Joyce Randolph

Since the dawn of the medium, classic sitcoms always required supporting characters with wit, charm, and comedic timing that often complemented the show's lead stars. Joyce Randolph was one such actress, who fully committed to her role as loyal, strong-willed and bossy housewife Trixie Norton on the working-class comedy series "The Honeymooners" (CBS, 1955-56). She rounded out the talented quartet that included Jackie Gleason as big-mouthed bus driver Ralph Kramden, Audrey Meadows as his no-nonsense wife Alice, and Art Carney as their lanky neighbor and Trixie's husband, Ed Norton. Even though she did not appear in every episode like her co-stars, she brought a hilarious realism to Trixie that made it hard for the audience to forget her even if she was not onscreen. Randolph, who was also an accomplished Broadway performer, was the last surviving "Honeymooners" cast member and remained one of the most iconic actresses from the Golden Age of television.

Born Joyce Sirola on Oct. 21, 1924 in Detroit, MI to a Finnish family, the future television star moved to New York City when she was 19 years old to pursue acting. It was not long until the ingénue found herself on Broadway. She joined the touring company of the play "Stage Door," which launched her acting career. Randolph started as a chorus girl and eventually worked her way up to featured performer, including the 1956 production of "Plain and Fancy," as well as a summer stock production of "No, No, Nanette," where she first met her future "Honeymooners" co-star Audrey Meadows. Although Randolph never figured out why, the press often referred to her as "the [Greta] Garbo of Detroit," perhaps because, as the actress once told The New York Times, they were both Scandinavian. She made a leap to television acting in the late 1940s, often with guest appearances on shows such as "Inside Detective" (DuMont Television Network, 1950-54) and "The Jack Benny Program" (CBS, 1950-1964; NBC, 1964-65), where she appeared in the 1954 episode titled "How Jack Found Mary."

At the same time, Randolph often booked modeling and spokesperson jobs while acting in television. The fresh-faced and charming actress caught Jackie Gleason's attention after seeing her in a Clorets breath mints commercial in 1951. The entertainer invited Randolph to appear in a dramatic skit on his variety show "Cavalcade of Stars" (DuMont Television Network, 1949-1952). The show also included a six-minute segment titled "The Honeymooners" that aired in December 1951 and featured Gleason as Ralph Kramden, a short-tempered bus driver who kept trying to make his life better, and Pert Kelton as his patient yet acerbic wife Alice. Carney played their dimwitted neighbor Ed Norton while actress Elaine Stritch was cast as Alice's best friend and co-conspirator, Trixie Norton.

The "Cavalcade of Stars" sketch, which Gleason wanted to be a realistic portrayal of a low-income couple living in Brooklyn, was such a hit that it became part of "The Jackie Gleason Show" (CBS, 1952-59/1966-1970). Randolph was then brought on to replace Stritch in the role of Trixie. Viewer response to "The Jackie Gleason Show," thanks in large part to "The Honeymooners" sketch, was so overwhelming that it rivaled "I Love Lucy" (CBS, 1951-57) as the most-watched show of its time. It was also reported that the four main "Honeymooners" characters were the inspiration behind Fred and Wilma Flintstone and Barney and Betty Rubble of the animated classic series "The Flintstones" (ABC, 1960-66).

In October 1955, "The Honeymooners" premiered as a half-hour series. It was filmed live in front of a studio audience. Gleason, Randolph and Carney continued to play their characters while theatrically-trained Meadows replaced Kelton in the role of Alice. "The Honeymooners" explored the day-to-day lives of two couples, with Gleason and Meadows portraying the show's central duo who would become famous for their onscreen banter and Gleason's memorable line "To the moon, Alice!" Meanwhile, Carney and Randolph provided the perfect comedic foil for their neighbors, much like William Frawley and Vivian Vance provided as Fred and Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy." Although Randolph's Trixie was the least-developed character of the four and had the least amount of air time, she had her fair share of humorous and witty one-liners, including the one she uttered in the 1956 episode titled "Alice and the Blonde": "Whoever said the Age of Chivalry is dead was right. I know the two guys that killed it." Despite taking a back seat to her three co-stars in terms of scene-stealing, Randolph's Trixie also had an intriguing back story about her past as a burlesque dancer, a reference to the original "Honeymooners" sketch.

Randolph earned considerably less than her co-stars, receiving $500 per week. In comparison, her onscreen husband Carney earned $3,500 weekly. In 2007, Randolph said she received royalties from the "lost" episodes from the variety hour sketches but did not earn any residuals from her work on the half-hour program. Receiving mixed critical reviews and with writers feeling restricted by the program's half-hour format, "The Honeymooners" aired its final episode on Sept. 22, 1956, after just one season. It returned to sketch format on "The Jackie Gleason Show" and in several reunion specials, yet Randolph had moved on from the Trixie role, which ultimately went to actress Jane Kean.

By this time, Randolph had practically given up the acting industry altogether, appearing in just one episode of the medical drama "The Nurses" (CBS, 1962-65) in the mid-1960s. Instead, she focused on raising a family, having married marketing executive Richard Lincoln Charles in 1955 and given birth to their son Randolph Richard Charles five years later. Her husband passed away in 1997. Randolph became the last surviving member of "The Honeymooners" after Gleason passed away in 1987, Meadows in 1996, and Carney in 2003. The actress continued to appear at various events and conventions to meet with loyal fans, affectionately called "Honeymoonies," to sign autographs and take pictures. Randolph returned to acting in 2000 with a minor role as a dog walker in the film "Everything's Jake" opposite Ernie Hudson, Debbie Allen and Robin Givens.

By Marc Cuenco