JOE THE BARTENDER & CRAZY GUGGENHEIM 1966 ( Frank Fontaine & The Great One!)

FOR LICENSING INQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT HISTORIC FILMS ARCHIVE
([e-mail] / www.historicfil... / 800-249-1940)

[@rayrussell6258]

We didn't know how good we had it, on TV in those days.

[@tommunyon2874]

My family gathered in front of the tv to watch Jackie Gleason. This bit was always a highlight.

[@Eds518]

It was my dad's favorite too.

[@scottmiller6495]

Jackie Gleason was a terrific Entertainer,and made Miami Beach 🏖️⛱️ wonderful to vacation in during the glory days from 1960 through 1985 !!!!!

[@whicker59]

Play it again, Sam.

[@vet-7174]

Same here!!! Good ole days!!

[@nighthiker8872]

I was 9 years old!

[@hyacinthlynch843]

Frank Fontaine had a beautiful singing voice. What a great talent.

[@JoeElvisBorelli]

Just like Jim Nabors ''Gomer Pyle''

[@paulbair7050]

Yes, im 70 an remember watching this show an he truly could sing. Also, loved the red skeleton show.

[@TheopolisQSmith]

I watched these shows as a child and teenager. Hard to beat this type of humor.

[@SteveBrownRocks2023]

Same for me Man! 😎👍🏽

[@scottmiller6495]

Entertainment like this will never be seen again ever, television back then was not only clean and terrific but fantastic as well!!!!!

[@larrycole4438]

You are so right

[@StvMcQueen1]

AMEN!

[@johnholliday5874]

Nope. "Somebody" would complain.

[@StvMcQueen1]

@@johnholliday5874 Of course they would. They'd pounce all over us for disrespecting mentally challenged people.

[@rickmiller1429]

We no longer have the quality of people to pull off this kind of entertainment.

[@thomasallen3818]

I had forgotten just how funny Frank Fontaine was!

[@samiam619]

And I had forgotten how stupid his character was. But I guess that was the point…

[@kevincorbin6273]

Jackie was such a great straight man, his facial expressions spoke volumes

[@cbroz7492]

..he was still Ralph Kramden to Frsnk's Ed Norton...

[@AlyraMoondancer]

I remembered he always sang in these skits, but I had forgotten what an amazing voice Frank Fontaine had. Absolute gold.

[@mjpowell101a]

Like none other will ever be again that's Jackie Gleason and Frank Fontaine. God rest them well indeed, in Jesus mighty name Amen.

[@gybx4094]

I was 8 years old when this was broadcast. My Old Man loved this show. Of course, now I love The Honeymooners.

[@hawkman9333]

Me too!!!!

[@pzkw6759]

@@hawkman9333 Me 3!!!

[@deanhayes81]

Me 4!

[@wickedlittlehigh5130]

Me 5!

[@kbobdonahue1966]

Me 6!!!!

[@maureencora1]

It's was So Cool To See F.F. Break into a Song After the Jokes. May They R.I.P.

[@cgrable8342]

Boy oh boy, how I do miss this kind of entrainment.

[@63bplumb]

This brings back SO may memories. Actually think of these two over the years. What a skit! And then the song. Tears in the eyes.

[@timvb2]

Watched this as a kid Awesome !! Thanks for posting.

[@randysandford4033]

Brings back so many memories. We all used to imitate Frank (Crazy Guggenhiem) Fontaine the next school day. I remember his songs and still have his album to this day. Thanks for the wonderful memories.

[@tridevichamundamandirwithy6282]

Crazy Guggenheim -An act you’d never be allowed to do today!

[@hawkman9333]

"He was married, to a woman". That would get him put in the penitentiary today.

[@williamjackson5942]

@@hawkman9333 Baloney!

[@hawkman9333]

@@williamjackson5942 Lighten up. I know it would not really get him incarcerated, He would however probably be roasted by some snowflake with no sense of humor....kind of like one that calls baloney to an obviously overblown statement.

[@kosmokritikos9299]

Are you kidding? You get this sort of thing at every Trump rally when the devotees are interviewed.

