' (1951) as Himself
* ''[[Texaco Star Theatre]]'' (1951) as Himself
* ''Ford Festival'' (1951) as Himself
* ''The James Melton Show'' (May 3, 1951) as Himself
* ''This Is Show Business'' (1951) as Himself
* ''The [[Colgate Comedy Hour]]'' (1951) as Himself
* ''Ford Star Revue'' (1951) as Himself
* ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' (1951) as Himself
* ''The [[Kate Smith]] Evening Hour'' (1951) as Himself
* ''[[The Jackie Gleason Show]]'' (September 20, 1952 – June 18, 1955, TV Series) as Host / Ralph Kramden / Reginald Van Gleason III
* ''[[Arthur Murray]] Party'' (1952) as Himself
* ''The [[Sam Levinson]] Show'' (1952) as Himself
* ''[[The Ken Murray Show]]'' (1952) as Himself
* ''[[Toast of the Town]]'' (1952) as Himself
* ''Celebrity Time'' (1952) as Himself
* ''Scout O' Rama'' (1952) as Himself
* ''Jane Froman's USA Canteen'' (1952) as Himself
* ''[[Arthur Godfrey]] and His Friends'' (1953) as Himself
* ''Studio One: The Laugh Maker'' (May 18, 1953, TV Movie) as Himself
* ''[[What's My Line?]]'' (1953) as Himself
* ''This Is Show Business'' (1953) as Himself - Guest / Himself
* ''Arthur Murray Party'' (1953) as Himself
* ''Toast of the Town'' (1954) as Himself
* ''[[The Red Skelton Show]]'' (January 5, 1954) as Himself
* ''[[Name That Tune]]'' (1954) as Himself
* ''[[Westinghouse Studio One|Studio One]]: Short Cut'' (December 6, 1954, TV Movie) as Himself
* ''The Best of Broadway: The Show Off'' (February 2, 1955, TV Movie) as Himself
* ''What's My Line?'' (1955) as Himself
* ''[[I've Got a Secret]]'' (1955) as Himself
* ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]'' (May 1, 1955) as Himself
* ''Stage Show'' (1955) as Himself
* ''[[The Honeymooners]]'' (October 1, 1955 – September 22, 1956, TV Series) as Ralph Kramden
* ''[[The Red Skelton Show]]'' (October 4, 1955)
* ''Studio One: Uncle Ed and Circumstances'' (October 10, 1955, TV Movie)
* ''[[The $64,000 Question]]'' (1956) as Himself
* ''[[Person to Person]]'' (February 3, 1956) as Himself
* ''The [[Herb Shriner]] Show'' (October 2, 1956) as Himself
* ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' (September 29, 1956 – June 22, 1957, TV Series) as Himself
* ''[[Playhouse 90]]: The Time of Your Life'' (October 9, 1958, TV Movie) as Joe
* ''[[This Is Your Life (American franchise)|This Is Your Life]]'' (1958) as Himself
* ''Arthur Godfrey Show'' (1958) as Himself
* ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' (October 1958 – January 1959, TV Series) as Himself
* ''All Star Jazz IV: The Golden Age of Jazz'' (January 4, 1959) as Himself
{{div col end}}

====1960–1986====
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ''The Fabulous Fifties'' (1960) as Narrator
* ''Arthur Godfrey Special'' (1960) as Himself
* ''The Secret World of [[Eddie Hodges]]'' (June 23, 1960) (TV Movie, [narration only]) as Narrator / Himself
* ''The Jackie Gleason Special: The Big Sell Review'' (October 9, 1960) as Salesman / Reginald Van Gleason III / Joe the Bartender / Ralph Kramden
* ''Step On the Gas'' (CBS-10/19/60) TV special
* ''The Red Skelton Show'' (January 24, 1961) as Himself
* ''Sunday Sports Spectacular: Jackie Gleason with the putter and cue'' (1961) as Himself
* ''You're In the Picture/The Jackie Gleason Show'' (January 27 – March 24, 1961) as Himself
* ''The Jackie Gleason Special: [[The Million Dollar Incident]]'' (April 21, 1961) as Himself
* ''Jackie Gleason and His American Scene Magazine'' (September 29, 1962 – June 4, 1966, TV Series) as Himself
* ''The 35th Annual Academy Awards'' (1963) as Himself
* ''Freedom Spectacular'' (May 14, 1964, NAACP Special) as Himself
* ''Inquiry'' (June 13, 1965, June 20, 1965, NBC) as Himself
* ''The Bob Hope Chrysler Theatre: The Big Stomach'' (November 16, 1966) as the Vast Waistline
* ''The Jackie Gleason Show'' (September 17, 1966 – September 12, 1970, TV Series) as Himself - Host
* ''[[Here's Lucy]]: Lucy Visits Jack Benny'' (September 30, 1968) as Ralph Kramden
* ''[[The Mike Douglas Show]]'' (October 15, 1968) as Himself
