Frank Gannucci
05-11-2012, 08:18 AM
Reviews: “Honeymooners 35TH Anniversary Special” (UNCUT) & Original Openings & Closings.
DVD: Attached to episodes #33-39 of the Classic 39 as well as original openings and closings.
Special thanks to Benno123 for supplying me with this special.
When this was released onto DVD, Paramount edited all the lost episode clips. End result: A special that is less than 20 minutes long.
Various Classic 39 clips are played in the opening with Gleason, Carney & Randolph offering comments. The old CBS Stereo Sound logo appears saying that this special is available in stereo where available. My, how times have changed. The announcer says that this special includes two sketches not seen since the 50s. He also introduces the famous cast with Audrey Meadows serving as the host.
Audrey Meadows walks onto what I am assuming is the real Honeymooners set. At first, the picture is in B&W but changes to color. Audrey: “The Honeymooners debuted in 1955. Today, it is more popular than it ever was.” Once again, how times have changed. Audrey: “Tonight, you will see two Honeymooners sketches not seen since the early 50s. You will see how the characters evolve.” They show a clip of the 1952 version of “The Quiz Show.” Audrey says that when we return from commercials, we will see “The Quiz Show.”
Time for a commercial break.
Audrey says that this apartment brings back a lot of memories. She cherishes them. Audrey: “We filmed each one of the 39 episodes in this kitchen and hundreds of Honeymooners sketches before that on the Jackie Gleason Show. ‘The Quiz Show’ is one of those sketches.” The Quiz Show is played. After that, it is time for a commercial break.
Audrey: “One of the reasons for the success of the Honeymooners is the strength of its characters. The Kramdens & Nortons were real people with real problems. Our crowds can indentify with them. There is a little bit of these characters in all of us. There is no one quite like Ralph Kramden. He can be volcanic.” The clip where Ralph calls Alice’s Mom a blabbermouth is shown. Audrey: “Sometimes he can be a pussycat.” The clip where Ralph apologizes to Alice via a record is shown. As the clip where Ralph outlines his plans to win the $99,000 on the $99,000 Answer play, Aud says that life with Ralph was never dull.
A clip from an interview with Art Carney plays. Art: “Kramden was a schemer. Everything fell through for the guy.” A clip of a Jackie Gleason Interview from 60 Minutes plays. Jackie: “The poor soul doesn’t have a heck of a lot of ability. He gets schemes that are designed to make him & Alice happy.” A clip from “A Dog’s Life” plays where Ralph unveils his plans for marketing Kramnar’s Delicious Mystery Appetizer as well as other ideas. An old interview with Herbert Finn (one of the writers) plays. Herbert: “The idea of writing Kramden’s script is what he can do so he can get in trouble.” An old interview Leonard Stern plays. Leonard: “In a strange way, he represented every man in that character.” From the Jackie interview: “He’s just an ordinary moax that’s trying to make it and just can’t do it.” The clip where Mr. Marshall catching Ralph at his desk from “A Man’s Pride” is shown. An interview with Frank Marth is played. Frank: “He wasn’t Mr. Perfect. He made mistakes that were HUGE blunders.” A clip where Ralph getting stuck between the pipes from “Dial J For Janitor” is shown all the while Audrey says: “Norton was always there to lend a helping hand.” She says this just as Ed pulls out the wheel from the Boiler Room. A wheel that is used to increase and decrease heat from the pipes. From the Art interview: “Norton was always getting Ralph into trouble. Ralph would get Ed into trouble but they would not get mad at each other by the time the episode ended.” What about episodes like “Cottage For Sale”, “One Big Happy Family” etc.? From the Art interview: “Ed would be a person that hung around the corners a lot in the New York area. Like I did when I was a kid.” A clip where Ed misreads “poloponies” from “On Stage” is shown. From the Art interview: “Norton was a mental case. Let’s face it. Basically, a good-hearted, kind, patient guy. He had to be to put up with Kramden.” As the Ed addressing the ball moment from “The Golfer” is shown, Art says playing that character was a joy. From the Art interview: “If Ed Norton entered the room, you knew something was going to happen.