[@donnarouse9432]

But then there was foster brooks and Shelley berman

[@moboutmen]

I was a little kid watching these. No matter how touching Fontaine's songs were, I would always choke up at the end, when Gleason sang 'My Gal Sal'.

[@mrs.g.9816]

I was 11 years old when this first aired. I found all the bartender skits with "Crazy Guggenheim" not only hilarious, but cozy as well. Frank Fontaine had a mellow baritone. I remember running home from sandlot baseball or other games with my friends to watch The Jackie Gleason Show. I sure do miss TV programs like this!

[@daveluttinen2547]

I was 14 and watching Jackie Gleason was one of the highlights of the week. This was a time before shock humor, when delivery of jokes was based on surprise, irony, and innocence. A poet in every storm? One had to be knowledgeable to understand the humor sometimes. That is what we lose when we ban books - knowledge. I love this clip; thank you!

[@newspapertaxis1]

Just Love these old shows! Sure brings back memory's...Thank God for KZbin!!!!

[@j.d1614]

Grew up watching Jackie Gleason and the June Taylor dancers Crazy Guggenhiem ,The Honeymooners brings me back to a simpler time in life

[@57highland]

Remember the kaleidescope dance by the JT Dancers?

[@earthlingjohn]

'' And awaaayyyyy we go !!! ''

[@johntiggleman4686]

@earthlingjohn "How sweet it IS!"

[@michaelgarrett2266]

Man, I can see my grandmother, mother and I watching this and loving this segment each week. Those were the days.

[@Teho231]

As a child in the 60’s seems like this came on around 7:00 . This was my favorite part of the Jackie Gleason Show.

[@57highland]

Don't forget the June Taylor Dancers. Remember when they did the kaleidescope dance, lying flat on the stage floor, with their arms and legs?

[@dcarey5480]

Looking back when life was simple

[@leonarddriller2608]

I remember that my father loved Frank Fontaine, he bought his album (33rpm). What a voice he had. May they both rest in peace, & thanks for the great entertainment, something that is missing today.

[@davidcelliott]

I loved seeing this as a kid.

[@larryaldrich4351]

Saturday night prime time with the folks. Then Gunsmoke.

[@57highland]

Sunday night: The Wonderful World of Disney, and then ... "The F.B.I.!"

[@garyaugustus690]

@@57highland ..... Voyage Beneath The Sea....

[@57highland]

@@garyaugustus690 "Voyage To The Bottom of The Sea" ...

[@garyaugustus690]

@@57highland ...Absolutely.....thanks.

[@Parker53151]

And then either Gillette Cavalcade of Sports, Lawrence Welk, or Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom.

[@debralerner8298]

the look on jackie gleasons face is priceless!!!!

[@Rena-s3h]

The Great One and the other GreatMr.Fontaine thank you

[@GizmoFromPizmo]

My dad LOVED Jackie Gleason. We watched this show every week. Joe's Bar was my favorite segment. Variety shows were common in the 1960s but The Jackie Gleason Show was different.

[@8avexp]

I used to watch that show. Loved Frank Fontaine.

[@stevenmyers882]

Classic comedy. Never to be seen or heard again.

[@puravidadew7031]

I am soon to be 70, and I must say that I really miss those days, when entertainers were actually talented.

[@cbroz7492]

..soon to be 75..these shows that I watched with mom and dad are a few of my greatest memories...

[@johnchandler1687]

AND THE JUNE TAYLOR DANCERS!! Their routines were always fantastic with the overhead view. 😊

[@alanlaatz5807]

I so here you!

[@glong2720]

I had always wanted to meet Mr. Fontaine as I had heard him when I was a child acting as Crazy Guggenheim. I was unaware that he had such a great voice and acted in movies. I was fortunate to know his manager and was invited to the daughter's wedding. Mr. Frank Fountaine sang "Daddy's Little Girl." While at the wedding I met his son who wa in the military at the time. Many told me that Frankie Junior was a better singer than his dad. What a great personality Mr. Fontaine had.

