Almost seven decades ago, Joyce Randolph charmed the nation as Trixie Norton in The Honeymooners. The series followed the day-to-day schemes of its starring quartet, comprised of Randolph, Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden, Audrey Meadows as his TV wife Alice, and Art Carney as Randolph’s TV husband, Ed. On October 21, Randolph celebrates her 99th birthday and this one is bittersweet for everyone who loved The Honeymooners, as she is the last surviving cast member.
The show creator and primary star, Gleason, was the first to pass, dying in ’87 at the age of 71. Next, the world mourned the passing of Meadows in ’96 when she was 73. Then Carney died in 2003 at the age of 85. Although the show formally ended in 1956, the characters were revived for two decades more. Now, it is Randolph, at 99, who carries the legacy of what these four actors did.
At 99, Joyce Randolph remembers ‘The Honeymooners’ with great fondness
Randolph was born in 1924 in Detroit, Michigan, and started acting when she was still a teen at the Wayne University Workshop. After performing with a touring company in Stage Door, she planted roots in New York to further build her acting career. Randolph got her start on Broadway and various television programs. Then, in ’51, Gleason saw her in a Clorets commercial and recruited her for his variety show, Cavalcade of Stars. From there, she was brought on as Trixie in The Honeymooners.
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Her rise to stardom earned Randolph the moniker “the Garbo of Detroit,” referring to Greta Garbo, widely regarded as one of the greatest women of classic Hollywood cinema. This comparison baffled Randolph, who mused, “That’s still a mystery … I was a nobody in Detroit. Why Garbo? Well, she was Scandinavian — and so was I.”
Filming The Honeymooners was sometimes a remarkably impersonal experience, Randolph claimed, as Gleason rarely exchanged words with his co-stars. Indeed, reportedly, they did not converse much outside of filming.
Today, at 99, Joyce Randolph sticks to New York, appreciation of acting, and ‘The Honeymooners’
Back in 2021, The Daily News caught up with Randolph and found that she stayed in New York City. The outlet told Randolph about a Honeymooners-inspired web series called The Honeyzoomers. The creation delighted Randolph, who was overjoyed to hear The Honeymooners still inspires people to this day.
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown kept Randolph at home, where she primarily watched television. But a return to normalcy meant a return to theater for the nonagenarian. Indomitable as ever, Randolph has contentedly declared “I’ve had a wonderful life,” according to Magzter. When, working with Gleason, he wanted spontaneity, she had “no issue” with that but, looking back, she appreciates just how unexpectedly enduring The Honeymooners would remain.
“People loved The Honeymooners when we did it, but we had no idea that new generations of fans would enjoy it all these years later,” she admitted. “We can all still relate to these characters. It is just timeless.”
As Joyce Randolph turns 99 and carries on the legacy of The Honeymooners, we can certainly say she, too, is quite timeless.
