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Hi All,
Here is a very rare find from the mid 50's. And something very useful - a dated Gleason. This was signed on September 4th, 1955, which is during the month 0f the recording first of the Classic 39 episodes we all love! That first show was aired October 1st, 1955, and they have been on since, more or less. A bold and clearly authentic example I am proud to handle. The dedication is in Jackie's hand but has been reinked. This helps to place a date on my own 7x9 SP added beneath which I had placed to 1954. This signature is a very rare snapshot from one of the most auspicious moments in television history!
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Awesome. Thanks for sharing, Eric.
Thanks Mike! I thought you'd like it. I am thinking this may be only the second clearly authentic 1950's dated Gleason I have seen (the first being the USPS postcard 1.21.53 I sold). I am running though my memory...
The date is certainly special. The "Classic 39" were no doubt in rehearsal*! Gleason was not on TV from June 25th to September 24th, doubtless in preparation. He had suspended The Jackie Gleason Show for this. This was what that huge contract, $11 million ($120 million today), was for!
* Despite rumors and legends, Gleason did rehearse. He would hopefully do one initial block-in, and then one run through, maybe on Saturday afternoon. Below is one of my original unpublished rehearsal contact prints from Gleason's estate. May 15, 1954. You can't see it here but, apart from the street clothes, Meadows is smoking.
I absolutely love it. Thanks again.
What a great piece!
Thanks Steve. Being dated during the time Jackie was off the air getting the The Honeymooners ready for the new 30 minute format and being filmed live with the new DuMont Electronicam 3 camera system is a special thing indeed. It is of course very useful to assign dates - I suspect many if not most authentic Gleason signatures are on album pages, wine lists, menus or cards etc..
It is a tight window - the show was off the air by September 22, 1956 as Gleason and his writers felt the show was repeating itself. Why that was cited as a reason is beyond me - Gleason had been reusing scripts since The Honeymooners started life as a 6 minute sketch in October of 1951. There are several versions of some episodes - there are two nearly identical Christmas episodes with two different Alice's but the same Trixie.
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