Joyce Randolph, the only surviving member of the cast of the popular comedy “The Honeymooners,” died Saturday, January 13, 2024, in New York City. She was 99 years old. Randy Randolph, Randolph’s son, informed TMZ that the mother passed away of natural causes while receiving hospice care at the time of her passing.
Randolph’s character was married to Art Carney’s Ed Norton in “The Honeymooners.” They were Ralph and Alice Kramden’s neighbors, played by Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows.
Joyce Sirola, born in Detroit to a Finnish-American family, got her start in show business when she joined a traveling production of “Stage Door” while working at a department store, then relocated to New York and played in theater and on television in shows such as “Buck Rogers.”
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The actress is well known for her role as housewife Trixie Norton in 39 episodes of the popular TV sitcom. She co-starred with Audrey Meadows, Art Carney, and the show’s originator, Jackie Gleason. The show was terminated after its initial run, although it received praise in syndication for its comedic style and portrayal of marriage. It has been revived in various versions over the years.
Randolph, who was born Joyce Sirola on October 21, 1924, began her career in theater and television, first appearing in a touring production of Stage Door before going to New York to pursue acting. Before obtaining her renowned role as Trixie, she played on Broadway in the 1950 comedy Ladies Night in a Turkish Bath and then in musicals such as Rocky King Detective and Buck Rogers.
The Honeymooners debuted on the variety show Cavalcade of Stars as a series of short routines before becoming a regular on CBS’ The Jackie Gleason Show. Randolph was not the first actress to play Trixie during this early period – Elaine Stritch played her when the shorts originally aired — but from 1952 to 1957, Randolph became synonymous with the adored character in the sketches and, later, on the sitcom itself.
After seeing her in a commercial, Gleason placed her in “The Honeymooners” in 1951. It debuted as a sketch on “Cavalcade of Stars” and “The Jackie Gleason Show,” then aired as a standalone sitcom on CBS in 1955 and 1956. Despite the fact that the show only lasted 39 episodes, its popularity survived, and its portrayal of warring working-class families impacted generations of sitcoms.
Though she did not feature in subsequent revivals of the series, Randolph became so linked with the role of Trixie that she struggled to get other roles after the series ended. In 1991, she participated in the meta sitcom “Hi Honey I’m Home,” which featured several former TV stars, and in one episode of the earlier TV drama “The Doctors and the Nurses.”
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Randolph had no idea why she was dubbed “the Garbo of Detroit” in early press coverage. “Why Garbo? Well, she was Scandinavian — and so was,” she told the New York Times.
According to the affectionately written 2007 feature, despite the show’s widespread popularity, Randolph did not receive any residuals from the initial 39 episodes. However, she did receive some from the “lost episodes” that were part of the variety hours.
