This rotund yet physically expressive actor and comic became an American legend with his signature character of Ralph Kramden, the bus driver who dreamed of getting rich, on "The Honeymooners". Jackie Gleason could be crabby; he could zing. He could be poignant, as in his portrayal of 'The Poor Soul', or he could be satirical, as with the phony aristocrat Reginald Van Gleason III. Gleason could play straight man, as he often did to both Frank Fontaine and to Art Carney, and he could also put over the occasional song. His audience knew that he was no saint. Each week on his variety show, he
Won an amatuer night contest in Brooklyn at age 15 (date approximate)
Worked as a carnival barker and emcee in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
1935
First professional nightclub appearance in Newark, NJ
1938
Made Broadway debut in "Hellzapoppin'"
Appeared on Broadway throughout the 1940s in such shows as "Artists and Models" (1943), "Follow the Girls" (1944), in which he appeared in drag, and "Along Fifth Avenue" (1949)
