Mention the name "Jackie Gleason" to someone other than a Baby Boomer these days and – if they recognize the name at all – they might remember him as the guy who played bus driver Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners. And that's only because the 39 episodes of the classic 1950s sitcom have been rerun to death, and have achieved a sort of iconic comedy status.
But to those of us who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s, we know that Jackie Gleason was so much more, thanks to watching his weekly variety show. "The Great One" (as he was known) was a multi-talented entertainer and performer, capable of hilarious comedy as well as drama.
Remember the great musical theme of his variety show (that Gleason himself wrote)?
And much like Johnny Carson did on The Tonight Show, Gleason opened the show talking to the audience about what was to come. And to get things rolling into the first act, he would do a little pose and shuffle/dance before exclaiming, "And Awaaaaay We Go!"
It was his trademark line. In the 1950s, he used to ask the bandleader for "a little traveling music" first, before launching into "And Away We Go." It was such a well-known bit that it spawned a very popular song, featured on a same-name album that came out in May 1954.
With the line so etched into the public's mind by 1955, is it any wonder that it would find its way into advertising? Here's an ad for Seymour's Jewelers in Lorain that ran in the Lorain Journal on January 20, 1955.
I'm sure the public got the connection, especially with the small illustration of the man mimicking Gleason.
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My father was a big fan of Jackie Gleason. Many times he remarked to me that Gleason had so much more talent than the comedians who came later. Dad would cite some of the various characters (like Reginald Van Gleason III) that he found particularly funny. (The only other comedian he ever mentioned to me favorably besides Gleason was Ernie Kovacs.)
I remember watching The Jackie Gleason Show on Saturday night. The "Honeymooners" sketches were just short vignettes, with Sheila MacRae as Alice. And the best part of the show (for me as a kid) was when Crazy Guggenheim (Frank Fontaine) would stop in to visit Joe the Bartender.
As a male, I recall that various beautiful women would appear before a commercial to tell the viewer, "Jackie will be right back." (For some reason, that left an impression on me.)
Of course, I remember the show's weekly wrap-up with Gleason in a robe, sipping something from a cup, saying "How Sweet It Is!" before announcing (to much applause) that "The Miami Beach audience is the greatest audience in the world!" Then the haunting melody of "Melancholy Seranade" would play behind the credits.
Anyway, I think "And Away We Go" will remain in the public consciousness forever.
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