Starring: Jackie Gleason (Ralph), Art Carney (Norton), Audrey Meadows (Alice) & Joyce Randolph (Trixie).
"The New Bowling Ball" (9/20/52) Alice buys Ralph a new bowling ball and he gets it stuck on his finger. After some beefing and screaming about how he can't bowl because of this, Alice reminds him that he bowls with his other hand. This episode has not yet been released by MPI, however it aired on the "Best Of Gleason II" in 1988. (This is the first CBS Honeymooners sketch and the first appearance of the Gleason/Carney/Meadows/Randolph cast).
"The Turkey" (9/27/52) There is very little information available about this episode. However, there is a picture shown in Donna McCrohan and Peter Crescenti's book "The Honeymooners Lost Episodes," (Page 197) of the cast on stage with a turkey in a cage that is believed to have been taken from this episode. From the picture and title I think it's safe to assume that this may be an early version of the Lost Episode "Two-Family Car" from 1956. In that later episode, Ralph and Norton think they have won a new car but end up winning a turkey instead. Another reason I believe that this may be an early take on that episode is because several episodes from that later season were remakes of earlier shows (I.E. "Double Anniversary Party" from 1956, "Love Letter" from 1956, "Manager Of The Baseball Team" from 1957, and "Six Months To Live" from 1957).
"Question Mark" A.K.A. "Masquerade" (10/25/52) Unfortunately nothing but the title(s) and air date of this episode is known for sure. Judging from it's air date, it could very well be a Halloween-themed episode, especially since there were Halloween related episodes that aired in both 1953 and 1954 with the same plot as each other. The name "Masquerade" leads me to believe that this might possibly be an earlier version of "Halloween Party."
"Missing Pants" (12/6/52) Another episode with very little information surrounding it. The title gives away somewhat of a plot, but there's only so far you can go with that. Rest assured, this episode most definitely has something to do with someone losing their pants.
"Six Months To Live" (12/13/52) Ralph reads a letter from the doctor concerning Alice's mother's dog and believes that he is going to die in six months. This is another episode not included in the MPI collection, but it aired as part of "The Best Of Gleason III" in 1989. I've seen the air date of this episode also listed as being 10/4/52, but that was from a more unreliable source. (This was remade into the Classic 39 episode "A Matter Of Life And Death" in 1955 and later into a sketch also called "Six Months To Live" in 1957, which has yet to air on any special or be included in any Honeymooners collection).
"Honeymooners Christmas Party" (12/20/52) This is one of three Honeymooners Christmas specials revolving around the same plot. The original version was done in 1951 with Pert Kelton as Alice and was later remade on this date and in 1953 with Audrey Meadows taking the role of Alice. In Donna McCrohan & Peter Crescenti's book "The Honeymooners Lost Episodes," it states that one reel of this episode was found and MPI may release it. However, this book was published in 1986 and a lot has been "found" since then (Click here for additional information I posted about this at SitcomsOnline.com). Also, the audio for this entire show is available on record from Nostalgia Enterprises and features appearances from Patricia Morrison, Phil Napoleon and His Memphis 5, and Frankie Avalon.
"Easter Hats" (4/4/53) Yet another stumper. It's safe to say, judging from it's title and air date, that this episode is definitely Easter-themed.
"Alice's Birthday" (5/16/53) This episode was remade in color in the 1960's. In the remake, Alice is determined to get Ralph to remember her birthday, even if she has to buy herself a present.
"Dorsey Brothers Show" (5/23/53) This episode came as a surprise to me because I had never even heard of it until John Katsigeorgis's "To The Moon" book was released. The only other episode I know of that had anything to do with the Dorsey Brothers was "New Years Eve Party," which aired later that year. Another interesting bit of information to take note of is that in "New Years Eve Party," Alice mentions to Trixie that Ralph was the one that brought the Dorsey Brothers back together the year before. Now, even though "Dorsey Brothers Show" aired less than a year before, and many events were referenced on The Honeymooners that were never actually seen, I think this might have been a rare exception, similar to the way "The Sleepwalker" was referenced in "Oh My Aching Back."
"Sprained Thumb" A.K.A. "Bus Accident" (9/19/53) Ralph gets in a bus accident and sprains his thumb. After Alice has been running around all day taking care of him, the doctor finally arrives and says that Ralph is fine and Alice is the one who is sick. This episode was never released as part of any Honeymooners set, but was featured on "The Best Of Gleason I" in 1988. Like "Six Months To Live," I've also seen this episode listed with a different air date. That date was 11/15/52, but after closely analyzing this back to back with a few 1952 sketches, I came to the conclusion that this had to have aired in 1953.
