Audrey Meadows (February 8, 1922 – February 3, 1996) was an American actress, best known for her role as Alice Kramden on the pioneering 1950s sitcom The Honeymooners.
Born Audrey Cotter in New York, she changed her name along with the rest of the family when her father, an Episcopal minister and missionary, began to use his middle name as a surname. Three older siblings, including fellow actress Jayne Meadows, were born in Wuchang, China during their parents’ missionary work.
Meadows got her first major television exposure as part of Bob & Ray’s sketch show when they moved from radio to TV. Soon after that she landed the role that made her a star, playing Alice Kramden in the "Honeymooners" sketches on the variety series The Jackie Gleason Show and its spinoff sitcom. Meadows landed the role when Pert Kelton, who'd originally played the character, fell afoul of The Hollywood Blacklist. Jackie Gleason had been reluctant to cast Meadows, thinking her too pretty for the part, but she convinced him by having pictures of herself taken with ill-fitting clothes and mussed hair. As Alice, Meadows inspired the character of Wilma Flintstone and helped establish the archetype of the Closer to Earth sitcom wife. She earned four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her portrayal, winning in 1955.
Meadows continued to act for nearly four decades following the cancellation of The Honeymooners, including a major supporting role on Too Close for Comfort in the '80s.
Select filmography:
- 1952–57 The Honeymooners note : Alice Kramden
- 1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Mrs. Bixby (1 episode)
- 1961 Wagon Train: Nancy Palmer (1 episode)
- 1962 That Touch of Mink: Connie Emerson
- 1972 Love, American Style: Mom/Harriet/Eve (1 episode)
- 1978 Starsky & Hutch: Hilda Zuckerman (1 episode)
- 1978–84 The Love Boat: Helen Williams/Mrs. Elliott/Gladys Watkins (3 episodes)
- 1982 Diff'rent Strokes: Mrs. Martinson (1 episode)
- 1982–86 Too Close for Comfort: Iris Martin (18 episodes)
- 1986 Murder, She Wrote: Mildred Tilley (1 episode)
- 1991 The Simpsons: Bea Simmons (1 episode)
- 1993 Sisters: Ada Benbow (1 episode)
- 1994 Burke's Law: Georgia Stark (1 episode)
- 1994 Empty Nest: Margaret Randall (1 episode)