[@jmccracken1963]

One of Frank Fontaine's best movie roles is as Hjalmar Johannsson in the 1951 20thCentury-Fox film "The Model and the Marriage Broker." EXCELLENT ensemble movie, with great players both in the leads (Thelma Ritter, Jeanne Crain, Scott Brady, and Michael O'Shea) and in the many character parts (including, but not limited to, Frank Fontaine, Jay C. Flippen, John Alexander, Zero Mostel, Dennie Moore, Nancy Kulp, Helen Ford, Maudie Prickett, Kathryn Card, Blythe Daley, Allison Daniell, Dennis Ross - and, as one of the three Miss Perrys, Edna May Wonacott, 9 years after her outstanding performance as Ann Newton in Alfred Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt"). Written by Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch, and Richard L. Breen, and directed by George Cukor.

[@TheJoerutland]

By this time, Gleason had moved his show down to Miami Beach. And he was Mr. Saturday Night for many people. The great Frank Fontaine doing Crazy. 👏 🎉

[@57highland]

After the "Honeymooners" skit, we always loved it when Jackie introduced the cast so exuberantly, and they'd come out one by one: JANE KEENE! (loud applause) ... SHEILA MacRAE! (louder applause) ... ART CARNEY! (loudest applause).

[@eddrohan4461]

My grandfather was a bartender in Queens, NY, for a long time, and Joe reminds me so much of him. They share a lot of the same mannerisms. I remember watching the Jackie Gleason Show as a kid and this was always a highlight.

[@David-yw2lv]

The Jackie Gleason Show was a staple in my household for eight years.

[@davidcarmack5074]

I used to watch that show as kid, I would be on the floor laughing.

[@j0anningrao190]

So love ❤️ it. This is one of my dad's favorite episodes.

[@Fast_Eddy_Magic]

I was a little kid when this show was on. Joe the bartender was my favorite part. Remember when he poured the beer, and stuck his finger in it to keep it from overflowing? 😂

[@TheFishdoctor1952]

My favorite part was when Jackie played the part of "The Poor Soul".

[@charlieromeo7663]

I too was a little kid when this show aired. My father was a big fan of Jackie, and we watched this show regularly. We have home tape recordings of the show and of me as a 6 year old doing my Crazy impressions. Man, what a time.

[@jsat5609]

"A hot finger stops it every time!"

[@WesaTwoRivers]

@@TheFishdoctor1952Did you ever see his movie “Gigot”? It was kind of based on his Poor Soul character.

[@h0gwartz]

Loved this show as a kid, especially old Craze

[@tonydisibio4236]

I Watched this 58 yrs ago, and my Hero Just went to be with GOD, Willie Mays. Thank You Willie from All of US.

[@spencerbarnett8618]

Wow they were great actors

[@jamesm.3967]

I used to watch this when I was about four, thank you for posting.

[@keithdomin5015]

Nothing but pure raw talent. I used to watch this when I was a kid. Loved it.

[@iamrichrocker]

wow..what a flood of memories of better days..real comedy that was not dirty...we too, family, gathered around our 19" b/w and watched with smiles and laughter..thx for content..

[@TedH.]

They were the greatest.

[@larryaldrich4351]

Frank had that character down cold. Would have been a good spin-off series.

[@enzos711]

From Cambridge, Ma; live in Medford (?) and Winchester .. I met one of his son's (a Bartender) in San Diego, around 1998 .. Told me a lot of interesting stories about his dad & Jackie Gleason ..

[@MK-su6eg]

Black and white tv, and the shows were so much fun! Born in the 50s , those were the best days! So blessed to experience!

[@cbroz7492]

..I watched this every Saturday night with my mom & dad!!!

[@xfiles-thetruthisoutthere8038]

Oh man, I remember watching this show when I was kid. I'm showing my age but I don't care!

[@billlakecomedy]

Performing an entire sketch live without having to stare at cue cards the whole time, and actually looking at the person you're talking too. Unlike SNL where they stare at a cue card waiting to read off their next line.