They play the clip from “$99,000 Answer” where Alice voices her displeasure about Ed playing the piano & Ralph guessing the songs. Ralph: “$600. Peanuts, peanuts. What am I going to do with peanuts?” Alice: “Eat ‘em. Like any other elephant.” Audrey: “Unlike Ed, Alice wasn’t going to let Ralph push her around.” They play various Classic 39 clips where Ralph threatens to send Alice to the moon. As the clip where Ralph tells Alice that she can’t go on the fishing trip from the beginning of “Something Fishy” plays. Audrey: “I always thought of Alice as the first Women’s liberal. As deeply as she loved Ralph, she was not going to be a doormat. Another clip from “The Babysitter” is shown where Ralph says: “That phone is for you-you-you.” The phone rings. Alice answers it. Alice: “It’s for you-you-you.” The clip from “A Woman’s Work Is Never Done is shown where Ralph begs for Alice to quit her job and resume her housework. Aud: “Alice was really in love with Ralph. She knew that every one of her schemes were designed for her to get a better life.” From the Jackie interview: “He fails. When he fails, she feels a great deal of affection for him. She knows why she did it.” A clip of Ralph apologizing to Alice from the Classic 39 is shown. From the Jackie interview: “The people like them. When that happens, you are 2/3 of the way home. There were many Kramdens in Brooklyn. There were a lot in the area that I grew up in.” They play vintage clips of the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. Aud: “Jackie was born in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn in 1916. He spent much of his time on the streets which would be the basis of his later comedy.” As a picture of Gleason as a child is shown, Gleason says that his dad left him and his mom had to work. A George Petrie interview is played: “Gleason had a very unhappy childhood.” Aud: “It wasn’t long before Jackie discovered show business. He began doing comedy routines in very small clubs and eventually in some of New York’s biggest venues. Next came his stint on the Cavalcade of Stars.” The opening to that show is played. From a Joyce Randolph interview: “He was theatrically brilliant. He didn’t have a lot of schooling. He had a very unhappy bringing up in Brooklyn.” They show a clip where Jackie has Sammy play a little traveling music during Cavalcade. They next show the start of a Honeymooners clip from that show. I think the episode is entitled: “Ring Salesman.” From the Art interview: “Jackie was 35. I was 32. We were both a couple of kids really and we acted like a couple of kids too. A Charlie Bratton sketch from Cavalcade is shown. From the Art interview: “That Irish chemistry worked right from the start. I became a regular with him.”
Audrey recalls her first meeting with Jackie regarding the part of Alice just as she is standing beside an old CBS Network camera. I think you know the gist. Jackie said that Audrey looked too young and too pretty. Audrey responded by having a photographer come to her apartment the next morning and take a photo of her without any makeup on, her all frumpy, a torn blouse, an old apron and holding a pan in her hand. Jackie looks at the pictures and says that this was his Alice. Jackie was wondering where we can get her and then was told that that was the woman that he turned down from the day before. According to Aud, Jackie said: “Any dame with a sense of humor like that deserves the job. Hire her.” From the Art interview: “Audrey would help Gleason out if he forgot a line or if I forgot a line. That is why we worked with each other. Jackie’s adlibs were always done in character.” Clips where Jackie adlibbed lines were shown. Aud: “Jackie hated to rehearse. He liked to improvise and he expected the same from us which really kept us on our toes.” A 1986 Gleason interview plays where he says: “Too much rehearsal would take the edge off of it. At first, it was tough on the other actors because they like to rehearse but we had the kind of performers that could do it my way.” From the Frank Marth interview: “I can never remember rehearsing with Jackie because he loved the spontaneity.” From the Leonard Stern interview: “The show was filmed like a football game.” As the clip where Ralph burns his finger from “Pal O’ Mine” is shown, Leonard says: “Jackie was the ball and you stayed with him.” As a clip where Ralph hurt his finger from “Mind Your Own Business” is shown, Audrey says: “You never knew where Jackie might go and sometimes neither did he.” She says this just as Jackie leaned against the wall which caused it to accidentally fall down. That was not supposed to happen. Aud says that if people saw something go as wrong as that, the people knew the show was done live. From the 1986 Gleason interview: “If you are doing comedy, it is necessary to do it in front of a live audience.” They play the clip where Ed swivels his hips just as he is about to practice hitting the golf ball as well as when he swings. From the Art interview: “Those Classic 39 had a terrific quality of spontaneity. From the Joyce interview: “It was exciting and scary but it made for wonderful shows.” They play the clip where Ralph is having trouble skating all the while holding drinks from “Young At Heart.” From the Joyce interview: “We had no idea if Gleason could skate at all. It was really wild that episode. Art, Audrey and I were sent to a skating rink to practice a little bit but Gleason didn’t join us. So, we had to wing it.” They played the clip from “Young At Heart” where all the characters are having trouble getting Ralph back to his feet while all four of them are on skates.” Aud: “Jackie’s love of spontaneity gave us room to improvise on the set.” From the Art interview: “One afternoon on the set, I was thinking of what my dad would do when he signed my report card. He would warm up and take his time and it got to the point where I said to myself: ‘Dad, would you please sign it?’ When I had to sign something on one of the Honeymooners episodes, he came to my mind, I threw it in and it was established form there on in.” They play a clip where Ed warms up before writing Ralph’s weak points from “Young Man With A Horn.” From the Art interview, he recalls a neighbor coming up to him after watching the show and saying: “You mean you got paid for what you did last night?” They play the clip of him and Ralph dancing from “Young At Heart.”
