EeHH.CO.UK

JOYCE RANDOLPH, STAR OF ‘THE HONEYMOONERS,’ DIES AT 99

She was the last surviving member of the show’s core quartet, which also included Jackie Gleason, Art Carney and Audrey Meadows

Larry Busacca/Getty Images

Joyce Randolph, who played Trixie Norton (wife of Ed) on “The Honeymooners,” has died at age 99. She died in her sleep on Saturday, her son Randy told TMZ.

Randolph was one-fourth of the beloved central group from the show. In addition to Art Carney, who starred as her husband Ed Norton, her costars included Jackie Gleason in his iconic lead role of Ralph Kramden and Audrey Meadows as Alice Kramden. 

Born on October 21, 1924 in Detroit, Michigan, Randolph began acting as a teen before she joined a tour of “Stage Door.” She then moved to New York, where she acted on stage and on TV.

In 1951, Gleason spotted her on TV in a commercial and invited Randolph to participate in a skit on his variety show “Cavalcade of Stars.” She first played Trixie Norton on another Gleason series, “The Jackie Gleason Show,” before the breakout characters earned their own show.

In a 2007 interview with a “Honeymooners” fan site, Randolph admitted that working with Gleason wasn’t always easy. She explained, “It was a little difficult as Jackie didn’t like to rehearse very much. He said ‘Comedy wasn’t funny if it was over-rehearsed.’” She also said she’d only kept in touch with Meadows and Carney after the show ended.

Randolph once told the Television Academy Foundation that Gleason kept a furious pace on set. She said, “Nerves were very high. And then people who came on just for that week were not used to this fast pace. I saw an actor vomit in the wings once from nerves. It was scary.”

The actress declined to join the rest of the “Honeymooners” cast for later revivals of the series, but Trixie stuck with her and impacted the roles Randolph was able to get as she faced typecasting. Despite that, she was always happy to meet fans of the show, which the New York Times affectionately dubbed the “Honeymoonies” in a 2007 profile. 

“I talk to everyone,” Randolph said. “You can’t be hoity.” 

Randolph is survived by her son, Randolph Richard Charles. Her husband Richard Lincoln Charles died in 1997.

Reference: ORBIT