Joyce Randolph (née Sirola; October 21, 1924 – January 13, 2024) was an American actress of stage and television, best known for playing Trixie NortononThe Jackie Gleason Show and the television sitcom The Honeymooners.
Randolph was born in Detroit on October 21, 1924, and was of Finnish descent.[1][2][3] As a teenager, she acted with the Wayne University Workshop. After she finished high school, she began working in retail sales for a Saks Fifth Avenue store in Detroit. When a touring company of Stage Door played in Detroit, she auditioned, got a part, and performed for the rest of the tour.[4] She moved to New York City in 1943 to pursue an acting career. She took roles on Broadway and landed various television roles.[3]
In 1951, she was seen in a Clorets commercial by Jackie Gleason and was asked to appear in a skit on Cavalcade of Stars, Gleason's variety show on the DuMont Television Network. Soon after, she was cast as Trixie in The Honeymooners.[3] Several New York columnists referred to her as the "Garbo of Detroit". "That's still a mystery ... I was a nobody in Detroit. Why Garbo? Well, she was Scandinavian—and so was I", responded Randolph.[3]
Randolph originally portrayed Trixie in skits on The Jackie Gleason Show and The Honeymooners, which included Jackie GleasonasRalph Kramden, Art CarneyasEd Norton, Audrey MeadowsasAlice Kramden, and Randolph as Thelma "Trixie" Norton.[5][6] In a September 2015 interview, Randolph said that she did not portray Trixie Norton in Honeymooners revivals due to personal and geographic reasons; in addition, Randolph stated that Gleason considered her to be "the quintessential Trixie."[7]
Randolph in 1955
Randolph said that asking Gleason to give her more lines was out of the question. "You don't even talk to Jackie, let alone ask for anything," Randolph said. "He didn't talk much, and he didn't like to rehearse much." Randolph talked about a hectic workload for filming the show, with getting all 39 episodes shot within a calendar year. Though she stated there was not much conversation among cast members, everyone showed up on Saturdays to film the show in front of a live studio audience.[8]
On Broadway, Randolph appeared in Ladies Night in a Turkish Bath (1950).[9] Randolph was typecast after leaving The Jackie Gleason Show and seldom found other acting roles. "For years after that role," Randolph said, "directors would say: 'No, we can't use her. She's too well known as Trixie.'"[10] She performed in summer stock musicals, made commercials, and had a few guest appearances on television shows, including her reprisal of Trixie Norton (along with Audrey Meadows reprising her role as Alice Kramden) in the 1991 episode "Fur Flies" in Hi Honey, I'm Home!.
Randolph was the last surviving cast member of The Honeymooners.[5] She died of natural causes at age 99 at home in Manhattan's Upper West Side on January 13, 2024.[12][13]
