When growing up, we never missed a Jackie Gleason show. My favorite part was always Crazy Guggeheim and Joe the Bartender. Here we are, how many years later, and my appreciation for the gentle comic genius was raised again. I have tears running down my cheeks - of joy, of fond memories, of sadness he died too soon. What a delight finding this clip. What a delight hearing him sing again.
My mom and dad watched Jackie Gleason and Frank Fontaine (Crazy Gugeheim) as one of his few comedy skits on every Saturday night. Simple humor, but very effective. It's the way TV should be.
Dear Dave, what a gem. watcing this has made me very emotional as well .My grandfather and I used to love Joe and Crazy. hearing that song reminds me of my old neighborhood, and all those little corner bars on every street. those days are long gone, but those memories will forever live on.
So well said and so well put. My late stepdad was a big Jackie Gleason fan so my family watched his show every Saturday night when I was a kid in the 60s. Grew to love the show !!
Fortunately I met this man, via his manager and dined with them on Christmas Day. He kept us laughing all day long. He was a netural comedian. I also attended his last manager's daughters wedding. Mr. Fontaine sang Daddy's Little Girl and a number of other songs. Mr. Fontaine's son also sang and what an absolute privilege iot was to listen to these entertainers.
OMG! I just stumbled across this. I forgot all about Frank Fontaine and Jackie together. When I was little, 60 years ago, Saturday nights were big events for us on television.
@@southwestgal7 you are welcome. I'd do it all over again. Even though after the Vietnam War, most Americans disapproved of the Military. But it was my time to serve. My family has served in the military before World War One.
Can't speak for my mom..but her end days felt for her the same...their all gone now. her last best friend from the ol Gang passed 2 months after she did..he died of lonliness..he wanted to be up there with Mom and Dad and Aunts an Uncles.. and all these other people that they gave a name to. I miss them all during these hard times. I wish you well.
@@vapourtrail7194 Thank you for sharing this with many of us that will read it now and years to come. Also thank you for the well- wishes. We lost John Prine in 2020 to covid, he wrote one of the saddest and touching songs about getting old and loneliness called "Hello in There". Give it a listen if you have never heard it. God bless you.
One of the most memorable things about my late father was when he used to imitate Guggenheims laugh. Now I do it with my family. I remember watching Jackie Gleason reruns with my Dad. Happiest times of my life.
These really bring back memories. I used to spend a lot of weekends at my grandparents and they always watched the Jackie Gleason Show along with the Red Skelton Show.
My father managed our family nightclub in Massachusetts and knew Frank Fontaine. He ate dinner at our house once and ate a huge plate of spaghetti and giant meatballs and washed it down with Seagrams whiskey.
I forgot about when Gleason pours Mr. Donahee his usual beer and sticks his finger in it to keep it from overflowing . I do that when I'm pouring a soda . Works everytime !😃😃😃
What an incredibly smooth voice Frank had. Seeing an odd character morph into a voice of gold like this, one can't help draw parallels between Frank's Crazy and Jim Nabors' Gomer Pyle.
actually, the character of gomer pyle was a creation of the writing team (everett greenbaum and jim fritzell) from 'the andy griffith show'. the name was a combination of 'gomer cool' (a writer) and 'denver pyle' (an actor). from google....
I was just a kid, and with my sisters we'd watch the Jackie Gleason show every single week. It was among the classics of the weekend night variety shows of the era - along with Red Skelton and Ed Sullivan. Days long gone and missed. And no, Saturday Night Live does not rate anywhere near these programs, not even close.
You sure said it! I was just a kid but I remember loving Red Skeleton, Dean Martin, Carol Burnett, Ed Sullivan, The Wonderful World of Disney and so on. I now get more and more sentimental when I think about times gone by.
@@royruddy3394 "Saturday Night Live" was definitely a different breed of show but they did put out two different "classic" periods. The original Not Ready for Prime Time Players" and the group that included the great Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Jan Hooks, Nora O'donnell, Kevin Nealon, Dana Carvey and a few others. Sonny & Cher even had a good variety show for a couple of years. At least SNL was never as terrible as the cheap imitation "Fridays" on ABC. ( Well there were a few really bad casts of SNL)
@@royruddy3394 . As great as the original cast of SNL was, even SNL back then cannot compare to "The Jackie Gleason", "The Ed Sullivan" and "The Red Skelton'' shows!
SNL: A pale imitation at best of excellent programs as Jackie Gleason and his fellow performers on his series, with Frank, Art, Audrey, Joyce, Sheila, and Jane!
He sure was... the voice as "Crazy" and then the buautiful voice we enjoyed when Frank sang a ballad. We're not likely to see the likes of him... or Jackie Gleason... again. At least we have the memories, and treasures like this video,, to keep their spirits alive.
As a kid, living in North Carolina and Maryland, in the early-to-mid 1960's, I remember watching the Jackie Gleason Show from Miami Beach on TV, thinking how nice it would be to live there, amid the palm trees and swimming pools. Then, in 1966, my dad's career moved us to Miami, where we had a house with our own patio, palm trees, and swimming pool. It was paradise. "Those were the days!" I wish I had been able to see the show, live, at the Miami Beach Auditorium
I thought the same thing..why can't we move to Florida. My family would go to N.C. & Myrtle Beach S.C. in the summer. The humidity and bugs were so bad, I thought FLA. would be worse. I just wanted to get back to Michigan. Now I REALLY want to Move out of this state.😕
Gleasons last house in Miami went up for sale about a year ago. Wish my parents were still alive and I could buy it for them. We used to watch this show and even though I was a toddler then I can remember their laughter like it was yesterday.
For the better about some things. Longer life expectancy, less wars, less smoking, more advanced medical technology, no Jim Crow anymore, less communism, no constant fear of nuclear war. I know people our age like to reminisce but there is still a lot about now that's good. Just be glad you're alive.
