JOYCE RANDOLPH ATTENDS CINEMA RETRO'S TRIBUTE ...
Cinema Retro
. On Thursday March 4, Cinema Retro hosted a tribute to actress Joyce Randolph at the legendary Players club in New York City. Joyce is the last living cast members of the classic 1950s sitcom The Honeymooners, in which she starred with Jackie Gleason, Art Carney and Audrey Meadows. The show began as a sketch on Gleason's variety program in the early 1950s before expanding to a half hour sitcom.The series centered on the trials and tribulations of Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden (Gleason) and his long-suffering wife Alice (Meadows), who must patiently endure his crackpot get-rich-quick schemes as well as his tendency to engage in temperamental outbursts. Art Carney played Ralph's best friend and upstairs neighbor, a dim-witted by lovable sewer worker named Ed Norton. Joyce Randolph was Norton's wife Trixie.Gleason resisted the cliche of giving the Kramden's children, the absence of which allowed the scripts to center on the comedic talents of the four principals. . Despite being a major success, Gleason- who exercised dictatorial control over his TV shows - decided to end the series after just one season because he was concerned he couldn't maintain the high quality of the scripts. Although only 39 episodes of the weekly series were ever produced, you'd be hard-pressed to find an American of any background who hasn't grown up quoting dialogue from these classic shows. Joyce attended the club's monthly cocktail party and posed for countless photos. Although world-famous celebrities are regulars at the club, Joyce seems to have brought out the rare fan instinct in members. Following dinner, Cinema Retro Editor-in-Chief got plenty of laughs when he donned the traditional uniform of Ralph Kramden's lodge, The Raccoons (complete with coonskin Davy Crockett hat) and introduced Joyce to the stage, where she kept the audience laughing consistently with her anecdotes. Following this, two episodes of the series were shown on the big screen and most people were astonished at how little Joyce has changed over the ensuing years. At the end of this very special evening, Pfeiffer embraced Joyce and belted out Gleason's signature line that closed many episodes of The Honeymooners: "Baby, you're the greatest!" Continue reading for ABC Radio's film critic Bill Diehl's take on the evening.
By Bill Diehl "Joyce received a standing ovation from a packed house that watched two of her favorite episodes...one of them in which Norton sleepwalks (The Sleepwalker) ...the other involves a dress that Alice buys for a ceremony at
city hall honoring Ralph for being New York's safest bus driver (The Safety Award) . As
they get ready to leave for the event Trixie shows up wearing THE SAME
dress which triggers a hilarious episode, topped off by Ralph having an
accident colliding with a car driven by a judge who later shows up to
present Ralph with the honor.Randolph, whose husband died quite
a few years ago, still lives on the upper west side...believe she said
on Central Park West. Delightful lady... but interestingly doesn't
smile for photos... . .
During a Q&A with the Players Lee Pfeiffer of
"Cinema Retro" magazine, before the Honeymooners shows were played,
Randolph talked about those days."We'd all rehearse like
crazy," she said "but Jackie never rehearsed." But she added, "he
seemed to have a photographic memory and knew his lines cold, although
occasionally he would throw us off a bit by throwing in something that
wasn't scripted."She said that while Art Carney was a big drinker, (she
indicated he was really an alcoholic), he always showed up on the set
totally sober. She said she still keeps in touch with Art's widow who
lives in Connecticut.
Asked about socializing with Gleason... "never...only time we'd do
that would be if he gave an occasional small cast and crew party." .
By the way Randolph got the role of "Trixie" as a result of
appearing in a Clorets breath-mint commercial.Gleason saw it and she
was cast without having an agent or doing an audition.
More
trivia---she's not the ONLY person to play Trixie. First played by
Elaine Stritch but it was for only one episode of the show, in which
the Honeymooners first made its debut on the Dumont Television Network.
.
More
trivia? Randolph was born Joyce Sirola, Oct.21, 1924 in Detroit.
Nickname? "Garbo of Detroit." Her nephew is baseball pitcher Tim
Redding...who has been with several major league teams including the
Houston Astros. Currently he's with the Colorado Rockies organization." . . Click here to order the complete Honeymooners DVD collection from Amazon
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