Jackie Gleason was born February 26, 1916. Gleason’s formative years were spent in Brooklyn. where he grew up, went to school and honed his comedic skills in the borough’s bars and vaudeville theaters. Enjoy this excerpt, the introduction of the eBook The REAL Brooklyn of Jackie Gleason and The Honeymooners.

“Audrey as Alice was probably the first women’s libber on television,” Jackie Gleason told the San Rafael (CA) Independent Journal in 1976. “She always gave as good as she got. Many times, she had the last word.”

Dad used to wear a suit and tie and commute to his office downtown. Dad said work was like Christmas. He did all the work and a fat guy with a suit got all the credit.