The great comic actor Jackie Gleason made his only appearance on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson’ in 1985. Johnny introduces him, and he walks out and blows kisses to the audience.
Jackie was visiting the show to promote his new book that he was writing. After decades of success, starting in the 1950s with ‘The Jackie Gleason Show,’ he became a legendary comic.
He went on to play one of TV’s most beloved characters ‘Ralph Kramden’ in the hit series ‘The Honeymooners.’ Jackie’s larger-than-life personality was a treat to watch in the interview with Johnny.
Jackie sits and starts to smoke his cigarette, which was a common occurrence on ‘The Tonight Show.’ Johnny tells Jackie that it must be a nice kick that the new generation is being introduced to his work.
Jackie says, “It’s very gratifying to think that something you did 30 years ago shows up and is a hit.” Johnny says he’s been doing the show for 23 years and can’t understand how this is the first time he has had Jackie on with him.
Jackie says, “I was waiting to see if this show was a hit,” and the crowd cracks up. Johnny asks about Jackie’s experience writing his book, and Jackie tells him that his friend took too many sips of scotch!
Jackie says co-author Jim is very nice company, and they shared many laughs while writing the book. Jackie notes that producers didn’t like him, saying, “They thought if he showed up, I’d get sued. And they were right!” Johnny celebrates Jackie by saluting his many successes and calling them stunning works of art.