[@michaelmerta8956]

God bless them what talent, there still make me smile and reminisce about when I was young. Times where different.

[@janetcraft]

"How sweet it is!"

[@TBlanktim]

This was real fun re-watching this. Thanks for posting.

[@wendyluckie4537]

Back in “the day” life was so much more uncomplicated. Never in a trillion years could this old Catholic believe our world would be so CONFUSING So grateful I was born instead of now. .

[@allanramusiewicz996]

God Bless ♥️🙏♥️

[@ual737ret]

Me too.

[@jamespuleo3269]

8 years old in 1966. Who else remembers Pete Puma ?

[@damienszabo2260]

🤣 "How many lumps do ya want?"

[@mrl3402]

I don't want no tea. It gives me a headache! 😁

[@scottlevison7994]

​@@mrl3402 COFFEE!!!!!!!

[@mrs.g.9816]

I sure do! "I don't want any tea - It gives me a headache!" "What will you have?" "Cwawfee!"

[@kbobdonahue1966]

I do!!!

[@marstondavis]

...'I THINK HE PLAYED SECOND HARPOON IN THE TORONTO SYMPHONY'... WHAT A GREAT LINE!

[@markgigiel2722]

OMG. This was great. I'm old enough to remember the show.

[@steveperry1344]

we always watched the show on saturday nights. 'my gal sal"

[@jmccracken1963]

And "Oh sole mio" at the beginning of the sketch.

[@steveperry1344]

@@jmccracken1963 i think i remember 'my gal sal' at hte beginning and end.

[@karlheeren8727]

They don't make 'em like that anymore!

[@f4phone104]

I remember that as a child. I was born in 1958. The 60s were the best days of my life.

[@9L252AL]

This is a breath of fresh air from today's chaos. LOVE IT!

[@johnhourigan6049]

When the camera dollies back as Jackie belts out My Gal Sal, it sends shivers up my spine as watching this takes me to my childhood on Saturday nights. God bless you, Jackie.

[@OofusTwillip]

Frank Fontaine was also on Jack Benny's radio show, playing the same character, but named John L.C. Sivoney. And he was the inspiration for the WB cartoon character, Pete Puma.

[@rayisland23]

Comedy without using a four letter word, how wonderful.

[@Dwayne7834]

I remember watching many episodes of this as a kid. Much better than the comedy now.

[@chrischeshire6528]

Frank Fontaine first did this on the Jack Benny radio program as John Spomoni who was broke and asked Jack for a dime for coffee , Jack gave him 50 cents. John bought a lottery ticket and won. Jack demanded the prize was his throughout the episode.

[@OofusTwillip]

*John L. C. Sivoney*

[@chrischeshire6528]

@@OofusTwillip Thanks for the correction, I remembered it was something like that.

[@babaoreally8220]

The networks were full of these great shows in the 50’s.Jack Benny,George Burns,Red Skeleton,Lucille Ball,and others.Those were the best years for true,wholesome entertainment.

[@keithmotsinger918]

Watched this with Daddy in the 60's . As a kid the guy amazed me. RIP

[@Mr5083]

I lived in the Bronx across the street from the old Yankee Stadium in 1966 I remember as a little kid watching on our old broken tv we needed pliers to change the channels , Does anybody remember back then we had trucks that had kiddy amusement rides that would ride around the streets for a few cents you could get on and enjoy a ride , good old days

[@tomgardner8825]

my brother and I were kids back then, and loved the jackie gleason show.

[@johnbates4319]

I was in 1966 I remember sitting in front of that old TV with My Parents. Memories of a Time long ....long ago. ☺️

[@ThomasJanik-nf5vi]

My Dad and I watched Jackie & Frankie together on Saturday nights, when I was a boy in Cleveland, Ohio. My Dad love both of them! I did too!

[@harley092355]

Could never do this in our modern age!

[@ernestcruz6316]

These two had fans of all kinds. When Bob Uecker and Tim McCarver were together on the St. Louis Cardinals, they used to improvise their own Joe and Crazy routines for the guys in the locker room. I'd guess their material was a tad more adult oriented than Frank and Jackie's though.