It is sad.. We didnt realize just how great it was back in the 60's. Although I was just a boy then, to me.. looking back..it was Magical and that was largely due to my loving parents! God bless them up in Heaven! ✝ ⛪ 🧡 🎄🎅🏾
OMG! Some of my earliest memories are of watching Jackie Gleason and laughing at Crazy Guggenheim with my family. We always tried to imitate him. I also remember crying at Gleasons 'Poor Soul'. What an emotional show.
My dads introduction for me to comedy, probably one of the first characters I did as a boy, along with Mr. ED, Jerry Lewis "hey lady", Snaggeltooths "hevens to murgatroid" and of course Curly from the Stooges....all of his great oneliners.
Watched Jackie every week with my Mom and Dad. Mr. Guggenheim was always a favorite skit. Grew up in Miami, and Dad had a close connection to the show... Great memories...
Gleason bellowing the ending to "My Gal Sal" at the end of these skits, with the bar doors closing on him and the orchestra's closing fanfare, was always great.
Frank was like Jim Nabors, playing a lovable goofy character then turns around and belts out a beautiful song like this one. Both men were jewels of humanity. Those of us who remember them, miss them. RIP Frank and Jim.
I remember Crazy G like it was yesterday, sitting in front of the TV on Saturday nights in St. Louis. I was 6. Now I'm 62 and I haven't laughed that hard again since then.
@@BETTERWORLDSGT They used to, on PBS, back in the '80's. It was great to be reunited with that show. They only showed parts of each of The Jackie Gleason show that aired in the '60's. And when they showed the "Joe The Bartender" skits, they always left off the song he originally sang at the end of each skit. Too bad...I don't know that those original shows are available today. That variety show certainly was great.
@@waynej2608 It definitely was. It put a nice cap on the comedy bit. It let you know that Crazy Guggenheim, even though he was a little bit off-kilter, was sincere, and always graced us all with his beautiful renditions before he left.
Everyone here feels the same when watching this clip.For a brief moment we're back in our living rooms.Our families all gathered around the TV for a shared experience.How great our lives then now seems we just didn't know it at the time.
I was 14 when this bit aired. Seems like yesterday, not decades! Crazy was so funny with the corny humor, then suddenly, that voice would appear & magic would show up! It was a family thing too. There was only ONE TV in the entire house, so we enjoyed what we watched, TOGETHER!
Even at my young age when craz finished his song I could feel a poiniant bit of time like it was slipping away too soon . how little did I know how right I was .
I remember watching the Jackie Gleason show as a child, my dad would watch it and me sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed , many Saturday nights great memories.
Although the show was before my time my parents would watch the show every week. They would laugh at crazy Guggenheim and Jackie Gleason. They are both in heaven now enjoying all the great comedies of the 1950s and 1960s.
Me too! Crazy Guggenheim and Charlie Chapin's outfit and walk, were the hit in my house, when I was five. I used to break my family and neighbors up. Lol.
My family would watch the show every Saturday night. It was a never miss. As a kid, I Ioved Crazy Guggenheim. I remember it was advertised that he would be coming to our town to attend a function back in the mid '60's. There were probably 100 people at the airport to meet him. He was the last off the plane. When deplaning, he stood in the doorway and immediately became "Crazy" with the goofy eyes and waved at everyone. And he did not leave the airport until he shook hands with every last one of us. I went up and said Hi and he turned and said Hi ya pal and shook my hand. He was a class act that brought a lot of joy into people's lives.
We are reminiscing now as they reminisced then. That song hits the heart hard. I tell people to do as I now do. When you are with friends tell yourself, in your head, that you are in a good time ,right then. That is life and living - the experiences.
I can sound like that! That memorable voice as imitated as bugs bunny’s one time nemeseswannabw set is Pete puma, Sylvester the cats bestie Sam and huckleberry Hounds quarry Leroy the Lion. Eeeeeed!! Hiya Joe! True classic.
Those were the great days of television. I am 69 years old. I remember these episodes of the Jackie Gleason, and programs on Sunday like Walt Disney, Wild Kingdom, and Bonanza. My mom and dad, grandmother, and my brother and sister. My grandmother, parents, and sister are gone. My brother and l are left. Those were great family shows that l enjoyed watching on Saturday and Sunday. Forgot to mention The Ed Sullivan show. Great programs for any family to watch. Most programs on TV today are trash.
I think maybe my first of many impressions was Fontaine's character seen here. It was clowning of a different sort. I was also fond of the rest of the Jackie Gleason show. Gleason, "The Great One", was a brilliant clown. I loved his other characters equally. He was such a great dramatic actor, too. These two played off of each other so very well, taped in front of a live audience, I reckon. Bravo and thank you to the uploader.
I used to run home from playing with friends to catch The Jackie Gleason Show on Sundays (or The Red Skelton Hour on Saturdays). This little clip of that "old man bar" brings back those memories. I remember especially Frank Fontaine singing "The Easter Parade", which nicely capped off a festive Sunday. How cozy life was for me when I was eight or nine years old!
@@akrenwinkle Maybe in the New York Metropolitan Area (I lived in Ossining, NY) it was different - or perhaps *my* memory is wrong! I always linked Red Skelton with Saturday evenings, when I'd be called home from games with my friends, and Jackie Gleason with Sunday evenings, when I'd stay in and make sure I'd be ready for school the next day.
@@mrs.g.9816 I googled it for us. Red was on Tuesdays, Jackie's original broadcasts were Saturdays, but here's what threw me off about what you said: What day of the week was The Jackie Gleason Show on? Beginning in late December 1970 CBS began airing selected reruns of The Jackie Gleason Show (featuring only the color Honeymooners episodes) in prime time on Sunday nights at 10 p.m. which replaced the Tim Conway Comedy Hour.
Dang it, my eyeballs sprung a leak. Frank Fontaine was just so smooth, like fine brandy. This song hit me right square in the heart. With the exception of my younger brother, all of the old gang are gone. My neighborhood where we grew up is gone, too. Yes, I know things change; sometimes for the far better, sometimes for the far worse, but this one hits home. For those of you like me, remember where you came from and enjoy the memories. For you younger people, make good memories now and treasure those you love because someday, when you least expect it, you're going to be the old timer remembering your youth and the good times you had but most important, those who are no longer around.
