The Honeymooners “Lost” Episodes: 10 Notable or Otherwise Memorable Sketches
The Honeymooners, about a blustery bus driver and his long-suffering wife, began as a series of live sketches in 1951 on Jackie Gleason’s Cavalcade for Stars for the long-defunct Dumont network and carried over the following year to his eponymous variety show for CBS.
The Jackie Gleason Show aired live on CBS until 1957 — save for the 1955-1956 TV season when the sketches became their own standalone half-hour sitcom recorded on film for subsequent broadcast (and rebroadcast). While the half-hour Honeymooners had a healthy shelf life in syndication, the kinescoped Jackie Gleason Show sketches were deemed “lost” until the mid-1980s, when Gleason himself released copies of them from his private vault after inquiries were made into the status of their existence.
Below is a listing of 10 notable or otherwise memorable “lost” sketches (in no particular order):
1. “Letter to the Boss” – 11/14/53 and 5/21/55
In one of a small handful of sketches performed more than once, Ralph mails an angry letter to his boss after finding out that he’s been let go. But when it turns out that he was actually being promoted, he tries to retrieve the letter before his boss can read it.
2. “Stand-In for Murder” – 4/17/54
Ralph gets a great new job — but it could cost him his life. Gleason has a dual role in this sketch — which ran long so only the studio audience saw the ending. But due to interest in what happened, Gleason spent the first part of the following week’s show attempting to explain the ending. Ironically, when it was performed again the following year, it ran short and Gleason had to fill in the time at the end of the show.
3. “Songwriters” – 12/11/54
Ralph and Ed write a song (the entirety of which is performed in the episode) and submit it to a record executive. But when he opts only for Ed’s music over Ralph’s lyrics, what will happen to their partnership?
4. “The Adoption” – 3/26/55
In one of the most famous sketches, Ralph and Alice adopt a baby girl. But when the baby’s birth mother comes back for it, what will they do? According to Honeymooners lore, the rehearsal-averse Gleason performed his monologue at the end with a copy of the script in the baby’s bassinet.
5. “Catch a Star” – 12/15/56
Ralph tries to get Jackie Gleason to appear at a club function. In this sketch, the entire cast play dual roles as their characters and as a version of their real-life themselves.
6. “Bread” – 10/5/51
This was the first-ever sketch — with Pert Kelton as Alice and Carney as a cop.
7. “The Quiz Show” – 12/14/51 & 10/18/52
This was the first sketch to be performed on Cavalcade of Stars AND The Jackie Gleason Show. Just prior to the second performance of the sketch, Meadows replaced Kelton as Alice after Kelton was blacklisted. This sketch provides a great apples-to-apples comparison between Kelton’s and Meadows’ portrayals of Alice.
8. “The Ring Salesman” – 12/7/51 & 3/28/52
This was the first sketch performed twice — both on Cavalcade of Stars. Among the CBS sketches, “Halloween Party” was the first (on 10/25/52 and 10/31/53).
9. “Christmas Party” – 12/21/51
Most sketches through the first two seasons of shows were all of 5 or 10 minutes, but this was the first extended sketch — which became a regular occurrence by late 1953. Among the CBS sketches, the second performance of “Vacation at Fred’s Landing” on 6/20/53 was the first.
10. “Manager of the Baseball Team” – 5/16/52, 5/9/53 & 6/1/57 and
“Vacation at Fred’s Landing” – 5/30/52, 6/20/53 & 6/19/54
These two sketches were performed on The Jackie Gleason Show a record three times (that we know of). A third sketch, “Christmas Party”, was also performed three times (on 12/21/51, 12/20/52 & 12/19/53), but the first performance of it was on Cavalcade of Stars. Also note that the third performance of “Manager of the Baseball Team” was the last Honeymooners sketch of the 1950s.
For more on the fascinating history of The Honeymooners, check out this entry from July.
