MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO SEMINAR SERIES, THE: THE HONEYMOONERS LEGACY {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in this series of seminars conducted by The Museum of Television & Radio. This seminar, moderated by television curator Ron Simon, examines the legacy of Jackie Gleason's hit television program, "The Honeymooners," with "Cavalcade of Stars" writer Coleman Jacoby, "Cavalcade of Stars" and "Honeymooners" producer Joe Cates, actress Joyce Randolph (Trixie Norton), and Honeymooner's monographers Donna McCrohan and William Henry. Simon introduces Honeymooners writer Snag Werris's daughter Wendy, who discusses her father's habit of collecting and preserving the kinescopes that would become the bulk of The Museum of Television and Radio's collection of "lost" Honeymooners episodes. Simon then presents four excerpts from Honeymooner's sketches from 1951 before introducing the panelists. Topics discussed include the following: the origin of the concept for the Honeymooners and the show's characters; the recognition "The Honeymooners" regained in the 1970s with the writing of McCrohan's book, the emergence of the lost episodes, and the beginnings of nostalgia for television "classics"; what Gleason would think of "The Honeymooners" and its status in television history in the 1990s; and the genius of Gleason's comedy and the Kramden character. Questions from the audience then lead to an examination of the following topics: the rehearsal process on "Cavalcade of Stars" and "The Honeymooners"; the ownership of rights to "The Honeymooners" characters; how Gleason came to host "Cavalcade"; how Audrey Meadows alone secured residuals for the rebroadcast of the show; Gleason's attitude toward Coleman and the rest of his writing staff; and the strategies used by writers to gain Gleason's approval of plot lines. Simon concludes the evening by asking each panelist for a final thought about the early episodes of "The Honeymooners."
Details
- NETWORK: Paley
- DATE: May 6, 1993 Thursday 6:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:39:37
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:29197
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ron Simon … Moderator
- Joe Cates … Panelist
- Henry, William A., III … Panelist
- Coleman Jacoby … Panelist
- Donna McCrohan … Panelist
- Joyce Randolph … Panelist
- Wendy Werris … Guest
- Art Carney
- Jackie Gleason
- Audrey Meadows
- Snag Werris