Biography for
Audrey Meadows More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

8 February 1922, Wu-ch'ang, China

Date of Death

3 February 1996, Beverly Hills, California, USA (lung cancer)

Birth Name

Audrey Cotter

Nickname

Aud

Height

5' 6" (1.68 m)

Mini Biography

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 show business, 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" (1955). After "The Honeymooners" ended, she went on to do films like Take Her, She's Mine (1963), That Touch of Mink (1962), and even portrayed Ted Knight's mother in law in the 80s sitcom "Too Close for Comfort" (1980). But her heart - and ours - will forever remain in that two burner stove, Chauncey street kitchen.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Ashley Phipps

Spouse

Robert Six	(24 August 1961 - 6 October 1986) (his death)
Randolph Rouse	(26 May 1956 - 1958) (divorced)

Trade Mark

Red hair.

Gravelly voice

Trivia

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.).

Sister of actress Jayne Meadows.

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.

Father, Rev. Francis James Meadows Cotter was an Episcopal priest and mother, Ida, was a missonary.

Was a chain smoker.

Debuted at Carnegie Hall as a mezzo soprano.

She and sister Jayne Meadows had nicknames for each other when they were little. Audrey was Sara and Jayne was Elinor.

Played field hockey in school

Late husband, Bob Six, was CEO of Continental Airlines and was once married to Ethel Merman.

Brother-in-law is the late Steve Allen.

The youngest of four children.

Both Audrey and Jayne Meadows competed against members of the William F. Buckley family in local talent shows. In 1944, three of Buckley's sisters were accused of vandalizing the church where Audrey and Jayne's father was rector.

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.

Audrey and Joyce Randolph (who played neighbor Trixie in the Honeymooner's sketches) knew each other before the classic TV show. They once worked together in a summer stock production of "No, No, Nanette.".

Became the first woman director of the First National Bank of Denver in post-acting years.

When she first auditioned for the part of Alice Kramden, Jackie Gleason turned her down because, he said, she was too pretty to be believable as Ralph's wife. Determined to get the part, she hired a photographer to take pictures of her with frumpy clothes, no makeup and a generally world-weary attitude and sent them to Gleason. Gleason, not recognizing the woman in the photo as Audrey, told his producers that she was "Alice" and to find her. When he found out it was indeed Audrey, he said that any actress that determined to get the part deserved it, and hired her.

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 was born in China because her parents were missionaries there. Until she came to the US as a young girl, Audrey spoke nothing but Chinese.

She returned once to "The Honeymooners" (1955) in 1966 for the last black-and-white sketch entitled "The Adoption" which was broadcast in Miami.

Jackie Gleason was short and had a Napoleon complex, so he hired short actors to work with. One of the few exceptions was Audrey, who was 5'9" but wore flats.

Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 401-403. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Although not a comedienne by nature, Audrey appeared with many of Hollywood's top comic royalty during her "Golden Age of TV" years including Red Skelton, George Gobel, Jack Benny, Sid Caesar, and Carol Burnett.

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.

Her father was Francis Meadows Cotter, an Episcopal missionary. Her mother's name was Ida Miller Taylor.

Personal Quotes

You as you are are better by far than the you that you are trying to be.

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