Actress Joyce Randolph, who played the iconic character Trixie Norton, wife of sewer worker Ed Norton, and neighbor of Ralph and Alice Kramden on the classic TV sitcom “The ‘Honeymooners,” ha
s passed at age 99. She was the last survivor of that cast of four that dominated the new age of television in the 1950s and in subsequent generations in reruns. She was also a great friend and ally of the cabaret and piano bar world, as well as the LGBTQA community.
A native of Detroit, Randolph performed in local theater before moving to New York in 1943 to pursue her career. In 1950, she appeared on Broadway in the comedy Ladies Night in a Turkish Bath. Randolph also worked in early television for the General Electric Company before “The Honeymooners,” at a time when advertisers had a stake in TV production. In 1951, Jackie Gleason saw Randolph in a Clorets commercial and asked her to appear in a skit on his “Cavalcade of Stars.” Shortly after, Randolph was cast at Trixie in “The Honeymooners.”
Randolph passed peacefully at home on Saturday, January 13. Unable to walk as she grew older and weaker, she was in hospice care at the time of her death. She was married to Richard Lincoln Charles from 1955 until his death in 1997 and is survived by her son, Randy. Donations that anyone wishes to make should be sent to the Entertainment Community Fund.
Gallery photos courtesy of Tree Sequoia, except as noted
