Jackie Gleason Biography

Fast Facts

• Began entertainment career in his teens working as an emcee at a Brooklyn theater
• Other early gigs included carnival barker and daredevil driver
• Dubbed "The Great One" by Orson Welles
• Inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 1986, but never won a competitive Emmy (though his frequent costar Art Carney won five, for The Honeymooners and The Jackie Gleason Show)
• As a composer, recorded more than 35 albums with the Jackie Gleason Orchestra, though he couldn't read music
• Had a fascination with the paranormal and an extensive collection of books on the subject
• A statue of Gleason as bus driver Ralph Kramden from The Honeymooners stands on Eighth Avenue outside the entrance to the Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan
• Grandfather of actor Jason Patric
• Trademark catchphrase "And Away We Go" appears on tombstone