Audrey: “We had a lot of fun in here. These walls echoed with love and laughter. But there were tender moments too that made the Honeymooners so special. As you will see in this next episode.” They play a clip of “Lost Baby.” Time for a commercial break. One of the commercials is a picture of outside Toledo, Ohio from WTOL-TV. On the top of the screen it says: “Skywatch 11.” The temperature that night at 10:39p was 34 degrees.
Audrey introduces us to this sketch and says that is was only the 3rd time that she, Jackie & Art worked together. Aud: “The episode played perfectly with the exception of a stubborn bedroom door.” The bedroom door in this sketch was supposed to open with ease but it didn’t which caused Aud to adlib in character to Ralph: “I wish you will fix this door.” The sketch is played.
Before the commercial break, Audrey says that when they come back, they are going to play her and Art’s favorite moments. Time for another commercial break.
Audrey: “Jackie tried to make a balance with humor and humanity.” They show the clip where Alice tries to make Ralph feel better at the end of “The Loudspeaker.” From The George Petrie interview: “He was a terrific comic actor too.” They show the clip where Ralph was holding an adorable puppy from “A Dog’s Life” and showing his love for it. From the Frank interview: “If you laughed at it, it was funny.” They played the clip where Ralph & Ed did the beginning of Chef of The Future bit at the end of “Mind Your Own Business.” Aud: “Jackie showed us there can be humor in pain and pain in humor and the Honeymooners had it all. Various Classic 39 clips are played while the theme song plays. The last clip is off the Kramdens and Nortons embracing from “Young At Heart.” From the Art interview: “When you can make people laugh, as Kramden & Norton did in satisfaction, it is hard to explain.” From the Gleason 60 minutes interview, Gleason says: “When you get people to laugh, it is great.” Time for another commercial break.
Audrey: “For 35 (now 57) years, the Honeymooners has entertained millions of people all over the world. Working with Jack, was one of the greatest times in my life. The word ‘genius’ is overworked. But if the world of comedy is worthy of a genius, it had one in Jackie. The Kramdens relationship is as strong as ever and the Honeymoon is still going on. Happy 35th Anniversary. Good night everyone.” As Aud leaves the set, the picture turns to B&W. What happened to Aud & Art revealing their favorite clips? As the closing credits play, Lesley Stahl plugs America Tonight. Another guy says: “Stay tuned for your local news and Wise Guy is where the late night excitement is late night on CBS.”
On a side note, when I viewed this special after seeing the hack job Paramount did, I think I noticed that Paramount deemed it necessary to not only edit out the lost episode clips but I think they also edited out some of the non-Lost Episode clips that were between the Lost Episode clips. I guess because of the fact that they did edit out the Lost Episode clips; they also couldn’t show those clips because if they did, they felt that the special would look worse than what they put on the DVD.
Original openings & closings:
DVD: Attached to “Honeymooners 35th Anniversary Special” & episodes #33-39 of the Classic 39.
