Jackie Gleason with Audrey Meadows (The Honeymooners)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron, who notes that, “Jackie Gleason was a radio nut during his last years.” He shares the following quote from Gleason’s stepson [source]:
“The majority of his time at home was spent quietly,” he said. “He was a prolific reader. Constantly reading. There was a store called Bookland… Every week or two the owners would come by and drop off a box of books. Jackie just consumed books. He read everything but he was most intrigued with non-fiction. He felt that his life as an actor, as a performer, was all fiction.
“He also listened to the radio. He had a room upstairs that we called the radio room. There were dozens of radios. He listened to airplanes flying over at the airport, long distance radio operators from around the world. He had the passion and curiosity of a child with the experiences of an adult.”
Thanks for sharing that, Ron! I’ve always liked Jackie Gleason and especially those episodes of The Honeymooners.
This PDF gives more information on Jackie Gleason’s passion for radio–shortwave broadcasting in particular:
http://www.oldqslcards.com/Gleason.pdf
Source:
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/09/03/jackie-gleason-embraced-lasting-success-on-honeymooners-never-regretted-playing-ralph-kramden.html
My thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron, for his post, and to you Guy, for your PDF link. Once again, I also want to thank Thomas for providing us with his SWLing Post – a national treasure as far as SWLs, such as myself, are concerned.
This post brought back fond memories of my watching The Honeymooners in 1955-56 with my parents in their Living Room. Then, after the show, I would trundle downstairs to the basement and listen to my “restored” (I did the restoring) parents old RCA87T, with its “Cat’s Eye” tuning.
It was a large, wood cabinet, tabletop model radio – 1937 vintage – a ‘boat anchor by
today’s standards.
What a nice piece of nostalgia. Who knew the “Great One” shared our collective passion and interest in SWLing.
Long live his memory.
73