"The Fortune Teller" (4/3/54) A fortune teller in Coney Island tells Ralph that he is going to commit murder within a week. A synopsis is known for this episode because it was later remade in color in the 1960's. McCrohan & Crescenti's book states that half of this show is available and that MPI may release it. Once again, this book was published in 1986 so it's possible that the rest of this show has surfaced since then. UPDATE: The color remake of this episode ("Sees All, Knows All") has been released by MPI home video as part of the Color Honeymooners Collection 2. In that version, there is a scene that takes place in the Norton's bedroom. This leads me to believe that the Norton's bedroom may have also been used in the original version, which means "The Sleepwalker" was not the only episode in which we see their bedroom.
"Love Letter" (10/16/54) This is the original version of the 1956 sketch that was "recently discovered." In 2004, a lot of people were surprised to hear about this episode, even though it had been known of for years. The fact of the matter is that it wasn't forgotten, it was just misplaced years ago. TV Land aired this episode in October 2004 and MPI announced plans to release it on DVD around the same time, however, as of 2008, it still remains unreleased, along with the rest of the episodes listed here.
"Halloween Party For The Boss" (10/30/54) This is a remake of the 1953 sketch "Halloween Party." It may be longer than the original version because other episodes that aired around the same time, such as "The People's Choice" and "Battle Of The Sexes" were longer than some of the earlier episodes. This is one of three episodes that has been mistaken for it's original version in the past. The other two being "Manager Of The Baseball Team" and "What's The Name?" The reason I've included this episode here and not the others is because MPI fixed their mistake with the other two on the VHS release of the Lost Episodes, so they were released at some point. The 1954 version of "Halloween Party For The Boss" has never been officially released by MPI, no matter what it says on the packaging.
"Santa And The Bookies" (12/18/54) An obvious remake of the 1953 version. It has been said that when Gleason revealed the Lost Episodes, he, his wife and Audrey Meadows sat down and went through every episode and decided which ones to include. Episodes like this one and the three that follow may have not been included for obvious reasons. It could have been simply because of the fact that they didn't want so many remakes included in the package or because somebody in charge got the names confused with the original versions and wrote them off as mistakes.
"Letter To The Boss" (5/21/55) Once again, a remake of an earlier episode. The original version of "Letter To The Boss" aired on 11/14/53 and is available on VHS & DVD. One can only assume that this has an exact, if not, very similar plot to the original version.
"Stand In For Murder" (6/4/55) This is another obvious remake, but holds much more importance to die-hard Honeymooners fans than other remakes. The reason being that the original version (4/17/54) was cut short because it ran overtime and only the live studio audience got to see how the show ended. A fan that attended the very first R.A.L.P.H. convention confirmed for me that this version was in fact shown to everyone in attendance, full ending and all. Rumor has it that it's owned by a private collector, but I highly doubt this collector is the only person in the world with a copy of this particular show. If all these kinescopes were kept in the same air-conditioned vault, how would this one have slipped away unnoticed?
"Six Months To Live" (5/11/57) Just like the previous three episodes on this list, this is another remake of an earlier show. This was one of the final shows to feature the Gleason/Carney/Meadows/Randolph cast. Not much additional information is known about this however.
Please note that none of these episodes are officially "lost forever." Claims that certain kinescopes had deteriorated over the years have been made, but were also very vague, and failed to mention any specific Honeymooners sketch. 7 of the episodes on this list exist for sure, the rest are most likely sitting around collecting dust somewhere, waiting for the day someone decides to release them. I believe that all of these shows, for the most part, are in existence somewhere, but may be considered too bad of quality to be released. Most of these episodes were labeled as "Still Lost" on a list that included episodes that MPI has released since then, such as: "Vacation At Fred's Landing" (1953), "Lawsuit" (1954), "One Big Happy Family" (1955) and "Lost Baby" and "Quiz Show" from 1952 which both had the word "Lost" written next to their names. These five episodes have been released by MPI since that list was compiled, with forgettable flaws in the picture and sound. At the end of "Lawsuit," it is difficult to make out what Ralph & Alice are saying to each other, during one scene in "One Big Happy Family," there is a noticeable white line running down the right side of the screen, and the picture in "Vacation At Fred's Landing" is very scratchy at some points. "Lost Baby" and "Quiz Show" were pretty much no different than the rest of the sketches in the set. Fans have accepted minor flaws like these just to be able to view these classic episodes. The shows on this list can't be much worse than what's out there already. Some of the shows on the list have even been seen by the public and have no flaws whatsoever. Hopefully if MPI ever gets around to re-releasing the Lost Episodes like they said they would, these episodes will be included like they should have been years ago.
