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Originally Posted by tv star collector
That's interesting. I know (from what I have read) that these two great comics
had very different approaches to television. Gleason hated rehearsing and
believed in spontaneity, while Berle insisted on rehearsing (on his own show at
any rate, where he called the shots).
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To quote Berle from the book, "Jackie Gleason-The Great One", put out by the Museum of TV & Radio in 1987:
"Jackie Gleason isn't foolhardy. He's as much of a perfectionist as I am. In his own way. Gifted with a photographic memory, he wants each word uttered to sound as if it had been created just that moment. Rehearsals destroy that spontaneity. Those who have heard me know that I too can remember a few things, and I also believe in the quality of freshness in the delivery of a line. Unlike Gleason, I like to accomplish ad-libness by rehearsal. Yet, I can go much of the way with this genius because his timing and hearing are matchless. He never kills a feed line or steps on the words that make up the laugh. I trust Gleason with 8 minutes of a spot he's rehearsed only once. That's why he's Gleason. That's why the other guys are Herbie Schlock and Al Fazznacht".