Jackie Gleason

JACKIE GLEASON d1987. American comedian, actor, writer and composer also known as "The Great One". He developed a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn and was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy, exemplified by his city bus driver character Ralph Kramden in the television series The Honeymooners. He also developed The Jackie Gleason Show which maintained high ratings from the mid-1950s through to 1970. Amongst his notable film roles were ; Minnesota Fats in 1961's The Hustler (co-starring with Paul Newman) and Buford T. Justice in the Smokey and the Bandit trilogy from 1977 to 1983 (co-starring Burt Reynolds). He enjoyed a prominent secondary music career during the 1950-1960s, producing a series of bestselling "mood music" albums. His first album "Music for Lovers Only" still holds the record for the longest stay on the Billboard Top10 Charts (153 weeks) and his first ten albums sold over a million copies each