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Veteran Actress and Singer — Remembered as Alice in 1960s ‘Honeymooners’ — Dead at 92

Mar 10, 2014  •  Post A Comment

The actress who played the wife of Jackie Gleason’s Ralph Kramden in the 1960s version of the classic TV series "The Honeymooners" has died. The New York Times reports that Sheila MacRae died Thursday at 92.

MacRae played Alice, who was married to Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden, in 52 episodes of “The Jackie Gleason Show.” Gleason included “The Honeymooners” sketches on his CBS variety series.

The role of Alice was originally a vehicle for Audrey Meadows, who portrayed the tough character in the iconic 1950s television show “The Honeymooners.”

The revival sketches also featured Art Carney, who returned in his original role as Ed Norton. Trixie, Ed’s wife, was played by Jane Kean in the revival sketches. Kean died in November, The Times notes.

MacRae was married to singer and actor Gordon MacRae for 26 years, with the pair performing as a duo for almost 10 years on television, in concerts and in nightclubs. She appeared in movies and TV shows such as “I Love Lucy” in the 1950s and 1960s, leaving show business for a period of time after becoming pregnant with their first child.

MacRae wrote about struggling with her husband’s drinking and gambling in her 1992 memoir, “Hollywood Mother of the Year.” She didn’t want to get a divorce, fearing that his alcohol abuse and gambling problems would become public, the piece reports.

They eventually did divorce in 1967, the story adds. Her former husband died in 1986.

MacRae also appeared on “General Hospital” and in 1965 played Miss Adelaide in Broadway’s “Guys and Dolls.”

sheila macrae.pngSheila MacRae

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