* ''[[The David Frost Show]]'' (February 17, 1970) as Himself
* ''The David Frost Show'' (April 6, 1970) as Himself
* ''The David Frost Show'' (May 7, 1970) as Himself
* ''The Jackie Gleason Special'' (December 20, 1970) as Ralph Kramden / Reginald Van Gleason III / the Poor Soul
* ''The Mike Douglas Show'' (November 13–17, 20-24 and 29, 1972) as Himself
* ''The Jackie Gleason Special'' (November 11, 1973) as Ralph Kramden / Reginald Van Gleason III / the Poor Soul
* ''Show Business Tribute to Milton Berle'' (1973)
* ''Julie & Jackie: How Sweet It Is!'' (1974)
* ''Bob Hope Special'' (1974) as Himself
* ''[[The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast]]'' (1975) as Himself
* ''[[The Dick Cavett Show]]'' (August 30, 1975) as Himself
* ''Dinah!'' (January 13, 1975) as Himself
* ''Lucille Ball and Jackie Gleason: Two for Three'' (December 3, 1975) as Himself
* ''Super Night at the Super Bowl'' (1976) as Himself
* ''The Mike Douglas Show'' (January 12–16, 1976) as Himself
* ''The Honeymooners Second Honeymoon'' (February 2, 1976) as Ralph Kramden
* ''Donahue'' (1976) as Himself
* ''The Captain and Tennille'' (September 20, 1976) as Himself
* ''[[Bing Crosby]]'s White Christmas'' (1976) as Himself
* ''Dinah!'' (February 11, 1977) as Himself
* ''The Honeymooners Christmas Special'' (November 28, 1977) as Ralph Kramden
* ''The Honeymooners Valentine Special'' (February 13, 1978) as Ralph Kramden
* ''The Second Honeymooners Christmas Special'' (December 10, 1978) as Ralph Kramden
* ''The Mike Douglas Show'' (May 7, 1980) as Himself
* ''[[Mr. Halpern and Mr. Johnson]]'' (June 3, 1983, TV Movie) as Ernest Johnson
* ''All Star Party for [[Burt Reynolds]]'' (1984) as Himself
* ''[[60 Minutes]]'' (1984) as Himself
* ''[[Izzy and Moe]]'' (September 23, 1985, TV Movie) as Himself
* ''The Honeymooners Reunion'' (May 13, 1985) as Ralph Kramden
* ''The 39th Annual Tony Awards'' (June 2, 1985) as Himself
* ''The Honeymooners Anniversary Celebration'' (October 18, 1985) as Ralph Kramden
* ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (October 18, 1985) as Himself
* ''[[Gleason: In His Own Words]]'' (February 14, 1986) as Himself
{{div col end}}

===Stage===
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break}}
* ''[[Keep Off the Grass]]'' (1940)
* ''[[Hellzapoppin (musical)|Hellzapoppin]]'' (1942)
* ''[[Artists and Models (play)|Artists and Models]]'' (1943)
* ''[[Follow the Girls]]'' (1944)
* ''[[The Duchess Misbehaves]]'' (1945)
{{Col-break}}
* ''[[Heaven on Earth (musical)|Heaven on Earth]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Along Fifth Avenue]]'' (1949)
* ''[[Take Me Along]]'' (1959)
* ''[[Sly Fox]]'' (1978)
{{col-end}}

===Film===
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ''[[Navy Blues (1941 film)|Navy Blues]]'' (1941) as Tubby
* ''[[Steel Against the Sky]]'' (1941) as Cliff
* ''[[All Through the Night (film)|All Through the Night]]'' (1942) as Starchy
* ''[[Lady Gangster]]'' (1942) as Wilson
* ''[[Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1942 film)|Tramp, Tramp, Tramp]]'' (1942) as Hank
* ''[[Larceny, Inc.]]'' (1942) as Hobart
* ''[[Escape from Crime]]'' (1942) as Screwball Evans
* ''[[Orchestra Wives]]'' (1942) as Ben Beck
* ''[[Springtime in the Rockies]]'' (1942) as Commissioner (uncredited)
* ''[[The Desert Hawk (1950 film)|The Desert Hawk]]'' (1950) as Aladdin
* ''[[The Hustler]]'' (1961) as Minnesota Fats
* ''[[Gigot (film)|Gigot]]'' (1962) as Gigot (also writer)
* ''[[Requiem for a Heavyweight (film)|Requiem for a Heavyweight]]'' (1962) as Maish Rennick
* ''[[Papa's Delicate Condition]]'' (1963) as Jack Griffith
* ''[[Soldier in the Rain]]'' (1963) as MSgt. Maxwell Slaughter
* ''[[Skidoo (film)|Skidoo]]'' (1968) as Tony Banks
* ''[[How to Commit Marriage]]'' (1969) as Oliver Poe
* ''[[Don't Drink the Water (1969 film)|Don't Drink the Water]]'' (1969) as Walter Hollander
* ''[[How Do I Love Thee?]]'' (1970) as Stanley Waltz
* ''[[Mr. Billion]]'' (1977) as John Cutler
