This has nothing whatsoever to do with porn, but I felt like writing a few words about it anyway. So click over to another website if you must, or bear with me.

I watched the Jackie Gleason bio-pic on CBS last night. I almost never watch made-for-TV movies, but this one caught my eye. We're talking about 'The Great One' here, Jackie Gleason, one of the absolute funniest men who ever graced the tube, or so my opinion says.

The guy who played Gleason--I'm sorry, I forget his name--had the 'The Great One' down pat. When they recreated some of the bits from 'The Honeymooners,' I laughed almost as hard as I do whenever I see those original skits still playing in syndication.

The beauty of Jackie Gleason's comedy was in its simplicity--no complex setups, always appealing to 'the common man.' Gleason always understood the importance of his supporting players. They were all hand-picked. Their primary job was to make Jackie even funnier than he already was. Can you even imagine 'The Honeymooners' without Audrey Meadows' 'Alice,' Art Carney's 'Norton, or Joyce Randolph's 'Trixie?'

This bio-pic didn't pull any punches when it came to Gleason's ego, his vices, and his philandering ways. But it had its poignant side as well. Apparently--and I never knew this--Gleason's father was never there for him. Although the man lived less than an hour from Jackie Gleason, the boy, never once did he come to see his son while he was growing up. That's heavy baggage to carry around. And to make it even sadder, it seems Gleason repeated his father's behavior--albeit to a lesser extent--in his relationships with his own children.

If you're a big Gleason fan like I am, and you missed the telecast, you missed a great opportunity to gain some insight into what drove the 'The Great One' to success, and to relive some comic moments from a much simpler time.

"One of these days, Alice! One of these days! Bam! Zoom! Right to the moon!"


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