[@timwalcott6268]

Some of my favorite memories are from sitting and watching Gleason, and Red Skelton. My pop would just howl with laughter. 😂

[@JoeEchevarria]

Two funny men legends

[@charlesmetzger1552]

These were the days. Simple times. He had such a great voice. Always looked forward to this show on a black n white tv with bug ears. God bless the time we grew up in.

[@enzos711]

"Wow, different times" ..

[@rosemarykarl8711]

Thank you so much for this wonderful laughable memory!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🥹I haven’t heard these since the 60’s❤

[@SusanChristopher-hl7eq]

Really great to see this! Haven't seen them in DECADES!

[@thewkovacs316]

gleason was a genius....but this bit was lifted from duffy's tavern

[@thedocofrock1890]

i remember watching this show as a kid and being SHOCKED the first time i heard frankie fontaine's voice. smooth as butter. he fooled a lot of people with that routine. great show.

[@mikee3997]

I loved that show

[@randywaldron2715]

Wow. That voice following directly after his sketch is so perfect it's actually shocking

[@jeffneis553]

This was a good vido because you got to hear more at the end of My Gal Sal by Gleason.

[@Ziggy_MI]

Actually met Frank Fontaine at a local radio station where I interned while in high school back in the late 60s. Very nice man.

[@Krispy1011]

Can't get much better than that!

[@dougmilesmedia]

Classic!

[@RobertLaPorte-f8w]

I was 8 or 9 in 66 and i do remember some of that.Its be a long ride with all those great entertainers from long ago.They gave us so much to laugh about and it made my terrible frighten boy get through some unbearable times. I thank God they kept me moving forward.Their all gone now and hopefully i see them soon and thank them for their love.

[@don66hotrod94]

I forgot Frank had such a beautiful voice. Two great talents.

[@daDurvis]

Crazy lived across the street from my grandparents in Haverhill, Mass before he went off to be famous. I was told that he and my grandmother, a firey redhead, used to pull jokes on each other, never was told what, so, you can just imagine !

[@TimsSite]

Oh my! 😁 Just imagine 🤔

[@Pete-ie8jz]

Frankie Fontaine was born and raised in Cambridge, Ma. He married his Cambridge childhood sweetheart and they moved to Medford, Ma and later to Winchester, Ma. Frankie Fontaine never lived in Haverhill, Ma.

[@RobertLaPorte-f8w]

That would be pronounced Havrille

[@daDurvis]

@@RobertLaPorte-f8w yes it would, just like Wooster, Glosster, and a few others

[@daDurvis]

@@Pete-ie8jz no, he wasn't

[@prisonersforprofit]

my father loved jackie gleason, and more than likely frank fontaine, i'd never seen this or them but it holds up well, really campy but a great routine, love how jackie keeps getting irritated then repeatedly drawn back into the story.

[@jimfladwood4393]

FRANK FONTAINE, a voice heaven sent.😮❤

[@AP-gb3eh]

Loved them , but can’t help but notice how much of our childhood was spent watching drunk guy comedies.

[@BrianStorey-j5n]

I was 8 when this was on... LOVED Crazy G

[@brucewallman4925]

Im sure we all remember the TV show the Honeymooners Those were the days of clean comedy back in the 50s and 60s I loved Joe the 🍺 bartender and special guest Frank Fontaine as Crazy Guggenheim what a beautiful singing voice and comedy sketches by both Frank Fontaine and Jackie Gleason another great person was Red Skeleton

[@joemonteleonezollo4967]

Now that's entertainment . Unexpected variety , well done !

[@johntiggleman4686]

Frank Fontaine...I wonder if Gomer Pyle was a bit of a copy...a guy a little "light in the loafers" but sang like anything. I have 6 of Franks LP albums. One is "Songs I Sing On The Jackie Gleason Show," and another is "More Songs I Sing On The Jackie Gleason Show." My pop and I would always watch the show and mostly for the June Taylor Dancers, and of course, the beloved "Joe The Bartender" portion. Now I have to play one of his albums.