Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Honeymooner's house for sale

"In the TV show The Honeymooners, the address used for the Kramdens' and the Nortons' apartment building was "328 Chauncey St." in Bensonhurst.

Jackie Gleason's boyhood home was at 328 Chauncey St. in Bushwick. That property is currently listed." - Chris C.

Answers.com says that "Bushwick" was changed to "Bensonhurst" for the show to make it sound more Brooklyn-y to those watching from other parts of the country.

According to Classic Hollywood bios:

Gleason patterned the Kramdens' apartment after the one he lived in with his mother as a boy..."The place was dull. The bulbs weren't very bright. The surroundings were very bare" remembered Gleason about his childhood home.

Perhaps a local street also served as an inspiration for the show's main character. Ralph Avenue is right around the corner from where Gleason lived his early years.

Photo from Big Bands and Big Names

Map from Mapquest.

4 comments:

verdi said...

I believe that Gleason, as a vaudevillian....performed at the old Bushwick Theater.

Anonymous said...

YOU ARE A BLABBER MOUTH...A BLABBER MOUTH! YOU!

Anonymous said...

A-homana-homana-homana!

Anonymous said...

"One a deeze dayz....pow....right in da kisser"!