We are reminiscing now as they reminisced then. That song hits the heart hard. I tell people to do as I now do. When you are with friends tell yourself, in your head, that you are in a good time ,right then. That is life and living - the experiences.
@@Observ45er Exactly. When we were young, we thought we had the whole world in front of us. Now? Most of my life is in the rear view mirror, but I still have a lot left in the tank. I will get every drop out I can.
Watched this with my Grandad Jo back in the 70's and 80s on Rte, then we would go to the pub around the corner he would sit me on the bar and I watched him mix with other men laughing and singing while the horse racing was on the tv in the corner. Thanks Grandad.
Frank Fontaine was a comedic genius! And my how he would sing! I loved watching him and Gleason on TV when I was a boy. I am 67 now and appreciate this act all the more today. What a smile and belly laugh this performance brings to me!
This was hilarious. Before my time but I loved Jackie Gleason growing up. My Mother was a huge fan of his in the 50's. What a beautiful voice Mr. Fontaine had. Wow....
I saw this in the early 70s, the later Jackie Gleason Show, and this one with Guggenheim on reruns even around 82 or so, but not since. I wish they had some Episodes!
Tears! My brother (now in Heaven) and I used to sit in our toddler rocking chairs and watch The Jackie Gleason Show. We by mistake called Frank Fontaine “Fat” Fontaine. This was when TV was FAMILY oriented. Awesome memories 🍃♥️🍃
I remember this bit from when I was a kid. But even as a young boy, I could detect the great chemistry between Jackie Gleason and Fontaine. There was the surprising singing at the end of every skit, but good acting too. Plus excellent comedic timing between the two of them. They never stepped on each other. They complimented each other.
To think, I just downloaded Mr. Gleason's AND AWAY WE GO album on RUclips Music. Guess what video RUclips suddenly recommended? Glad I can see this classic comedy show, even a truncated version. For those who don't know, Mr. Denehy, whom Joe the Bartender would acknowledge yet was never seen by the audience, was Jackie's tribute to his first girlfriend. In real life, Denehy was the father of his first love!
I absolutely love this skit! My old man back in the day loved to watch the Gleason show and when Frank Fontaine made an appearance, us kids had better be real quiet! These two guys between them had more talent then all of Hollywood today!
When I saw this video, I literally started crying. As a kid I watched the Jackie Gleason show in the early 60s. And other than Gleason’s opening monologue this was the highlight of the show for me.
Me too. I really didn't care much for Jackie Gleason characters, but my Dad did. But when Joe the Bartender & Crazy came on... I Was on the floor Right In Front Of That T.V.😄
Used to watch the show every week as a young boy, and in 1998 I got to play in the Jackie Gleason Theater! When I got onstage for the sound check, I played his theme song, Sunrise Serenade.
Watched with my dad when I was about 12 or so. Just after crazy's "parrot story" it sounded like Jackie momentarily forgot who was playing which character.
I noticed that as well, sir. At 1:58, Joe the Bartender calls Crazy Guggenheim "Joe". I'm 70 yrs old, and remember watching all those Gleason shows, but I don't think I ever knew Crazy's first name.
The world was so much better then, everyone enjoyed Jack and his terrific show, sure miss him and his bigger than life characters and talents, RIP Jack, we sure miss you so.
My dad and I watched the Gleeson show every week, to him Fontaine was always the highlight of the show, he made you laugh and always sang, That old gang of mine was one of his favorites.
My dad worked with Gleason on WABD (Allan B. Dumont, the 4th network) in NYC until CBS took him away. Gleason stared on the Cavalcade of Stars on WABD.. I saw that show (live of course) when I went into the studio with my dad.
Frankie Fontaine. I was a bit too young at the time to appreciate his magnificent talent, but my old pop thought the funny, funny gent sure could sing. Hope you RIP Mr. Frankie.
I had the pleasure of seeing Gleason's show in New York the night he literally broke his leg during his 'live' show. I was stationed in Queens New York (1954-55), a subway 15-'minuted ride to Manhatten. I was a contestant on "Name-That-Tune." Wow! What an experience.
Like "Gomer Pyle" - the late Jim Nabors...what a surprise the viewers got when Fontaine and Nabors sang! I wonder what it would have been like if Frank had sang a time or two at the fame Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the "500" race day the immortal "Back Home Again in Indiana"? I think it would have been great. If I'm not mistaken, Frank Fontaine was one of the many celebrities at one of the 1960's races at Indy.
Wow..that is something to say. I will be 70 in July. I have a Ton of regrets wishing I could change so much from my past...but doing my Best Not To Have Anymore Regrets.
Who knew Crazy could sing?? I looked for 'Crazy Guggenheim" years ago, and found nothing, and here he is today, Xmas Day 2020, showing up as big as day on You Tube! There IS a God.........
I'm 47, it was before my time but I really love these great entertainers. Absolutely wonderful, wish I could have lived in this great American age of the 50s and 60s. The modern world sucks.
I'll be 90 years old next year and I wish we all could go back to see the 1940's and 50's and 60's. Inflation was non- existent as my rent for a 6 room apartment was 35 dollars a month in the 50's. Everything cost a NICKLE like a cup of coffee, candy bar, buses and trolleys and Coca Cola, ice cream,etc. Hot dogs at Joe and Nemo's and Woolworth's were 15 cents. I also bought a 1946 Ford Woody station wagon running for $35 in 1959......The good old years and they were.....
good heavens born in 1949 i remember watching the jackie gleason show and his american scene magazine out here in australia. crazy and joe were the highlights each week.