* ''[[Smokey and the Bandit]]'' (1977) as Sheriff Buford T. Justice of Portague County
* ''[[Smokey and the Bandit II]]'' (1980) as Sheriff Buford T. Justice / Gaylord Justice / Reginald Van Justice
* ''[[The Toy (1982 film)|The Toy]]'' (1982) as U.S. Bates
* ''[[The Sting II]]'' (1983) as Fargo Gondorff
* ''[[Smokey and the Bandit Part 3]]'' (1983) as Buford T. Justice
* ''[[Izzy and Moe]]'' (1985) as Izzy Einstein
* ''[[Nothing in Common]]'' (1986) as Max Basner (final film role)
{{div col end}}

===Music===
====Singles discography====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Titles (A-side, B-side)
! Label and Number
! Album (or EP-Extended Play)
|-
| 1951
| "What Is a Girl?"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "What Is a Boy?"}}{{pb}}{{small|Both sides with narratives by Gleason}}
| [[Decca Records|Decca]] 27684
|Non-album tracks
|-
| 1952
| "Melancholy Serenade"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "You're Getting to Be a Habit"}}
| [[Capitol Records|Capitol]] F2361
| ''Melancholy Serenade'' (EP)
|-
| 1953
| "Alone Together"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Body & Soul"}}
| Capitol F2437
| rowspan="4"|''Music For Lovers Only''
|-
| 1953
| "My Funny Valentine"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Love Is Here to Stay"}}
| Capitol F2438
|-
| 1953
| "But Not for Me"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Love"}}
| Capitol F2439
|-
| 1953
| "I'm in the Mood for Love"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "I Only Have Eyes For You"}}
| Capitol F2440
|-
| 1953
| "Terry's Theme from ''Limelight''"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Peg O' My Heart" (from ''Melancholy Serenade'' (EP))}}
| Capitol F2507
| Non-album track
|-
| 1953
| "White House Serenade"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "The President's Lady" (non-album track)}}
| Capitol F2515
| ''Melancholy Serenade'' (EP)
|-
| 1953
| "Mystery Street"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Golden Violins"}}
| Capitol F2659
|rowspan="3"|Non-album tracks
|-
| 1955
| "I'll Never Be The Same"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Rain"}}
| Capitol F3092
|-
| 1955
| "The Band Played On"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "In the Good Old Summertime"}}
| Capitol F3144
|-
| 1955
| "Autumn Leaves"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Oo! What You Do to Me"}}
| Capitol F3223
|''Autumn Leaves'' (EP)
|-
| 1956
| "Capri in May"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "You're My Greatest Love" (from ''Music To Change Her Mind'')}}
| Capitol F3337
| Non-album track
|-
| 1957
| "To A Sleeping Beauty"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Apology at Bedtime"}}
| Capitol EAP871
| ''The Best of Jackie Gleason''
|-
| 1958
| "Where Is She Now?"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Just Only Yesterday"}}
| Capitol F4062
| Non-album tracks
|-
| 1962
| "Melancholy Serenade"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Apology at Bedtime"}}
| Capitol 4704
|''The Best of Jackie Gleason''
|-
| 1962
| "Allo 'Allo 'Allo"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Joi De Vivre"}}
| Capitol 4800
|''Jackie Gleason Presents His Original Music For "Gigot"''
|-
| 1963
| "La La La La"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "It's Such A Happy Day" (from ''Silk 'n' Brass'')}}
| Capitol 4933
|''The Best of Jackie Gleason''
|-
| 1964
| "Bird Brain"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Soldier in the Rain"}}
| Capitol 5131
|rowspan="2"|Non-album tracks
|-
| 1965
| "I Had But 50¢"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Casey at the Bat"}}{{pb}}{{small|Shown as by "Reginald Van Gleason, III"}}
| Capitol 5420
|-
| 1966
| "One of Those Songs"{{pb}}{{small|b/w "Love Theme From 'Madame X'" (from ''Music Around The World For Lovers Only'')}}
| Capitol 5584
| ''Silk 'n' Brass''
|-
|}

====Album discography====
{|class=wikitable
|-
!  No. 
