Audrey Meadows was born the youngest of four children as Audrey Cotter on February 8, 1926 in Wu'chang China. Her family settled in New England when Audrey was 6 and Jayne and Audrey attended and all girls boarding school. After high school, Jayne went to NYC with the goal of being an actress, and Jayne finally convinced her little sister to join her in showbusiness, but as a singer instead of an actress. Audrey spent months working on the Broadway show "Top Banana" and then got a job on The Bob And Ray Show. She then replaced Pert Kelton as the most famed and most loved Alice Kramden of "The Honeymooners". After The Honeymooners ended, she went on to do films like Take Her, She's Mine, That Touch Of Mink, and even portrayed Ted Knight's mother in law in the 80s sitcom "Too Close For Comfort". But her heart--and ours--will forever remain in that two burner stove, Chauncey street kitchen.



Best remembered for her continuing role as Alice Kramden, wife of Ralph Kramden (played by Jackie Gleason), in TV's "The Honeymooners" (1955). (The same role had been played earlier by Pert Kelton, and later by Sheila MacRae.). In one sense, Audrey and her agent, were smarter than the usually visionary Jackie Gleason. Audrey was the only one of the Honeymooners cast whose contract required payments to her for TV re-runs and sales of the episodes. Was a chain smoker. She and sister Jayne Meadows had nicknames for each other when they were little. Audrey was Sara and Jayne was Elinor. Late husband, Bob Six, was CEO of Continental Airlines and was once married to Ethel Merman. The youngest of four children. Her last word was reportedly "Jayne!" Her sister Jayne Meadows rushed to her bedside when she heard of her impending death, and after saying this last word, Jayne took her little sister's hand and Audrey squeezed it. She slipped into a coma and never said another word, passing away on February 3, 1996, in Room 8102 of Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Became the first woman director of the First National Bank of Denver in post-acting years. One of many of her character's famous quips to Jackie Gleason Ralph Kramden was when Ralph said that he was waiting for his "pot of gold": "Go for the gold, Ralph, you've already got the pot!". She returned once to "The Honeymooners" (1955) in 1966 for the last black-and-white sketch entitled "The Adoption" which was broadcast in Miami. Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 401-403. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. She was the first "The Simpsons" (1989) guest star to have passed away. Ironically she played an old woman at an old folk's home who died and came back as a ghost.