Would adding kids to the Honeymooners have worked - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 06-08-2019, 02:26 AM

Had The Honeymooners lasted more than one season, and kept going as a sitcom and not just a series of sketches which is what is became after its cancellation, would it ever get to the point maybe to spike up a rating or whatever that you have Ralph and Alice actually have a kid, and could it have worked?

I would guess that it just wouldn't fit the formula and tone of the show. Jackie Gleason knew what worked for him, which was to be semi-improvisational, very little rehearsal, and done in one take in front of a live audience. A child would not work in that environment, and just get in the way. And they would be forced to soften Ralph's character. Plus, the focus would have been on Ralph the father instead of Ralph the husband.

yellowrose21 · 06-13-2019, 12:09 PM

I can't see that kids as working on The Honeymooners. This couple was so poor, basically living in poverty, that it would seem unrealistic they could properly care for a baby. Ralph would have to really move up at the bus company or get another job to buy a larger apartment. I think there were plenty of other shows with kids in the 50s. It was good to see a show featuring a couple who loved each other that did not have children. Bob Newhart said he did not want his character to have children on his show because he wanted to avoid those "dumb dad" story lines, maybe Gleason thought along the same lines.

PracTz · 06-13-2019, 12:27 PM

Although, there was an episode of the 'classical' "Honeymooners" as well as a later one in the mid-60's with Audrey Meadows guesting on "The Jackie Gleason Show" in which the Kramdens WERE contemplating adoption, having kids was NEVER an option for Ralph because (to paraphrase Gleason) : two adult couples struggling trying to survive and dream of a way out is funny, having kids in the same boat is NOT. Considering that Gleason himself DID grow up in abject poverty (and also essentially had his estranged wife raise their daughters solo almost from the beginning), I think he simply could no imagine Ralph being an effective much less funny father on "Honeymooners".

yellowrose21 · 06-13-2019, 12:41 PM

Yes, The Adoption was redone in 1966 when Jackie was doing his "American Scene Magazine" show with Audrey as Alice (after Sue Ann Langdon and before Sheila MacRae). I read an interview with Gleason where he said there was a sadness to the show because it was alluded to the couple could not have children. In some of the "Lost Episodes" there were mentions of Ralph wanting children, and obviously they adopted Ralphina, but nothing happened. So I assume it was intentional, to make them seem more human. Some people think Gleason did not like working with kids, but he did in Gigot and Papa's Delicate Condition and his own children said he was fun when they were little (before he and his wife separated). I think he knew kids would not fit in the show.

06-08-2019, 02:26 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,743	Would adding kids to the Honeymooners have worked Had The Honeymooners lasted more than one season, and kept going as a sitcom and not just a series of sketches which is what is became after its cancellation, would it ever get to the point maybe to spike up a rating or whatever that you have Ralph and Alice actually have a kid, and could it have worked? I would guess that it just wouldn't fit the formula and tone of the show. Jackie Gleason knew what worked for him, which was to be semi-improvisational, very little rehearsal, and done in one take in front of a live audience. A child would not work in that environment, and just get in the way. And they would be forced to soften Ralph's character. Plus, the focus would have been on Ralph the father instead of Ralph the husband.

06-13-2019, 12:09 PM	#2
yellowrose21 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 03, 2015 Posts: 5	I can't see that kids as working on The Honeymooners. This couple was so poor, basically living in poverty, that it would seem unrealistic they could properly care for a baby. Ralph would have to really move up at the bus company or get another job to buy a larger apartment. I think there were plenty of other shows with kids in the 50s. It was good to see a show featuring a couple who loved each other that did not have children. Bob Newhart said he did not want his character to have children on his show because he wanted to avoid those "dumb dad" story lines, maybe Gleason thought along the same lines.

06-13-2019, 12:27 PM	#3
PracTz Member Senior Member Join Date: Jul 14, 2002 Location: United States of America [Happily Living in the 20th Century] Posts: 2,711	Although, there was an episode of the 'classical' "Honeymooners" as well as a later one in the mid-60's with Audrey Meadows guesting on "The Jackie Gleason Show" in which the Kramdens WERE contemplating adoption, having kids was NEVER an option for Ralph because (to paraphrase Gleason) : two adult couples struggling trying to survive and dream of a way out is funny, having kids in the same boat is NOT. Considering that Gleason himself DID grow up in abject poverty (and also essentially had his estranged wife raise their daughters solo almost from the beginning), I think he simply could no imagine Ralph being an effective much less funny father on "Honeymooners".

06-13-2019, 12:41 PM	#4
yellowrose21 Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Mar 03, 2015 Posts: 5	Yes, The Adoption was redone in 1966 when Jackie was doing his "American Scene Magazine" show with Audrey as Alice (after Sue Ann Langdon and before Sheila MacRae). I read an interview with Gleason where he said there was a sadness to the show because it was alluded to the couple could not have children. In some of the "Lost Episodes" there were mentions of Ralph wanting children, and obviously they adopted Ralphina, but nothing happened. So I assume it was intentional, to make them seem more human. Some people think Gleason did not like working with kids, but he did in Gigot and Papa's Delicate Condition and his own children said he was fun when they were little (before he and his wife separated). I think he knew kids would not fit in the show.