Jackie Gleason

John Herbert "Jackie" Gleason (February 26, 1916 – June 24, 1987) was an American comedian, actor, musician and writer who developed a style and characters in his career from growing up in Brooklyn, New York. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, exemplified by his bus driver character Ralph Kramden in the television series The Honeymooners. By filming the episodes with Electronicams, Gleason was later able to release the series in syndication, which increased its popularity over the years with new audiences. He also developed The Jackie Gleason Show, which maintained high ratings from the mid-1950s until its cancellation in 1970. After originating in Hollywood, filming moved to Miami, Florida, in 1964 after Gleason took up permanent residence there. Among his notable film roles were Minnesota Fats in the 1961 drama The Hustler (co-starring with Paul Newman), and Buford T. Justice in the Smokey and the Bandit series from 1977 into the early 1980s, in which he co-starred with Burt Reynolds. 2Early life John Herbert Gleason was born in 1916 at 364 Chauncey Street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. He grew up at 328 Chauncey (an address he later used for Ralph and Alice Kramden on The Honeymooners). Named Herbert Walton Gleason, Jr., at birth, he was baptized John Herbert Gleason. His parents were Herbert Walton "Herb" Gleason, an Irish-American insurance auditor, and Mae "Maisie" (née Kelly), from Farranree, Cork, Irelan