The POP-EXPOSE ‘Jackie Gleason’ by Mitchell Smith!

John Herbert Gleason was born February 26, 1916 in Brooklyn, NY and passed away from colon cancer on June 24, 1987. His father left them when Gleason was young and his mother was forced to get a job and support him and his brother. Gleason lost his only sibling, Clemence to Spinal meningitis when he was 14 and In 1935 Jackie lost his mother to sepsis when he was just 19 and he was all alone. He moved into a hotel room momentarily with his friend Sammy Birch and another comedian.

Jackie had 36 cents to his name and Sammy told him about a job in Reading PA, the job was his first job as a comedian and Jackie earned $19.00 for the week. Gleason worked night clubs and such and eventually worked his way into TV and movies. Jackie had a long and successful career. His most notable works were in the Honeymooners and the Smokey and the Bandit, but his list goes on and on. I grew up watching reruns of the Honeymooners and The Bandit was a staple movie I watched many times growing up. Gleason’s character on the Honeymooners Ralph Kramden was the inspiration for Fred Flintstone, and I think most would know his most popular phrase “To the Moon Alice.” He was Buford T. Justice in Smokey and the Bandit. Sworn to uphold the law, Buford was always 1 step away from getting the Bandit. One of my favorite movies is The Toy where Gleason’s character Millionaire U.S. Bates hires Jack Brown(Richard Pryor) to be his son’s toy. Just one of the great movies Gleason was in. He had a long and successful career. Gleason just had that special something and his work will be played and remembered for years to come.