The Bickersons Biography Book

Finally -- the definitive biography of The Bickersons! Lavishly illustrated, with a foreword by Blanche herself, Frances Langford, this book unearths material never before published. A complete history of the program, biographies of the cast, scripts from Star Time, Old Gold & radio commercials, a history of John, Blanche, Nature Boy & those grasping relatives, The infamous Honeymooners/Jackie Gleason court case, Unused material, and much more!

My initial thought when I first read my first Bickersons script was: I don't think I can do this. Because I wasn't used to that sort of thing. I had done a lot of little bits with Bob Hope on our tours entertaining the troops, which was very easy and fun. I learned a lot from Bob, about timing and comedy.

But I was scared to death during the first broadcast of the Bickersons, and at the same time I loved doing it. Not knowing where the laughs come and not knowing how funny it was going to be - it was all shocking. I practically memorized all the scripts, and it took me a while to get used to John and Blanche, but how I did love it.

Much of this was due to the incredible professionalism and brilliance of Don Ameche and Phil Rapp.

Don Ameche was something else. He was the greatest actor, and knew his lines backwards. The minute he walked onto the set, he knew his lines, my lines and everything. It was so wonderful working with him. He could do anything. If you can snore like that, you can do anything!

Phil Rapp, our writer/producer/director, was amazing. To me, he was the perfect director for what we were doing. The scripts were lively and clever. They were the best scripts I had ever read. It was a delight to bring them to life.

It's been a lot of years since I've done the Bickersons, but I still get fan mail from it, and lots of people are still laughing at it, even the kids. I think it's timeless humor. Though we really played it for laughs more than any social significance, I think families are just the same now as they were in the 1940s. Maybe everyone isn't married to a Bickerson, but every upcoming generation that listens to the Bickersons seems to get quite a chuckle out of that shrew Blanche, and poor husband John.

It's a sheer delight to have been a part of a major comedy team like the Bickersons. I'm so sorry Don had to go; I'd like to do the Bickersons today. But as long as the shows keep circulating and new fans continue to write me and share laughs, it's a foregone conclusion that The Honeymoon Will Never Be Over...