! Year
! Title
! Label and Number
! [[Billboard 200|U.S. Billboard Best Selling Popular Albums]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 1
| 1952
| ''[[Music for Lovers Only]]''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol H352 (10")
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 1 (153 total weeks within the Billboard Top Ten)<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/21533/quick-10-10-billboard-200-milestones |title=The Quick 10: 10 Billboard 200 Milestones |magazine=Mental Floss |date=April 23, 2009 |access-date=August 17, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905061155/http://mentalfloss.com/article/21533/quick-10-10-billboard-200-milestones |archive-date=September 5, 2015 }}</ref>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 2
| 1953
| ''[[Lover's Rhapsody]]''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol H366 (10")
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 1
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 3
| 1953
| ''[[Music to Make You Misty]]''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol H455 (10")
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 1
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 4
| 1954
| ''[[Tawny (album)|Tawny]]''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol L471 (10")
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 8
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 5
| 1954
| ''[[And Awaaay We Go!]]''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol H511 (10")
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 1
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 6
| 1954
| ''[[Music, Martinis and Memories]]''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol W509
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 1
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 7
| 1954
| '' Melancholy Serenade ''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol E532 (EP)
| style="text-align:center;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 8
| 1955
| ''[[Lonesome Echo]]''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol H627 (10")
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 1
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 9
| 1955
| ''Music for Lovers Only''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol W352
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 7
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 10
| 1955
| ''Music to Make You Misty''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol W455
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 11
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 11
| 1955
| ''And Awaaay We Go!''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol W511
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 85
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 12
| 1955
| ''[[Jackie Gleason Plays Romantic Jazz]]''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol W568
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 2
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 13
| 1955
| ''Music to Remember Her''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol W570
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 5
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 14
| 1955
| ''Lonesome Echo''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol W627
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 1
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 15
| 1956
| ''Captain Gleason's Garden Band''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol E646 (EP)
| style="text-align:center;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 16
| 1956
| ''Music to Change Her Mind''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol W632
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 8
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 17
| 1956
| ''Night Winds''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol W717
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 10
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 18
| 1956
| ''Merry Christmas''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol W758
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 16
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 19
| 1957
| ''Music for the Love Hours''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol W816
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 13
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 20
| 1957
| ''Velvet Brass''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W859
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 16
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 21
| 1957
| ''"Oooo!"''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W905
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 14
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 22
| 1958
| ''The Torch with the Blue Flame''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W961
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 2
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 23
| 1958
| ''Riff Jazz''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1020
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 27
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 24
| 1959
| ''Rebound''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1075
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 18
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 25
| 1959
| ''That Moment''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1147
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 36
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 26