Frank fontaine was a great singer that nobody knew about, he sang back in the 1940's & 50's, may he R.I.P., i miss those old day's back in the early 1960's when tv was great to watch and the tv show's were about family's getting along with other family's and there was no guns or violence on tv just a beautiful time in my life and a beautiful time in our country. 😢😢😢😢, I'm 63 now & i would love to go back to those wonderful day's of the 1960's but it's impossible, those day's are long long gone now but it's always great to Remember those Fantastic great day's Growing up in that Era, i loved it and I'll never ever forget them not ever. 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
I remember this as part of his show Saturday nights....good old times...comedy was FUNNY not this damned P-C, you can't say a thing, offensive crap, and people just laughed at anything, it was funny....never as paranoid and serious as today
Just how many of you remember the incomparable ♥♥ FRANK FONTAINE ♥♥ sing after his "Crazy Guggenheim" bit ? Such sweet and fond memories watching this with my dear departed Father ♥♥♥♥
We used to all watch Jackie Gleason and he would always close the show with his Joe the Bartender skit. Crazy Guggenheim would always stagger in and he never failed to leave all of us laughing. Then Joe would yell, “Hey Craze, sing us a song!” And what a voice he had! The way Jackie Gleason would end his show by letting his character get upstaged by Frank Fontaine’s character only confirmed that it was more about entertaining his audience. No wonder they called Jackie Gleason “the Great One”.
I saw the Jackie gleason show as a child with my family. I always liked and appreciated shows like this. They were called variety shows and there was always songs and comedy. I've always wondered why this show was never rerun on repeats ever as far as I know.
![[DRAGON BALL LEGENDS REVEALS ＆ STUFF] LEGENDS FESTIVAL 2024 Special Edition Part 1](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/mV5bGIswTtQ/mqdefault.jpg)
When growing up, we never missed a Jackie Gleason show. My favorite part was always Crazy Guggeheim and Joe the Bartender. Here we are, how many years later, and my appreciation for the gentle comic genius was raised again. I have tears running down my cheeks - of joy, of fond memories, of sadness he died too soon. What a delight finding this clip. What a delight hearing him sing again.
My mom and dad watched Jackie Gleason and Frank Fontaine (Crazy Gugeheim) as one of his few comedy skits on every Saturday night. Simple humor, but very effective. It's the way TV should be.
Dear Dave, what a gem. watcing this has made me very emotional as well .My grandfather and I used to love Joe and Crazy. hearing that song reminds me of my old neighborhood, and all those little corner bars on every street. those days are long gone, but those memories will forever live on.
So well said and so well put. My late stepdad was a big Jackie Gleason fan so my family watched his show every Saturday night when I was a kid in the 60s. Grew to love the show !!
Well said Dave! 👍
Fortunately I met this man, via his manager and dined with them on Christmas Day. He kept us laughing all day long. He was a netural comedian. I also attended his last manager's daughters wedding. Mr. Fontaine sang Daddy's Little Girl and a number of other songs. Mr. Fontaine's son also sang and what an absolute privilege iot was to listen to these entertainers.
Gleason and Fontaine, I wouldn't have known the beauty of these shows but for my grandparents raising me.
Good thing because look at television now. YUCK !
OMG! I just stumbled across this. I forgot all about Frank Fontaine and Jackie together. When I was little, 60 years ago, Saturday nights were big events for us on television.
Our family never missed Jackie Glenson's Show. Miss those days plus Mom & Dad.
@@usmc-veteran73-77 I truly miss them too.
Thank you Sir, for Your Service to our Great Country.🇺🇸🙏
@@southwestgal7 you are welcome. I'd do it all over again. Even though after the Vietnam War, most Americans disapproved of the Military. But it was my time to serve. My family has served in the military before World War One.
my daddy always had to watch gleason and i grew up loving frank fontaine singing.
Same here. Born in 59 and watched this show with my dad.
This takes me back to a time when I'd watch shows like this as a kid with my family. Most of them are gone. I miss them so much.
Today is Christmas and I am crying, sixty eight years carries a lot of memories. The old gang of mine is missing so many members.
I'm 69 years old & feel the same. 😢
@@southwestgal7 Cherish today, it will soon become someone's "good old days". God bless you and happy new year!
@@jimbobjennings8266 God Bless You Too. 🙏
Can't speak for my mom..but her end days felt for her the same...their all gone now. her last best friend from the ol Gang passed 2 months after she did..he died of lonliness..he wanted to be up there with Mom and Dad and Aunts an Uncles.. and all these other people that they gave a name to. I miss them all during these hard times. I wish you well.
@@vapourtrail7194 Thank you for sharing this with many of us that will read it now and years to come. Also thank you for the well- wishes. We lost John Prine in 2020 to covid, he wrote one of the saddest and touching songs about getting old and loneliness called "Hello in There". Give it a listen if you have never heard it. God bless you.
Use to watch this with my late Father and older brother. Years later we would enjoy episodes of Benny Hill. Miss my Dad.
Same here man. Those were the days
Yes, this and the reruns of The Honeymooners! All, classic 39 of them on WPIX Channel 11, in New York.
My dad too, liked Benny Hill..
One of the most memorable things about my late father was when he used to imitate Guggenheims laugh. Now I do it with my family. I remember watching Jackie Gleason reruns with my Dad. Happiest times of my life.
Lawd have mercy, two pros, and each so talented. Frank Fontaine's voice is so beautiful.
These really bring back memories. I used to spend a lot of weekends at my grandparents and they always watched the Jackie Gleason Show along with the Red Skelton Show.
My family watched both those weekly shows too when I was a kid in the 60s. And also Ed Sullivan every Sunday night.
And the Lawrence Welk show.
My father managed our family nightclub in Massachusetts and knew Frank Fontaine. He ate dinner at our house once and ate a huge plate of spaghetti and giant meatballs and washed it down with Seagrams whiskey.
Good stuff. Being a working singer, he probably didn't get many home-cooked meals.
What night club in ma
Mede's log cabin in revere ma.
@@thomasmericantante4821 It was the Club Cosmo in Grafton, Ma.
@@thomasmericantante4821 I was thinking pf my daughter as I listened to that song and the generations and icread this -- she lives in Revere!!
