The Great One
11-30-2006, 01:49 PM
In my other thread called "Jackie Gleason Bus Depot" Brian Damage posted a picture of the Ralph Kramden statue. Here's an article I found that talks about that statue. It reads as follows:
Ralph Kramden Statue
New York, New York
An eight-foot-tall bronze statue of a jolly Jackie Gleason stands in front of Manhattan's midtown Port Authority Bus Terminal. Jackie, clad in his
Honeymooner's bus driver's uniform, clutching his lunch pail, wears a satisfied
expression as he looks out over the mostly indifferent passers-by on New York's Eighth Avenue.
Cable television's TV Land funded the statue in cooperation with Gleason's estate and the Port Authority. It was the first of several statues
commissioned by the network to honor the syndicated shows that have contributed to the TV Land’s success. Similarly-spirited statues have been
erected to the shows Bewitched and Andy Griffith, with one in the works for I Dream of Jeannie.
While it's hard not to like the character of Ralph Kramden, it's equally hard to like the spot where his statue has been placed. Gleason's dark bronze features are nearly invisible, in perpetual shadow under an overhang and the
never-ending crowds here ensure that someone is almost always pushing themselves between you and Ralph. We’re not used to this interference, having enjoyed Ralph from across the clear, calm expanse of our TV room. Just where he belongs.
The plaque reads:
Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden
Bus Driver - Raccoon Lodge Treasurer - Dreamer
Presented by the People of TV Land
Location of the Ralph Kramden Statue:
Address: 8th Avenue, New York, NY
Directions: On the west side of Eighth Avenue, midway between 40th and
41st Streets, in front of The Port Authority Bus Terminal.
Admission: Free.
Open: Always visible.
Ralph Kramden Statue
New York, New York
An eight-foot-tall bronze statue of a jolly Jackie Gleason stands in front of Manhattan's midtown Port Authority Bus Terminal. Jackie, clad in his
Honeymooner's bus driver's uniform, clutching his lunch pail, wears a satisfied
expression as he looks out over the mostly indifferent passers-by on New York's Eighth Avenue.
Cable television's TV Land funded the statue in cooperation with Gleason's estate and the Port Authority. It was the first of several statues
commissioned by the network to honor the syndicated shows that have contributed to the TV Land’s success. Similarly-spirited statues have been
erected to the shows Bewitched and Andy Griffith, with one in the works for I Dream of Jeannie.
While it's hard not to like the character of Ralph Kramden, it's equally hard to like the spot where his statue has been placed. Gleason's dark bronze features are nearly invisible, in perpetual shadow under an overhang and the
never-ending crowds here ensure that someone is almost always pushing themselves between you and Ralph. We’re not used to this interference, having enjoyed Ralph from across the clear, calm expanse of our TV room. Just where he belongs.
The plaque reads:
Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden
Bus Driver - Raccoon Lodge Treasurer - Dreamer
Presented by the People of TV Land
Location of the Ralph Kramden Statue:
Address: 8th Avenue, New York, NY
Directions: On the west side of Eighth Avenue, midway between 40th and
41st Streets, in front of The Port Authority Bus Terminal.
Admission: Free.
Open: Always visible.