The opening of the show (which can be seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmgWeoGg4wc) is supposedly on this Classic 39 set. I didn’t see it. Perhaps it is an Easter egg. The opening has Jack Lescoulie yelling out the names rather than Gaylord Avery. The actors names don’t appear on moons but appear in big white letters. After Jack says: “The Honeymooners”, a clip of a bus driving down a street in New York City is shown while all of a sudden, the song is now played at a fast speed. Then we see the inside of the bus while it is still in motion while the famous cast member’s names appear on screen. The bus stops and a Buick stops next to it. Jack: “Brought to you by Buick.” The traffic light flashes green. The cars leave. Jack (yells): “AND AWAY WE GO!”
The next opening is very similar to the syndicated opening. The only difference is that once again, Jack Lescoulie yells out the names and after he yells: “JOYCE RANDOLPH”, the old Buick logo appears on the moon and then a clip of a Buick driving off is shown while Jack yells: “AND AWAY WE GO!” In 2004 on the old Honeymooners.net Message Board, someone claims that they say this intro while watching the Honeymooners on a TV station in Philly in the 70s. I would imagine if that happened, that TV station would have cut off Jack in mid-sentence when he did his intro. On a side note, for the longest time, I never knew that it was Jack Lescoulie who did the voice for these intros.
The first closing has Jackie in his smoking jacket standing on stage in front of a sign that says: “Best Buick Yet.” Jackie: “Have you ever noticed that the stronger the guy is, the quieter he is? Brother that is Buick ’56. It is the quietest, smoothest car you ever drove. Go try one. Good night everyone.” The credits play on a gray background that has the Jackie Gleason Away We Go stick figure logo on it. The credits start with: “Your BUICK Dealer has brought you…The Honeymooners.”
The second closing is similar to the first one. In this one, Jackie is in his business suit and is standing on stage in front of a sign that says: “Best Buick Yet.” Jackie: “Let me tell you something folks, it is a great time to buy a Buick. As far as your present car, trade in while the trade is good. You couldn’t pick a better time than now to trade in your car and get a Buick. It is a great time to buy a Buick. Good night everyone. The credits play on a gray background that has the Jackie Gleason Away We Go stick figure logo on it. The credits start with: “Your BUICK Dealer has brought you…The Honeymooners.”
DVD: Attached to episodes #33-39 of the Classic 39 as well as original openings and closings.
Special thanks to Benno123 for supplying me with this special.
When this was released onto DVD, Paramount edited all the lost episode clips. End result: A special that is less than 20 minutes long.
Various Classic 39 clips are played in the opening with Gleason, Carney & Randolph offering comments. The old CBS Stereo Sound logo appears saying that this special is available in stereo where available. My, how times have changed. The announcer says that this special includes two sketches not seen since the 50s. He also introduces the famous cast with Audrey Meadows serving as the host.
Audrey Meadows walks onto what I am assuming is the real Honeymooners set. At first, the picture is in B&W but changes to color. Audrey: “The Honeymooners debuted in 1955. Today, it is more popular than it ever was.” Once again, how times have changed. Audrey: “Tonight, you will see two Honeymooners sketches not seen since the early 50s. You will see how the characters evolve.” They show a clip of the 1952 version of “The Quiz Show.” Audrey says that when we return from commercials, we will see “The Quiz Show.”
Time for a commercial break.
Audrey says that this apartment brings back a lot of memories. She cherishes them. Audrey: “We filmed each one of the 39 episodes in this kitchen and hundreds of Honeymooners sketches before that on the Jackie Gleason Show. ‘The Quiz Show’ is one of those sketches.” The Quiz Show is played. After that, it is time for a commercial break.
Audrey: “One of the reasons for the success of the Honeymooners is the strength of its characters. The Kramdens & Nortons were real people with real problems. Our crowds can indentify with them. There is a little bit of these characters in all of us. There is no one quite like Ralph Kramden. He can be volcanic.” The clip where Ralph calls Alice’s Mom a blabbermouth is shown. Audrey: “Sometimes he can be a pussycat.” The clip where Ralph apologizes to Alice via a record is shown. As the clip where Ralph outlines his plans to win the $99,000 on the $99,000 Answer play, Aud says that life with Ralph was never dull.
