‘Honeymooners’ episode unearthed
It’s news that would make Jackie Gleason shout out his trademark “And away we go!” A new “lost” episode of the classic 1950s TV comedy “The Honeymooners” has been uncovered in the Peabody Awards archive at the University of Georgia.
The episode, “Love Letter,” originally aired Oct. 16, 1954, on “The Jackie Gleason Show,” said Ruta Abolins, director of the Peabody Awards Collection and Media Archives.
“It does not exist in another archive,” she said.
Archivist Margaret Compton discovered the “Love Letter” episode during a preservation review of the archives’ kinescopes and videotapes. She said plans are being made by Gleason Enterprises to release the never-rebroadcast episode on home video.
A re-performance of “Love Letter” aired on Gleason’s 1956-57 variety series on CBS, but the Peabody Awards archive holds the only known copy of the original sketch from his 1952-55 variety show. The episode deals with Ralph Kramden’s discovery of a love letter that he mistakenly believes is meant for his wife, played by Audrey Meadows.
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