Wow , I wish they had a time machine I would go back into the 60s . good memories
CERN is busy modifying that trillion+ buck time displacement light speed accelerator device right now....
I never missed Gleason's shows on Saturday nights. What great entertainment. {sigh}
Gleason : hiya Mr. Donahee ... What , crazy? Yeah he's in tha back , HEY CRAZ! !!! Craz : oh ! Hiya Mr. Donaheeeeee !!!
I forgot about when Gleason pours Mr. Donahee his usual beer and sticks his finger in it to keep it from overflowing . I do that when I'm pouring a soda . Works everytime !😃😃😃
I'd love to watch the season's again .i was 23 years of age
I don't know why, but it seems impossible to find any Episodes of this show anywhere! Red Skelton is available now, but no Jackie Gleason Miami Show!
@@howardwayne3974 Pure gold after--are you ready--60 years.
What an incredibly smooth voice Frank had. Seeing an odd character morph into a voice of gold like this, one can't help draw parallels between Frank's Crazy and Jim Nabors' Gomer Pyle.
You said that right!!😂
actually, the character of gomer pyle was a creation of the writing team (everett greenbaum and jim fritzell) from 'the andy griffith show'. the name was a combination of 'gomer cool' (a writer) and 'denver pyle' (an actor). from google....
I Used to Like Seeing This When I was a Kid in the Early 1960s.
Me too. Brings back great memories.
Me too. The whole family sitting in front of the television watching.
Yea my dad loved these guys and we all had to be quiet when they were on... Lol
Me too, brings back so many memories.
As a child it was confusing to see this guy talking goofy and then hear that fantastic voice come out of him.
I was just a kid, and with my sisters we'd watch the Jackie Gleason show every single week. It was among the classics of the weekend night variety shows of the era - along with Red Skelton and Ed Sullivan. Days long gone and missed. And no, Saturday Night Live does not rate anywhere near these programs, not even close.
I remember those shows as well but must disagree about SNL. The original cast was great, no comparison to today at all.
You sure said it! I was just a kid but I remember loving Red Skeleton, Dean Martin, Carol Burnett, Ed Sullivan, The Wonderful World of Disney and so on. I now get more and more sentimental when I think about times gone by.
@@royruddy3394 "Saturday Night Live" was definitely a different breed of show but they did put out two different "classic" periods. The original Not Ready for Prime Time Players" and the group that included the great Phil Hartman, Jon Lovitz, Jan Hooks, Nora O'donnell, Kevin Nealon, Dana Carvey and a few others. Sonny & Cher even had a good variety show for a couple of years. At least SNL was never as terrible as the cheap imitation "Fridays" on ABC. ( Well there were a few really bad casts of SNL)
@@royruddy3394 . As great as the original cast of SNL was, even SNL back then cannot compare to "The Jackie Gleason", "The Ed Sullivan" and "The Red Skelton'' shows!
SNL: A pale imitation at best of excellent programs as Jackie Gleason and his fellow performers on his series, with Frank, Art, Audrey, Joyce, Sheila, and Jane!
And a handshake at the end. Classy!!!
Frank Fontaine was one of a kind. The good old days....
He sure was... the voice as "Crazy" and then the buautiful voice we enjoyed when Frank sang a ballad. We're not likely to see the likes of him... or Jackie Gleason... again. At least we have the memories, and treasures like this video,, to keep their spirits alive.
I met Frank Fontaine at WCAU, were my sister worked, he was giving a interview I think, I met him on his to the show, a REAL gentilman!!
As I do when I take off my hat, you make a good point !!
As a kid, living in North Carolina and Maryland, in the early-to-mid 1960's, I remember watching the Jackie Gleason Show from Miami Beach on TV, thinking how nice it would be to live there, amid the palm trees and swimming pools. Then, in 1966, my dad's career moved us to Miami, where we had a house with our own patio, palm trees, and swimming pool. It was paradise. "Those were the days!" I wish I had been able to see the show, live, at the Miami Beach Auditorium
I was there also from det same time. Stuart now.
Nice to hear 👍
I thought the same thing..why can't we move to Florida. My family would go to N.C. & Myrtle Beach S.C. in the summer. The humidity and bugs were so bad, I thought FLA. would be worse. I just wanted to get back to Michigan. Now I REALLY want to Move out of this state.😕
Gleasons last house in Miami went up for sale about a year ago. Wish my parents were still alive and I could buy it for them. We used to watch this show and even though I was a toddler then I can remember their laughter like it was yesterday.
Wonderful memories. Sad how the world has changed.
For the better about some things. Longer life expectancy, less wars, less smoking, more advanced medical technology, no Jim Crow anymore, less communism, no constant fear of nuclear war. I know people our age like to reminisce but there is still a lot about now that's good. Just be glad you're alive.
Wow. I was just thinking the same thing.
My dad was just reflecting on this when he was a kid. Simpler times.
NO - Don’t do that ...it’s not healthy - be grateful for what you have instead.
It is sad.. We didnt realize just how great it was back in the 60's. Although I was just a boy then, to me.. looking back..it was Magical
and that was largely due to my loving parents! God bless them up in Heaven! ✝ ⛪ 🧡 🎄🎅🏾
OMG! Some of my earliest memories are of watching Jackie Gleason and laughing at Crazy Guggenheim with my family. We always tried to imitate him.
I also remember crying at Gleasons 'Poor Soul'. What an emotional show.
My dads introduction for me to comedy, probably one of the first characters I did as a boy, along with Mr. ED, Jerry Lewis "hey lady", Snaggeltooths "hevens to murgatroid" and of course Curly from the Stooges....all of his great oneliners.
I also impersonated Crazy Guggenheim.
Steven Kalka Who didn’t? Frank Fontaine used his Crazy Guggenheim character for Maypo Cereal. He was always hilarious!
Yeah , he was one for the ages alright !
You want to see an emotional performance by Gleason? Check out his performance in Gigot. It will bring tears to your eyes.
Watched Jackie every week with my Mom and Dad. Mr. Guggenheim was always a favorite skit. Grew up in Miami, and Dad had a close connection to the show... Great memories...