A clip from an interview with Art Carney plays. Art: “Kramden was a schemer. Everything fell through for the guy.” A clip of a Jackie Gleason Interview from 60 Minutes plays. Jackie: “The poor soul doesn’t have a heck of a lot of ability. He gets schemes that are designed to make him & Alice happy.” A clip from “A Dog’s Life” plays where Ralph unveils his plans for marketing Kramnar’s Delicious Mystery Appetizer as well as other ideas. An old interview with Herbert Finn (one of the writers) plays. Herbert: “The idea of writing Kramden’s script is what he can do so he can get in trouble.” An old interview Leonard Stern plays. Leonard: “In a strange way, he represented every man in that character.” From the Jackie interview: “He’s just an ordinary moax that’s trying to make it and just can’t do it.” The clip where Mr. Marshall catching Ralph at his desk from “A Man’s Pride” is shown. An interview with Frank Marth is played. Frank: “He wasn’t Mr. Perfect. He made mistakes that were HUGE blunders.” A clip where Ralph getting stuck between the pipes from “Dial J For Janitor” is shown all the while Audrey says: “Norton was always there to lend a helping hand.” She says this just as Ed pulls out the wheel from the Boiler Room. A wheel that is used to increase and decrease heat from the pipes. From the Art interview: “Norton was always getting Ralph into trouble. Ralph would get Ed into trouble but they would not get mad at each other by the time the episode ended.” What about episodes like “Cottage For Sale”, “One Big Happy Family” etc.? From the Art interview: “Ed would be a person that hung around the corners a lot in the New York area. Like I did when I was a kid.” A clip where Ed misreads “poloponies” from “On Stage” is shown. From the Art interview: “Norton was a mental case. Let’s face it. Basically, a good-hearted, kind, patient guy. He had to be to put up with Kramden.” As the Ed addressing the ball moment from “The Golfer” is shown, Art says playing that character was a joy. From the Art interview: “If Ed Norton entered the room, you knew something was going to happen.
They play the clip from “$99,000 Answer” where Alice voices her displeasure about Ed playing the piano & Ralph guessing the songs. Ralph: “$600. Peanuts, peanuts. What am I going to do with peanuts?” Alice: “Eat ‘em. Like any other elephant.” Audrey: “Unlike Ed, Alice wasn’t going to let Ralph push her around.” They play various Classic 39 clips where Ralph threatens to send Alice to the moon. As the clip where Ralph tells Alice that she can’t go on the fishing trip from the beginning of “Something Fishy” plays. Audrey: “I always thought of Alice as the first Women’s liberal. As deeply as she loved Ralph, she was not going to be a doormat. Another clip from “The Babysitter” is shown where Ralph says: “That phone is for you-you-you.” The phone rings. Alice answers it. Alice: “It’s for you-you-you.” The clip from “A Woman’s Work Is Never Done is shown where Ralph begs for Alice to quit her job and resume her housework. Aud: “Alice was really in love with Ralph. She knew that every one of her schemes were designed for her to get a better life.” From the Jackie interview: “He fails. When he fails, she feels a great deal of affection for him. She knows why she did it.” A clip of Ralph apologizing to Alice from the Classic 39 is shown. From the Jackie interview: “The people like them. When that happens, you are 2/3 of the way home. There were many Kramdens in Brooklyn. There were a lot in the area that I grew up in.” They play vintage clips of the Bushwick section of Brooklyn. Aud: “Jackie was born in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn in 1916. He spent much of his time on the streets which would be the basis of his later comedy.” As a picture of Gleason as a child is shown, Gleason says that his dad left him and his mom had to work. A George Petrie interview is played: “Gleason had a very unhappy childhood.” Aud: “It wasn’t long before Jackie discovered show business. He began doing comedy routines in very small clubs and eventually in some of New York’s biggest venues. Next came his stint on the Cavalcade of Stars.” The opening to that show is played. From a Joyce Randolph interview: “He was theatrically brilliant. He didn’t have a lot of schooling. He had a very unhappy bringing up in Brooklyn.” They show a clip where Jackie has Sammy play a little traveling music during Cavalcade. They next show the start of a Honeymooners clip from that show. I think the episode is entitled: “Ring Salesman.” From the Art interview: “Jackie was 35. I was 32. We were both a couple of kids really and we acted like a couple of kids too. A Charlie Bratton sketch from Cavalcade is shown. From the Art interview: “That Irish chemistry worked right from the start. I became a regular with him.”
