Joyce Randolph, a seasoned stage and television actress best known for her role as Trixie Norton on The Honeymooners, has passed away at the age of 99. She died of natural causes at her home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Saturday night, according to her son Randolph Charles.
Randolph played Trixie Norton, the savvy and quick-witted wife of sewer worker Ed Norton, in The Honeymooners. The beloved comedy, originating as a recurring skit on Jackie Gleason’s variety show Cavalcade of Stars in 1950, provided an affectionate portrayal of Brooklyn tenement life during the 1950s golden age of television. Gleason portrayed the blustering bus driver Ralph Kramden, Audrey Meadows played his wisecracking wife Alice, and Art Carney was the cheerful Ed Norton. The show’s humour often revolved around the follies and mishaps of the husbands, and Trixie and Alice often commiserated over their spouses’ antics.
The Honeymooners became immensely popular after Gleason switched networks with The Jackie Gleason Show, and for one season in 1955-56, it became a standalone series. Those 39 episodes remain timeless classics and are regularly featured in syndicated programming.
Joyce Randolph, the last surviving main character of The Honeymooners, named a few favorite episodes, including one where Ed Norton is sleepwalking. Despite her significant contribution to the show’s success, Randolph disclosed in a 2007 interview with The New York Times that she received no residuals for the 39 episodes and only began receiving royalties with the discovery of “lost” episodes from the variety hours.
After her time with The Honeymooners, Randolph essentially retired to focus on marriage and motherhood. She received numerous letters of admiration, even in her 80s, and remained a regular at Sardi’s, where she enjoyed her favorite White Cadillac drink and engaged with patrons who recognized her from a portrait of the sitcom’s characters over the bar.
Reflecting on the impact of The Honeymooners, Randolph said that its significance in the eyes of viewers didn’t fully dawn on her until the early 1980s. Even after decades, the show continued to resonate with audiences, highlighting the enduring legacy of a classic piece of television history.
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