“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.
6. From sewer pipes to punchlines
Art Carney channels his inner Ed Norton in this wonderfully lit behind-the-scenes moment. Vest, fedora, and animated arms in full swing—Carney seems halfway between offering plumbing advice and explaining some sort of counter-scheme to Ralph. Carney studied with classical actors, but his gift was always physicality—as evident here, where even a lean over a railing becomes comedy gold.
7. Three’s company in Brooklyn
Art Carney, Jackie Gleason, and Audrey Meadows rehearse a moment on the set of The Honeymooners. With its modest, single-room set and kitchen-sink realism, the show relied entirely on the strength of its performers—and these three delivered, week after week. Meadows’ Alice, always grounded and razor-sharp, was the perfect counter to Gleason’s bombastic Ralph. And Carney’s Norton? The wildcard, never far from a confused grin or a crooked hat.
8. Two Ralphs for the price of one
Art Carney and Jackie Gleason rehearse a key moment for “A Matter of Life and Death,” originally broadcast on October 29, 1955. While Gleason takes a seat, his stand-in plays the part of a temporarily lifeless Ralph, as Norton leans in with mock concern. While shooting in front of a live audience, timing was everything—so rehearsals like this were crucial, even for a show that thrived on spontaneity. The Honeymooners was often chaotic on the surface, but every pratfall, punchline, and panicked gasp was precisely staged. Scenes like this show how seriously the cast and crew took their craft, even when pretending Ralph had just dropped dead over a misunderstood medical report.
9. Calling the shots behind the camera
Director Frank Satenstein (standing, center) leads a staging discussion with Jackie Gleason (back to camera), Art Carney (right), and members of the production team on the set of The Honeymooners. Though the series was known for its comedic chaos, nothing about its execution was haphazard. Satenstein directed all 39 classic episodes of the 1955–1956 season, juggling actor rhythms and those tight Brooklyn apartment sets with absolute precision.
10. Lights, camera, Kramden!
A towering DuMont television camera looms in the foreground while Audrey Meadows and Jackie Gleason rehearse a kitchen table exchange on the set of The Honeymooners. Though the show delivered broad laughs and booming one-liners, many of its most memorable scenes were intimate moments between Ralph and Alice Kramden. DuMont cameras like the one pictured helped bring early TV to millions of homes, capturing every eye roll, sigh, and shouted “Bang, Zoom!”
11. ‘The Honeymooners,’ in color!
Audrey Meadows, Jackie Gleason, and Art Carney beam in this rare color portrait taken off-set, a striking contrast to the black-and-white grit of The Honeymooners. Gleason was the powerhouse, Carney the comic jazzman and Meadows the unshakable counterbalance. Together, they formed one of the most iconic trios in television history and, decades later, it’s still impossible to see their faces without hearing laughter.
12. Art Carney’s upside-down comedy
Audrey Meadows keeps her cool as Art Carney delivers one of Ed Norton’s more acrobatic entrances—hanging upside down outside the Kramden apartment window, defying gravity and logic in equal measure. The scene may look like pure slapstick, but the timing and staging were surgical—right down to Audrey’s perfectly deadpan reaction.
13. Behind-the-scenes at Studio 50
Jackie Gleason reviews notes during rehearsal as cameras, crew, and co-stars prepare to bring The Honeymooners to life. Shot inside CBS Studio 50—later known as the Ed Sullivan Theater—this image captures the raw, collaborative hustle behind television of the time. Gleason was famously hands-on, often rewriting material the day of broadcast, and the show’s single-set layout required exacting camera work and timing. With Audrey Meadows and Art Carney poised in the background and a flurry of operators, lighting techs, and directors in motion, this photo is a time capsule of early TV’s golden age—where every week was opening night.
14. All aboard: one last ride with the Kramdens and the Nortons
Jackie Gleason dons Ralph Kramden’s bus driver blues as Audrey Meadows, Art Carney, and Joyce Randolph join him for a staged but spirited photo op. Meadows’ Alice is all charm, Carney’s Norton is predictably distracted, and Randolph’s Trixie brings the sass—just another day in Brooklyn, elevated to legend by four TV icons.