Audrey recalls her first meeting with Jackie regarding the part of Alice just as she is standing beside an old CBS Network camera. I think you know the gist. Jackie said that Audrey looked too young and too pretty. Audrey responded by having a photographer come to her apartment the next morning and take a photo of her without any makeup on, her all frumpy, a torn blouse, an old apron and holding a pan in her hand. Jackie looks at the pictures and says that this was his Alice. Jackie was wondering where we can get her and then was told that that was the woman that he turned down from the day before. According to Aud, Jackie said: “Any dame with a sense of humor like that deserves the job. Hire her.” From the Art interview: “Audrey would help Gleason out if he forgot a line or if I forgot a line. That is why we worked with each other. Jackie’s adlibs were always done in character.” Clips where Jackie adlibbed lines were shown. Aud: “Jackie hated to rehearse. He liked to improvise and he expected the same from us which really kept us on our toes.” A 1986 Gleason interview plays where he says: “Too much rehearsal would take the edge off of it. At first, it was tough on the other actors because they like to rehearse but we had the kind of performers that could do it my way.” From the Frank Marth interview: “I can never remember rehearsing with Jackie because he loved the spontaneity.” From the Leonard Stern interview: “The show was filmed like a football game.” As the clip where Ralph burns his finger from “Pal O’ Mine” is shown, Leonard says: “Jackie was the ball and you stayed with him.” As a clip where Ralph hurt his finger from “Mind Your Own Business” is shown, Audrey says: “You never knew where Jackie might go and sometimes neither did he.” She says this just as Jackie leaned against the wall which caused it to accidentally fall down. That was not supposed to happen. Aud says that if people saw something go as wrong as that, the people knew the show was done live. From the 1986 Gleason interview: “If you are doing comedy, it is necessary to do it in front of a live audience.” They play the clip where Ed swivels his hips just as he is about to practice hitting the golf ball as well as when he swings. From the Art interview: “Those Classic 39 had a terrific quality of spontaneity. From the Joyce interview: “It was exciting and scary but it made for wonderful shows.” They play the clip where Ralph is having trouble skating all the while holding drinks from “Young At Heart.” From the Joyce interview: “We had no idea if Gleason could skate at all. It was really wild that episode. Art, Audrey and I were sent to a skating rink to practice a little bit but Gleason didn’t join us. So, we had to wing it.” They played the clip from “Young At Heart” where all the characters are having trouble getting Ralph back to his feet while all four of them are on skates.” Aud: “Jackie’s love of spontaneity gave us room to improvise on the set.” From the Art interview: “One afternoon on the set, I was thinking of what my dad would do when he signed my report card. He would warm up and take his time and it got to the point where I said to myself: ‘Dad, would you please sign it?’ When I had to sign something on one of the Honeymooners episodes, he came to my mind, I threw it in and it was established form there on in.” They play a clip where Ed warms up before writing Ralph’s weak points from “Young Man With A Horn.” From the Art interview, he recalls a neighbor coming up to him after watching the show and saying: “You mean you got paid for what you did last night?” They play the clip of him and Ralph dancing from “Young At Heart.”
Audrey: “We had a lot of fun in here. These walls echoed with love and laughter. But there were tender moments too that made the Honeymooners so special. As you will see in this next episode.” They play a clip of “Lost Baby.” Time for a commercial break. One of the commercials is a picture of outside Toledo, Ohio from WTOL-TV. On the top of the screen it says: “Skywatch 11.” The temperature that night at 10:39p was 34 degrees.
Audrey introduces us to this sketch and says that is was only the 3rd time that she, Jackie & Art worked together. Aud: “The episode played perfectly with the exception of a stubborn bedroom door.” The bedroom door in this sketch was supposed to open with ease but it didn’t which caused Aud to adlib in character to Ralph: “I wish you will fix this door.” The sketch is played.
Before the commercial break, Audrey says that when they come back, they are going to play her and Art’s favorite moments. Time for another commercial break.