| 1959
| ''Take Me Along'' (original cast)
| style="text-align:center;" | [[RCA Victor]] LSO1050
| style="text-align:center;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 27
| 1960
| ''Aphrodisia''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1250
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 49
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 28
| 1960
| ''The Actor's Prayer'' (spoken by Gleason)
| style="text-align:center;" | The Marsalin Institute
| style="text-align:center;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 29
| 1960
| ''Opiate D'Amour''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1314
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 53
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 30
| 1961
| ''Lazy Lively Love''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1439
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 57
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 31
| 1961
| ''The Gentle Touch''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1519
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 62
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 32
| 1962
| ''A Lover's Portfolio'' (two records in a "briefcase")
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SWBO/SBO1619
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 135
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 33
| 1962
| ''Love Embers and Flame''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1689
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 103
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 34
| 1963
| ''Gigot'' (soundtrack)
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1754
| style="text-align:center;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 35
| 1963
| ''Champagne, Candlelight and Kisses''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1830
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 97
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 36
| 1963
| ''Movie Themes – For Lovers Only''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1877
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 82
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 37
| 1963
| ''Today's Romantic Hits – For Lovers Only''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1978
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 115
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 38
| 1964
| ''Lover's Portfolio Vol. 1 (Music for Sippin' – Music for Dancin')''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1979
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 128
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 39
| 1964
| ''Lover's Portfolio Vol. 2 (Music for Listenin' – Music for Lovin')''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W1980
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 137
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 40
| 1964
| ''Today's Romantic Hits – For Lovers Only Vol. 2''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W2056
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 82
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 41
| 1965
| ''Last Dance – For Lover's Only''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W2144
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 131
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 42
| 1965
| ''Silk 'n' Brass''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W2409
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 141
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 43
| 1966
| ''Music from Around the World – For Lovers Only''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W2471
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 102
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 44
| 1966
| ''How Sweet It Is for Lovers''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W2582
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 71
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 45
| 1967
| ''A Taste of Brass – For Lovers Only''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W2684
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 200
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 46
| 1967
| '''Tis the Season''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol ST/T2791
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 37
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 47
| 1967
| ''The Best of Jackie Gleason''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W2796
| style="text-align:center;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 48
| 1967
| ''The Best of Jackie Gleason''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol Record Club SWAO-90601
| style="text-align:center;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 49
| 1968
| ''Doublin' in Brass''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W2880
| style="text-align:center;" | No. 165
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 50
| 1969
| ''The Best of Jackie Gleason, vol. 2''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SKAO-146
| style="text-align:center;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 51
| 1969
| ''The Now Sound''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW/W2935
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 200
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 52
| 1969
| ''Irving Berlin's Music – For Lovers Only''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW106
| style="text-align:center;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 53
| 1969
| ''Close Up''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SW255
