--- ---  # Jackie Gleason's Centennial: How the Comedian Became 'Mr. Saturday Night'  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Feb 26, 2016 5:21 PM UTC  Jackie Gleason on the set of The Honeymooners. Jackie Gleason on the set of The Honeymooners.Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  by [Eliza Berman](https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Feb 26, 2016 5:21 PM UTC The mood of the photo essay is a strange one: Jackie Gleason’s soon-to-be hit show _The Honeymooners_ was about to hit the airwaves, but the star’s look in the pages of that 1955 issue of LIFE was melancholy. The entertainer, as the magazine explained, had “just become, by financial standards at least, history’s greatest comedian.” He was raking in millions between his weekly _Jackie Gleason Show_ and new contracts with Buick and CBS for _The Honeymooners_. “No other actor in the world,” the magazine declared, “ever had it so good as this 39-year-old, Brooklyn-born comedian with a 265-pound body, a bellowing voice and a superb instinct for theater.” But Gleason, who was born 100 years ago on Feb. 26, 1916, was an exacting perfectionist behind the scenes. He often found himself managing feelings of despondency when his team failed to meet expectations: --- > “” --- This meticulous side may have come as a surprise to some of LIFE’s readers, who were certainly more familiar with Gleason’s outsize public persona than with his private self—but one doesn’t earn the nickname “Mr. Saturday Night” without outworking his competitors. And though he was gravely serious on set, Gleason had no trouble celebrating the finer things (like custom-made suits, fine cuisine and generous helpings of scotch) during his downtime. Of the comedian, who died in 1987 at 71, LIFE wrote: “A man of boundless appetite, Gleason figures that you only live once and might as well live it up.” _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@lizabethronk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Jackie Gleason on the set of The Honeymooners, 1955. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Jack Benny plays violin in a hotel room while Jackie Gleason looks on, 1955. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Script change is made right on set even though skit is practically ready to go on air. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Swollen ankles which have been soaked in dressing room tub are rested as Gleason rehearses one of Honeymooners skits with Art Carney, Audrey Meadows and Joyce Andrews. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Jackie Gleason performs in his TV show, The Honeymooners. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Jackie Gleason on the set of The Honeymooners. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Absorbed listener, Gleason turns his back on dancers called to rehearse for his show and hangs dreamily over phonograph playing one of his own records. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Part-time "bon-vivant," who now goes out rarely, Gleason is more interested in joking with executive director Jack Philbin than in Latin Quarter chorus. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. An unimpressed Gleason watches monitor screen as dancers rehearse and choreographer June Taylor awaits his unpredictable verdict. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Moment to rest is taken on way to studio with his cast and Manager "Bullets" Durgom. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Solitary composer sits at his ornate spinet creating chords by trial and error until he finds one that will soothe his soul and maybe sell some records. Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images Jackie Gleason Centennial: Photos of 'Mr. Saturday Night' ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4210422/jackie-gleason-centenial/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4210422/jackie-gleason-centenial/"},"headline":"Jackie Gleason's Centennial: How the Comedian Became 'Mr. Saturday Night'","datePublished":"2016-02-26T17:21:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:27.542Z","description":"Born 100 years ago, Jackie Gleason rose to the top of comedy thanks to his larger than life personality and rigorous work ethic","url":"https://time.com/4210422/jackie-gleason-centenial/","keywords":["Hollywood","photography","LIFE Magazine","Leonard McCombe"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4dc6bb0b0d8495a/69887c66e20a87424aa8f677/160205-jackie-gleason-06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd4dc6bb0b0d8495a/69887c66e20a87424aa8f677/160205-jackie-gleason-06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jackie Gleason","caption":"The Honeymooners actor Jackie Gleason in 1954.","creditText":"Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4210422/jackie-gleason-centenial/","name":"Jackie Gleason's Centennial: How the Comedian Became 'Mr. Saturday Night'"}}]}] ```