Audrey: “Jackie tried to make a balance with humor and humanity.” They show the clip where Alice tries to make Ralph feel better at the end of “The Loudspeaker.” From The George Petrie interview: “He was a terrific comic actor too.” They show the clip where Ralph was holding an adorable puppy from “A Dog’s Life” and showing his love for it. From the Frank interview: “If you laughed at it, it was funny.” They played the clip where Ralph & Ed did the beginning of Chef of The Future bit at the end of “Mind Your Own Business.” Aud: “Jackie showed us there can be humor in pain and pain in humor and the Honeymooners had it all. Various Classic 39 clips are played while the theme song plays. The last clip is off the Kramdens and Nortons embracing from “Young At Heart.” From the Art interview: “When you can make people laugh, as Kramden & Norton did in satisfaction, it is hard to explain.” From the Gleason 60 minutes interview, Gleason says: “When you get people to laugh, it is great.” Time for another commercial break.
Audrey: “For 35 (now 57) years, the Honeymooners has entertained millions of people all over the world. Working with Jack, was one of the greatest times in my life. The word ‘genius’ is overworked. But if the world of comedy is worthy of a genius, it had one in Jackie. The Kramdens relationship is as strong as ever and the Honeymoon is still going on. Happy 35th Anniversary. Good night everyone.” As Aud leaves the set, the picture turns to B&W. What happened to Aud & Art revealing their favorite clips? As the closing credits play, Lesley Stahl plugs America Tonight. Another guy says: “Stay tuned for your local news and Wise Guy is where the late night excitement is late night on CBS.”
On a side note, when I viewed this special after seeing the hack job Paramount did, I think I noticed that Paramount deemed it necessary to not only edit out the lost episode clips but I think they also edited out some of the non-Lost Episode clips that were between the Lost Episode clips. I guess because of the fact that they did edit out the Lost Episode clips; they also couldn’t show those clips because if they did, they felt that the special would look worse than what they put on the DVD.
Original openings & closings:
DVD: Attached to “Honeymooners 35th Anniversary Special” & episodes #33-39 of the Classic 39.
The opening of the show (which can be seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmgWeoGg4wc) is supposedly on this Classic 39 set. I didn’t see it. Perhaps it is an Easter egg. The opening has Jack Lescoulie yelling out the names rather than Gaylord Avery. The actors names don’t appear on moons but appear in big white letters. After Jack says: “The Honeymooners”, a clip of a bus driving down a street in New York City is shown while all of a sudden, the song is now played at a fast speed. Then we see the inside of the bus while it is still in motion while the famous cast member’s names appear on screen. The bus stops and a Buick stops next to it. Jack: “Brought to you by Buick.” The traffic light flashes green. The cars leave. Jack (yells): “AND AWAY WE GO!”
The next opening is very similar to the syndicated opening. The only difference is that once again, Jack Lescoulie yells out the names and after he yells: “JOYCE RANDOLPH”, the old Buick logo appears on the moon and then a clip of a Buick driving off is shown while Jack yells: “AND AWAY WE GO!” In 2004 on the old Honeymooners.net Message Board, someone claims that they say this intro while watching the Honeymooners on a TV station in Philly in the 70s. I would imagine if that happened, that TV station would have cut off Jack in mid-sentence when he did his intro. On a side note, for the longest time, I never knew that it was Jack Lescoulie who did the voice for these intros.
The first closing has Jackie in his smoking jacket standing on stage in front of a sign that says: “Best Buick Yet.” Jackie: “Have you ever noticed that the stronger the guy is, the quieter he is? Brother that is Buick ’56. It is the quietest, smoothest car you ever drove. Go try one. Good night everyone.” The credits play on a gray background that has the Jackie Gleason Away We Go stick figure logo on it. The credits start with: “Your BUICK Dealer has brought you…The Honeymooners.”
The second closing is similar to the first one. In this one, Jackie is in his business suit and is standing on stage in front of a sign that says: “Best Buick Yet.” Jackie: “Let me tell you something folks, it is a great time to buy a Buick. As far as your present car, trade in while the trade is good. You couldn’t pick a better time than now to trade in your car and get a Buick. It is a great time to buy a Buick. Good night everyone. The credits play on a gray background that has the Jackie Gleason Away We Go stick figure logo on it. The credits start with: “Your BUICK Dealer has brought you…The Honeymooners.”