Pert Kelton

Pert L. Kelton (October 14, 1907 – October 30, 1968) was an American stage, movie, radio, and television actress. She was the original Alice Kramden in The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason. During the 1930s, she was a prominent comedic supporting and leading actress in Hollywood films such as Gregory La Cava's Bed of Roses with Constance Bennett and Raoul Walsh's The Bowery with Wallace Beery and George Raft (both released in 1933). She performed in a dozen Broadway productions between 1925 and 1968. Most famously, she created the role of 'Mrs. Paroo' in the original production of the musical "The Music Man," which she repeated for the movie adaptation. However, her career was interrupted in the 1950s as a result of blacklisting, leading to her departure from The Honeymooners.