Gleason bellowing the ending to "My Gal Sal" at the end of these skits, with the bar doors closing on him and the orchestra's closing fanfare, was always great.
Thanks for that info. I always wondered what the song was.
Frank was like Jim Nabors, playing a lovable goofy character then turns around and belts out a beautiful song like this one. Both men were jewels of humanity. Those of us who remember them, miss them. RIP Frank and Jim.
yeah but he liked girls
I remember Crazy G like it was yesterday, sitting in front of the TV on Saturday nights in St. Louis. I was 6. Now I'm 62 and I haven't laughed that hard again since then.
I remember with me because it was yesterday... I watched it on RUclips on my TV. I remember this show as well watching with my father.
I too remember Crazy G. Was one of my favorite characters. I too was about 6 back then, and am 62 today.
61 here. thanks
I'm 64, watched it in Detroit
He probably would have made a good president the past 4 years, and he would be the only normal one in the White House.
I remember watching this very episode at my grandmother's. What memories.
I hadn't thought of CRAZY GUGGENHEIM in 50 years.
I wish they had Episodes of that Show on YT, I've never seen any, only a clip or two!
A good singer too
@@BETTERWORLDSGT They used to, on PBS, back in the '80's. It was great to be reunited with that show. They only showed parts of each of The Jackie Gleason show that aired in the '60's. And when they showed the "Joe The Bartender" skits, they always left off the song he originally sang at the end of each skit. Too bad...I don't know that those original shows are available today. That variety show certainly was great.
@@chrisfreeman4457 But the song at the end, was essential to the bit.
@@waynej2608 It definitely was. It put a nice cap on the comedy bit. It let you know that Crazy Guggenheim, even though he was a little bit off-kilter, was sincere, and always graced us all with his beautiful renditions before he left.
Everyone here feels the same when watching this clip.For a brief moment we're back in our living rooms.Our families all gathered around the TV for a shared experience.How great our lives then now seems we just didn't know it at the time.
I was 14 when this bit aired. Seems like yesterday, not decades! Crazy was so funny with the corny humor, then suddenly, that voice would appear & magic would show up! It was a family thing too. There was only ONE TV in the entire house, so we enjoyed what we watched, TOGETHER!
One of the great routines Jackie did on his show. Always funny and poignant when "Crazy" sang at the end.
Yeah, Real Cool.
Memories memories
Even at my young age when craz finished his song I could feel a poiniant bit of time like it was slipping away too soon . how little did I know how right I was .
@@howardwayne3974 Yeah.
What a fantastically beautiful singing voice Frank Fontaine had! None of today's so-called "singers" can compare to Frank Fontaine.
WE NEED MORE OF THIS BECAUSE THIS IS A CLASSIC!!!!!!
I remember watching the Jackie Gleason show as a child, my dad would watch it and me sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed , many Saturday nights great memories.
Although the show was before my time my parents would watch the show every week. They would laugh at crazy Guggenheim and Jackie Gleason. They are both in heaven now enjoying all the great comedies of the 1950s and 1960s.
Oh my goodness this brought tears to my eyes with so many wonderful memories rushing in.
I used to do the Crazy Guggenheim imitation when I was a kid! Everything was so simple then.It was so easy being a kid in the early 60s.
Me too! Crazy Guggenheim and Charlie Chapin's outfit and walk, were the hit in my house, when I was five. I used to break my family and neighbors up. Lol.
Easy? I guess it depends on exactly WHO's childhood we're talking about.
DIDJA DO A DECENT JIMMY DURANTE ?
Never missed many of the Jackie Gleason shows always enjoyed him
This is entertainment at its finest I remember watching this show when I very young.
Birtday, Maa, suppah and smaht...even through his schtick, Frankie's Boston accent can still be heard.
My family would watch the show every Saturday night. It was a never miss. As a kid, I Ioved Crazy Guggenheim. I remember it was advertised that he would be coming to our town to attend a function back in the mid '60's. There were probably 100 people at the airport to meet him. He was the last off the plane. When deplaning, he stood in the doorway and immediately became "Crazy" with the goofy eyes and waved at everyone. And he did not leave the airport until he shook hands with every last one of us. I went up and said Hi and he turned and said Hi ya pal and shook my hand. He was a class act that brought a lot of joy into people's lives.
We are reminiscing now as they reminisced then. That song hits the heart hard. I tell people to do as I now do. When you are with friends tell yourself, in your head, that you are in a good time ,right then. That is life and living - the experiences.
What good friends they were, you can tell everything by the look on Gleasons face while Frank was singing. What a couple of great guys.
Watching the parts where Crazy's insane looking face is 2 inches from Gleason's face, I don't know how Gleason kept from cracking up.
I remember watching the Jackie Gleason show as a little girl. Thank you for the memories!
One of my father's favorite shows. He absolutely loved Jackie Gleason. Brings back great memories from my childhood.
The name Crazy Guggenheim popped into my head so I did a search to hear that crazy laugh. Good 'ol RUclips.
Frank was the most memorable character with his vocal trademark. No one ever sounded like him, before or since. :^)
I can sound like that! That memorable voice as imitated as bugs bunny’s one time nemeseswannabw set is Pete puma, Sylvester the cats bestie Sam and huckleberry Hounds quarry Leroy the Lion. Eeeeeed!! Hiya Joe! True classic.
Those were the great days of television. I am 69 years old. I remember these episodes of the Jackie Gleason, and programs on Sunday like Walt Disney, Wild Kingdom, and Bonanza. My mom and dad, grandmother, and my brother and sister. My grandmother, parents, and sister are gone. My brother and l are left. Those were great family shows that l enjoyed watching on Saturday and Sunday. Forgot to mention The Ed Sullivan show. Great programs for any family to watch. Most programs on TV today are trash.
