Best Book About Jackie Gleason's Life?

[The Great One]

What would be the best book to read about Jackie Gleason's life? I have not read any author's work on "The Great One" and I'm wondering what book is considered the one that is the most complete and truthful.

[tv star collector]

I've only read one: How Sweet It Is: The Jackie Gleason Story, by
James Bacon (1986). Bacon was Gleason's long-time friend and cohort,
and Jackie himself wrote the foreword. Bacon was a veteran Hollywood columnist with a large circulation and was friends with Jackie for over thirty-six years. They first met in 1949, when Gleason came out to Hollywood to do the first version of TV's The Life of Riley. (Because he was then under contract to RKO Pictures, William Bendix--who originated the role on radio--was unavailable.) In this book, such friends as Paul Newman, Frank Sinatra, Art Carney, Burt Reynolds, Milton Berle, Bob Hope, Billy Martin and Joe DiMaggio share their personal anecdotes about "The Great One." And there's
16 pages of photos. Highly recommended.

[Benno123]

I don't really believe that there has been a "best" book written about Gleason's life, one of the few major starts to not have a full detailed biography (in my opinion) to cover the bad AND the good.

Jackie Gleason: An Intimate Portrait of The Great One by William J. Weatherby is an ok book, been awhile since I pulled this one out and read or flipped through.

The Great One: The Life and Legend of Jackie Gleason by William A. Henry is, well .... let's just say that we all know that Jackie Gleason was not a saint and lived not the happiest of lives. However, if you go by this book you would be hard pressed to find one positive comment about Jackie Gleason on or from anyone. Well, outside of the author saying that Gleason made 39 pieces of art (I wonder what 39 things he refers to). I cannot believe for one moment that the author couldn't find ONE person or have ONE nice thing to say about Gleason? Come on!

Love, Alice: My Life as a Honeymooner by Audrey Meadows certainly isn't a work of great art, but it is everything that Henry's book isn't. It focuses on the positive side of Gleason, and it Audrey's love of Jackie and working with him really shows through. Sure this isn't the greatest book ever written, but this is a must have in any Honeymooners collection! It's a fun book, good for a rainy day read.

Art Carney: A Biography by Michael Starr isn't about Gleason, but there's enough in there to sooth the appetite. Plus I think it is a nice book, especially on a topic that was the complete opposite of what he played in his most famous role.

If you can find Jackie Gleason's two Playboy interviews they are worth searching out and reading. The first one was in 1962 (I think) and talks more current stuff in his life, like The Flintstones being based on The Honeymooners. The 1986 interview is a great overview of his career and life from someone who had less than a year left in their life. The talk about a theater that played Skidoo for along time and what people probably did in that theater while watching is hilarious!!! Well worth looking for. (And a great way to be honest and say "I really am reading the articles!" Haha!!!)

[The Great One]

Thanks to everyone for providing some great information! It's a starting point and it will definitely help me to pick a book to read about Jackie Gleason.