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 192
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 54
| 1969
| ''All I Want for Christmas''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol ST346
| style="text-align:center;" |  No. 13
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 55
| 1970
| ''Softly''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol SL6664
| style="text-align:center;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 56
| 1970
| ''Romeo and Juliet – A Theme for Lovers''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol ST398
| style="text-align:center;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 57
| 1971
| ''Come Saturday Morning''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol ST480
| style="text-align:center;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 58
| 1972
| ''Words of Love''
| style="text-align:center;" | Capitol ST693
| style="text-align:center;" | -
|}

====Compact disc discography====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Label
|-
| 1984
| ''Lush Moods''
| Pair
|-
| 1987
| ''Music, Martinis and Memories''
| Capitol
|-
| 1987
| ''Intimate Music for Lovers''
| CEMA Special Markets
|-
| 1990
| ''Merry Christmas''
| Capitol
|-
| 1991
| ''Night Winds'' / ''Music to Make You Misty''
| Capitol
|-
| 1993
| ''The Best of Jackie Gleason''
| [[Curb Records|Curb]]
|-
| 1994
| ''Shangri-La''
| Pair
|-
| 1995
| ''Merry Christmas''
| [[Razor & Tie]]
|-
| 1995
| ''Body & Soul''
| Pair
|-
| 1995
| ''22 Melancholy Serenades''
| CEMA Special Markets
|-
| 1996
| ''And Awaaay We Go''
| Scamp
|-
| 1996
| ''How Sweet It Is! The Velvet Brass Collection''
| Razor & Tie
|-
| 1996
| ''Romantic Moods of Jackie Gleason'' (Two Disc Set)
| EMI Capitol
|-
| 1996
| ''Thinking of You''
| CEMA Special Markets
|-
| 1996
| '''Tis the Season''
| Capitol
|-
| 1996
| ''The Best of Jackie Gleason''
| Collectibles
|-
| 1999
| ''Music for Lovers Only'' / ''Music to Make You Misty''
| [[Collectors' Choice Music|Collector's Choice]]
|-
| 2000
| ''Best of Jackie Gleason''
| EMI Special Products
|-
| 2000
| ''Tawny'' / ''Music, Martinis and Memories''
| Collector's Choice
|-
| 2000
| ''Music, Moonlight and Memories'' (Three Disc Set)
| Reader's Digest
|-
| 2001
| ''Lonesome Echo''
| Collector's Choice
|-
| 2001
| ''Music to Remember Her''
| Collector's Choice
|-
| 2001
| ''Lover's Rhapsody'' / ''And Awaaay We Go''
| Collector's Choice
|-
| 2001
| ''Snowfall''
| EMI
|-
| 2002
| ''For Lovers Only: 36 All Time Greatest Hits'' (Three disc set)
| Timeless Media Group
|-
| 2003
| ''Plays Romantic Jazz''
| Collector's Choice
|-
| 2004
| ''Music to Change Her Mind''
| Collector's Choice
|-
| 2005
| ''Night Winds''
| Collector's Choice
|-
| 2006
| ''A Taste of Brass'' & ''Doublin' in Brass''
| Capitol
|-
| 2007
| ''Complete Bobby Hackett Sessions'' (Four Disc Set)
| Fine & Mellow
|-
| 2009
| ''Take Me Along (1959 Original Broadway Cast)''
| DRG
|-
| 2009
| '''Tis the Season''
| Capitol
|-
| 2011
| ''That Moment'' / ''Opiate D'Amour''
| Dutton Vocalion
|-
| 2011
| ''The Torch with the Blue Flame'' / ''The Best of 'Oooo!' ''
| Dutton Vocalion
|-
| 2012
| ''Music For Lovers Only''
| Real Gone Music
|-
| 2012
| ''Movie Themes - For Lovers Only'' / ''The Last Dance - For Lovers Only''
| Dutton Vocalion
|-
| 2012
| ''Romeo and Juliet - A Theme for Lovers'' / ''Music Around the World - For Lovers Only''
| Dutton Vocalion
|-
| 2012
| ''Gigot''
| Dutton Vocalion
|-
| 2012
| ''Champagne, Candlelight and Kisses'' / ''Love Embers and Flame''
| Dutton Vocalion
|-
| 2012
| '''Tis the Season'' / ''Merry Christmas''
| Relayer Records
|}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
* ''[[Joel Whitburn]] Presents the Billboard Albums'', 6th edition, {{ISBN|0-89820-166-7}}
* {{citation|title=The Billboard Book of Top 40 Albums|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|isbn=0-8230-7534-6|year=1991|publisher=Billboard Books|edition=Revised and enlarged 2nd}}
* Additional information obtained can be verified within ''Billboard''{{'}}s [https://web.archive.org/web/20080517075409/http://billboard.biz/ online archive services] and print editions of the magazine.

==Further reading==
* [[Jim Bishop|Bishop, Jim]]. ''The Golden Ham'' ([[Simon & Schuster]], 1956).
* Metz, Robert. ''CBS: Reflections in a Bloodshot Eye''. (New York, 1975).
* [[James Bacon (author)|Bacon, James]]. ''How Sweet It Is: Jackie Gleason''. (New York, [[St. Martin's Press]], 1985).
* Weatherby, W.J. ''Jackie Gleason: An Intimate Portrait of the Great One''. (Berkley, 1992).
* [[William A. Henry III|Henry, William A.]] ''The Great One: The Life and Legend of Jackie Gleason''. (New York: [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]], 1992).
* [[Audrey Meadows|Meadows, Audrey]]. ''Love, Alice''. (New York, [[Crown Publishing Group|Crown Publishers]], 1994).
* American Legends Series. ''The Life of Jackie Gleason''. (Charles River Editors, {{ISBN|9781496125811}}, 2014).

==External links==
{{commons category|Jackie Gleason}}
* {{IMDb name|1276}}
* [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/72162%7C76606/Jackie-Gleason#overview Jackie Gleason] at [[Turner Classic Movies]]
* {{IBDB name}}
* [http://www.spaceagepop.com/gleason.htm Jackie Gleason Discography] at Space Age Pop Music
* {{discogs artist|Jackie Gleason}}
* [https://fiftiesweb.com/tv/honeymooners/ Honeymooners] at The Fifties Web

{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Jackie Gleason
|list =
{{National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor}}
{{1986 Television Hall of Fame}}
{{TonyAward MusicalLeadActor 1947-1975}}
}}
{{authority control}}

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