Precious memories. When life was simple & sweet
I think maybe my first of many impressions was Fontaine's character seen here. It was clowning of a different sort. I was also fond of the rest of the Jackie Gleason show. Gleason, "The Great One", was a brilliant clown. I loved his other characters equally. He was such a great dramatic actor, too. These two played off of each other so very well, taped in front of a live audience, I reckon. Bravo and thank you to the uploader.
I used to run home from playing with friends to catch The Jackie Gleason Show on Sundays (or The Red Skelton Hour on Saturdays). This little clip of that "old man bar" brings back those memories. I remember especially Frank Fontaine singing "The Easter Parade", which nicely capped off a festive Sunday. How cozy life was for me when I was eight or nine years old!
I watched Jackie's show only on Saturday nights, and Red Skelton's shows only on Tuesday nights. Am I remembering wrong?
@@akrenwinkle Maybe in the New York Metropolitan Area (I lived in Ossining, NY) it was different - or perhaps *my* memory is wrong! I always linked Red Skelton with Saturday evenings, when I'd be called home from games with my friends, and Jackie Gleason with Sunday evenings, when I'd stay in and make sure I'd be ready for school the next day.
@@mrs.g.9816 I googled it for us. Red was on Tuesdays, Jackie's original broadcasts were Saturdays, but here's what threw me off about what you said:
What day of the week was The Jackie Gleason Show on?
Beginning in late December 1970 CBS began airing selected reruns of The Jackie Gleason Show (featuring only the color Honeymooners episodes) in prime time on Sunday nights at 10 p.m. which replaced the Tim Conway Comedy Hour.
@@akrenwinkle No it was on Saturday night.
@@oldtimer794 If you mean Gleason, yes, Saturday.
I'm glad that someone corrected me; I'd thought that "Ed Norton" had played this role. Frank was a riot here!
Love it ! I fondly recall watching Jackie's show on Saturday nights as a kid in the 60s. How sweet it was !!
I was 13 and watched this every week with my parents. Such memories!
Dang it, my eyeballs sprung a leak.
Frank Fontaine was just so smooth, like fine brandy.
This song hit me right square in the heart. With the exception of my younger brother, all of the old gang are gone. My neighborhood where we grew up is gone, too.
Yes, I know things change; sometimes for the far better, sometimes for the far worse, but this one hits home.
For those of you like me, remember where you came from and enjoy the memories.
For you younger people, make good memories now and treasure those you love because someday, when you least expect it, you're going to be the old timer remembering your youth and the good times you had but most important, those who are no longer around.
We are reminiscing now as they reminisced then. That song hits the heart hard. I tell people to do as I now do. When you are with friends tell yourself, in your head, that you are in a good time ,right then. That is life and living - the experiences.
@@Observ45er Exactly. When we were young, we thought we had the whole world in front of us. Now? Most of my life is in the rear view mirror, but I still have a lot left in the tank. I will get every drop out I can.
Watched this with my Grandad Jo back in the 70's and 80s on Rte, then we would go to the pub around the corner he would sit me on the bar and I watched him mix with other men laughing and singing while the horse racing was on the tv in the corner. Thanks Grandad.
When acting was fantastic back then compared to what is on TV these days. Really miss those good old days.
Frank Fontaine was a comedic genius! And my how he would sing! I loved watching him and Gleason on TV when I was a boy. I am 67 now and appreciate this act all the more today. What a smile and belly laugh this performance brings to me!
Watched this with mom and dad and my brother and sister, long long time ago. Wish I could do it again!
This was hilarious. Before my time but I loved Jackie Gleason growing up. My Mother was a huge fan of his in the 50's. What a beautiful voice Mr. Fontaine had. Wow....
I saw this in the early 70s, the later Jackie Gleason Show, and this one with Guggenheim on reruns even around 82 or so, but not since. I wish they had some Episodes!
A golden era of television I miss it immensely. Frank Fontaine very special man. I miss him
Tears! My brother (now in Heaven) and I used to sit in our toddler rocking chairs and watch The Jackie Gleason Show. We by mistake called Frank Fontaine “Fat” Fontaine. This was when TV was FAMILY oriented. Awesome memories 🍃♥️🍃
i remember that surprising voice coming out of a talented comic actor..and then Jim Nabors....
And also Ken Curtis (Festus Hagen),who was one of the Sons of the Pioneers
I remember this bit from when I was a kid. But even as a young boy, I could detect the great chemistry between Jackie Gleason and Fontaine. There was the surprising singing at the end of every skit, but good acting too. Plus excellent comedic timing between the two of them. They never stepped on each other. They complimented each other.
I remember watching this back in the good old days! The Jackie Gleason show on Saturday nights back in the 60's.. 🤎
Super nostalgia! Times can’t be duplicated thankfully on film
I was just a kid back in the 1960's and watched the Jackie Gleason variety show... my dad loved Fontaines singing voice!
Jackie Gleason clips are THE hardest thing to find on RUclips. They must be locked up tight in copyright.
To think, I just downloaded Mr. Gleason's AND AWAY WE GO album on RUclips Music. Guess what video RUclips suddenly recommended? Glad I can see this classic comedy show, even a truncated version. For those who don't know, Mr. Denehy, whom Joe the Bartender would acknowledge yet was never seen by the audience, was Jackie's tribute to his first girlfriend. In real life, Denehy was the father of his first love!
I absolutely love this skit! My old man back in the day loved to watch the Gleason show and when Frank Fontaine made an appearance, us kids had better be real quiet! These two guys between them had more talent then all of Hollywood today!
When I saw this video, I literally started crying. As a kid I watched the Jackie Gleason show in the early 60s. And other than Gleason’s opening monologue this was the highlight of the show for me.
Me too. I really didn't care much for Jackie Gleason characters, but my Dad did. But when Joe the Bartender & Crazy came on... I Was on the floor Right In Front Of That T.V.😄
Thanks for posting this. What a voice Frank Fontaine had. This is pure magic. What memories
Used to watch the show every week as a young boy, and in 1998 I got to play in the Jackie Gleason Theater! When I got onstage for the sound check, I played his theme song, Sunrise Serenade.
