Jackie Gleason Honeymoons at the Paramount Theater - 1955

"PoPsie" knew Jackie Gleason very well. Gleason utilized PoPsie often for many of his projects during the 50's from his early forays into television on the Dumont Network up to his later musical projects on Capitol Records.

Gleason was excited in 1955 to have his show broadcast on CBS and wanted PoPsie there to capture the occasion. PoPsie shot many images of Gleason doing his show that evening and from what I can tell from the photographs, Gleason was the ultimate showman.

For a man his size, he was amazingly light on his feet. He had very few peers when it came to his comedic timing and he also had a great rapport with the audience.

Today, I'll let the photos do the talking, because when it comes to seeing a master at work, I can only sit back and watch with awe and envy... and I can tell that PoPsie and Gleason respected each others work.

I would also love to tell you how Gleason used to play as hard as he worked and of the photos of Gleason hanging out with Frank Sinatra after hours at Toots Shore's place in New York City, but as you know, that is another story for another time.