Jackie Gleason (February 26, 1916 – June 24, 1987) was a Brooklyn-born comedian famous for brash humor and fast ad-libs who immortalized his Brooklyn neighborhood in The Honeymooners, playing bus driver Ralph Kramden . Ralph, his buddy Ed Norton, and their wives Alice Kramden and Trixie Norton were later transplanted into the stone age as The Flintstones, the entire show being a transparent tribute to The Honeymooners.

In the late 1940s he played Chester Riley in the The Life of Riley situation comedy in its first incarnation. Later it was recast.

In the 1960s he had his own show entitled The Jackie Gleason Show.

His trademark phrase was "How sweet it is!" during the applause when he first opened his comedy act.

In his early life he was known for his fatness, but later he slimmed down.

Later in life, Jackie Gleason gained fame for his portrayal of Sheriff Buford T. Justice in the Smokey and the Bandit series of fims.

Gleason apparently believed in UFOs, and claimed to have seen them himself. There was even a report that Richard Nixon took Gleason to view the remains of aliens killed in the crash of a flying saucer, but as this particular report first appeared in the pages of the National Enquirer, it is dubious at best.

Jackie Gleason is interred in the Our Lady Of Mercy Cemetery, Miami Beach, Florida.

External links

• Jackie Gleason http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001276/ at the Internet Movie Database