Melancholy Serenade
thank you - classic television - brings back great memories
Watched with my dad when I was about 12 or so. Just after crazy's "parrot story" it sounded like Jackie momentarily forgot who was playing which character.
I noticed that as well, sir. At 1:58, Joe the Bartender calls Crazy Guggenheim "Joe". I'm 70 yrs old, and remember watching all those Gleason shows, but I don't think I ever knew Crazy's first name.
Let us not forget the "American Scene Magazine" of Jackie's!😊. Have to be in your 60's to remember that!😁.
The world was so much better then, everyone enjoyed Jack and his terrific show, sure miss him and his bigger than life characters and talents, RIP Jack, we sure miss you so.
My dad and I watched the Gleeson show every week, to him Fontaine was always the highlight of the show, he made you laugh and always sang, That old gang of mine was one of his favorites.
My dad worked with Gleason on WABD (Allan B. Dumont, the 4th network) in NYC until CBS took him away. Gleason stared on the Cavalcade of Stars on WABD.. I saw that show (live of course) when I went into the studio with my dad.
Joe and Crazy were my favorite characters from The Jackie Gleason Show.
Frankie Fontaine. I was a bit too young at the time to appreciate his magnificent talent, but my old pop thought the funny, funny gent sure could sing. Hope you RIP Mr. Frankie.
We never missed The Jackie Gleason Show. Loved Crazy Guggenheim. Could never do that character on TV now.
I had the pleasure of seeing Gleason's show in New York the night he literally broke his leg during his 'live' show. I was stationed in Queens New York (1954-55), a subway 15-'minuted ride to Manhatten. I was a contestant on "Name-That-Tune." Wow! What an experience.
Like "Gomer Pyle" - the late Jim Nabors...what a surprise the viewers got when Fontaine and Nabors sang! I wonder what it would have been like if Frank had sang a time or two at the fame Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the "500" race day the immortal "Back Home Again in Indiana"? I think it would have been great. If I'm not mistaken, Frank Fontaine was one of the many celebrities at one of the 1960's races at Indy.
I was at the 500 in 1987 when Nabors sang " Back Home in Indiana" it was fantastic to hear.
Just feel so blessed to have those memories to fall back on. I'll be 70ina few months and I have no regrets.
Wow..that is something to say. I will be 70 in July. I have a Ton of regrets wishing I could change so much from my past...but doing my Best Not To Have Anymore Regrets.
Who knew Crazy could sing?? I looked for 'Crazy Guggenheim" years ago, and found nothing, and here he is today, Xmas Day 2020, showing up as big as day on You Tube! There IS a God.........
I'm 47, it was before my time but I really love these great entertainers. Absolutely wonderful, wish I could have lived in this great American age of the 50s and 60s. The modern world sucks.
I'll be 90 years old next year and I wish we all could go back to see the 1940's and 50's and 60's. Inflation was non- existent as my rent for a 6 room apartment was 35 dollars a month in the 50's. Everything cost a NICKLE like a cup of coffee, candy bar, buses and trolleys
and Coca Cola, ice cream,etc. Hot dogs at Joe and Nemo's and Woolworth's were 15 cents. I also bought a 1946 Ford Woody station wagon running for $35 in 1959......The good old years and they were.....
Boy - do I remember Crazy. My mother used to really enjoy watching him sing on this program.
Probably watched this when it 1st aired on CBS on Saturday night! Craze was the first voice impression I ever did (for myself).
Me too. I was just sittin there, I wasn't doin nuttin!
Listening to that voice sing, so sweet, makes the day that much brighter.
good heavens born in 1949 i remember watching the jackie gleason show
and his american scene magazine out here in australia.
crazy and joe were the highlights each week.
how lucky to have this memory as a child
Frank fontaine was a great singer that nobody knew about, he sang back in the 1940's & 50's, may he R.I.P., i miss those old day's back in the early 1960's when tv was great to watch and the tv show's were about family's getting along with other family's and there was no guns or violence on tv just a beautiful time in my life and a beautiful time in our country. 😢😢😢😢, I'm 63 now & i would love to go back to those wonderful day's of the 1960's but it's impossible, those day's are long long gone now but it's always great to Remember those Fantastic great day's Growing up in that Era, i loved it and I'll never ever forget them not ever. 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
Crazy G. had such a great voice!
Laughed at the goofy stuff, then began to cry as soon as Crazy began to sing. Such great memories. Where has the time gone?
Both of those guys are natural treasures. What great memories.
I remember this as part of his show Saturday nights....good old times...comedy was FUNNY not this damned P-C, you can't say a thing, offensive crap, and people just laughed at anything, it was funny....never as paranoid and serious as today
Just how many of you remember the incomparable ♥♥ FRANK FONTAINE ♥♥ sing after his "Crazy Guggenheim" bit ?
Such sweet and fond memories watching this with my dear departed Father ♥♥♥♥
I remember after the crazy routine, Frank Fontaine would sing and shock everyone with how beautiful his voice was.
We used to all watch Jackie Gleason and he would always close the show with his Joe the Bartender skit.
Crazy Guggenheim would always stagger in and he never failed to leave all of us laughing.
Then Joe would yell, “Hey Craze, sing us a song!” And what a voice he had!
The way Jackie Gleason would end his show by letting his character get upstaged by Frank Fontaine’s character only confirmed that it was more about entertaining his audience. No wonder they called Jackie Gleason “the Great One”.
I remember those Joe the Bartender with Crazy Guggenheim skits.
I saw the Jackie gleason show as a child with my family. I always liked and appreciated shows like this. They were called variety shows and there was always songs and comedy. I've always wondered why this show was never rerun on repeats ever as far as I know.
We used to look forward to the Jackie Gleason show and this segment! We were so lucky back in the day!
2 classic comedians !! I remember watching this as a kid in the 60's. Good times. Great memories.
How sweet it is! I have all of Frank's recordings. I'd love to find DVDs of this show.
Fond childhood memories. I can even watch television today. The good old days are long gone.😢