Sheila MacRae

Douglas Cooper met with Sheila MacRae at her Manhattan apartment. (He later won the FA Brown Award from Trinity College for this interview.)

The Interview      

Sheila MacRae had a long career as a duo with husband Gordon. But her first long-running role was her stint on the Jackie Gleason Show from 1966-1970. She payed Alice Kramden on 52 episodes of The Jackie Gleason Show, taking over the role from Audrey Meadows. The first thing she told me was that her contract gave her 50% of the salary, on every rerun, that she got on the original broadcast. She loved working with Gleason because of his energy. The franchise was already a huge hit.

Sheila was quite well established in Las Vegas with Gordon and a couple of movies solo. After The Honeymooners, she went on to have her own short-lived television series (The Sheila MacRae Show), and to play "Madelyn Richmond" on the long-running soap opera General Hospital. 

Behind the Scenes

When Sheila & Gordon MacRae stayed at our home on occasion, they were still on their Las Vegas schedule, and got up no earlier than 2 PM.

Archive Tape 92167