“The Classic 39” is oftentimes the way people refer to The Honeymooners, the 1955 to 1956 sitcom focusing on working-class Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason), his sharp-tongued wife Alice (Audrey Meadows), best friend and sewer worker Ed Norton (Art Carney) and his wife, Trixie (Joyce Randolph). What few realize—or remember—is that the premise had a long life before and after those 39 shows.
In 1951, it had its start on Cavalcade of Stars, hosted by Gleason and airing on the DuMont network (long defunct). When the actor shifted to CBS and the decades-spanning The Jackie Gleason Show that same year, “The Honeymooners” came with him, growing into a national sensation long before it officially became its own series. When that did happen, it replaced The Jackie Gleason Show, but for only that one season.
Following the format established by I Love Lucy a few years earlier, The Honeymooners was shot with multi-cameras like a stage play in front of a live audience, and it was an immediate success. But Gleason, feeling that the quality of the scripts could not be maintained at the level it had been, elected to end the series and turn it back into sketches as part of the revived The Jackie Gleason Show. Those sketches continued throughout the late 1950s and into the 1960s, began airing in color and could be as long as an hour each, expanding the world of the Kramdens and the Nortons with musical numbers, exotic settings (created on the soundstage) and new storylines that reached far beyond the walls of that iconic Brooklyn apartment. Audrey Meadows was eventually replaced by Sheila MacRae as Alice, and Jane Kean stepped in as Trixie, but Carney remained at Gleason’s side—still the perfect comedic foil in every incarnation.
Even as television evolved, The Honeymooners remained evergreen. A handful of reunion specials in the late ’70s brought back the original cast for one last round of domestic misadventures, serving as a fond farewell for fans who’d grown up with the show in black and white and watched it reimagined in living color.
The rare behind-the-scenes photos to follow take us deeper into the “Classic 39,” from the camera-packed chaos of CBS studios to the script discussions, quiet rehearsals and shared laughter between takes.
1. Rehearsing the comic chaos
Art Carney (Ed Norton), Jackie Gleason (Ralph Kramden), and Audrey Meadows (Alice Kramden) dig into a script during rehearsal for The Honeymooners. Gleason famously avoided heavy rehearsing, preferring spontaneity to preserve the comedy’s raw energy—but scenes like this show just how much effort still went into making each episode work. Carney’s expressive gestures were a hallmark of his off-the-cuff brilliance, while Meadows, ever the pro, often arrived better prepared than anyone else. The chemistry seen onscreen was built in part by intimate table reads like this one, with coffee, cigarettes, and script rewrites always close at hand.
2. Ralph Kramden, prize fighter?
Jackie Gleason brings Ralph Kramden’s trademark bluster to a staged scene outside a faux movie theater, with a sign reading “Free TV Set Drawing Tonight” serving as comedic bait. Episodes of The Honeymooners often revolved around get-rich-quick schemes and misunderstandings like this one, where Ralph’s dreams of hitting it big were usually deflated by reality—or by Norton and even Alice. Though filmed on a soundstage, the production team went to great lengths to make Brooklyn feel real, even when Ralph’s plans clearly weren’t.
3. Down the hatch: Art Carney, king of the sewers
Art Carney strikes a casual pose as Ed Norton, the lovable sewer worker in a photo from 1964. While Jackie Gleason was the thunder, Carney was the lightning—quick, unpredictable and quietly brilliant. This rare color image captures Carney popping out of a manhole during either a promotional shoot or test filming, offering a rare glimpse of the character in the “field.”
4. Jackie Gleason in the perfect Ralph Kramden moment
Jackie Gleason captures the very essence of Ralph Kramden in this unforgettable reaction shot—with a single stare, Gleason could sell an entire punchline. Though The Honeymooners was built around working-class struggles and humble sets, its real power came from big personalities like this one. Gleason once said he drew inspiration from bus drivers and blue-collar guys he grew up around in Brooklyn—and it shows. Whether threatening to send Alice “to the moon” or reeling from Norton’s latest blunder, Gleason’s timing was as perfect as his expressions.
5. Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows off the set
Audrey Meadows and Jackie Gleason share a laugh during what appears to be a quiet rehearsal or script read-through away from the studio set. While Ralph and Alice Kramden often bickered with comic ferocity on screen, off camera the chemistry between actors was full of mutual respect and affection. Meadows once said she landed the role only after donning a dowdy housecoat and ditching her usual glamour to convince Gleason she could play a believable Brooklyn housewife. Clearly, she nailed it.
