Ralph Kramden - New York City, NY - Famous Fictional Figures on Waymarking.com

I really enjoyed watching this show in reruns as a kid; I always got a kick out of it. Poor Ralphie boy and Norton could never make their dreams come true when all along the were living the life that dreams are made of. Good friends, terrific families and decent paying jobs. I remember learning that originally, Alice Kramden, Ralph's wide was almost not played by the infamous Audrey Meadows, and what a shame that would have been. They said the was too pretty. Thank goodness they were wrong.

Ralph was a bus driver, his friend Ed, worked in the sewer. Together they were a working class partnership that always devised a new scheme to get rich and quit their crummy jobs. Their well-hatched schemes never worked out and Alice's level headedness would always bring Ralph back down to reality.

Being that Ralph worked as a bus driver in N.Y.C in 1955 during the Honeymooners (as well as the Jackie Gleason Show), the statue is placed in front of the Manhattan's midtown Port Authority Bus Terminal. Ralphie is dressed in his bus uniform, lunch pail in his left hand, hat on, portly in frame and head cocked to the sky, like he hasn't a care in the world. The statue is as hilarious as the fictional character on TV.

The statue is pushed back under an overhand. There are always crowds of people hanging around it, either sitting on the concrete base or having their pictures taken with it. On the base is a plaque which reads:

Weighing in at 4,000 pounds, the Kramden memorial - designed by Windsor artist Lawrence J Nowlan, Jr - illustrates the power of television icons in America culture. (“Baby, you’re the greatest!” onlookers shouted as the statue debuted). But it also speaks volumes about the steady commercialization of open public space in New York city.

And how commercial it is: The dedication was part of a new campaign by TV Land, a Viacom-owned cable channel, to memorialize iconic characters like Kramden (and boost ratings) across America. The network commissioned the sculpture with the cooperation of Gleason’s estate and promoted the event with the eager cooperation of New York Port Authority officials. They were happy to install a statue donated “by the people of TV Land” at the entrance of America’s busiest bus terminal. (Link cited below.)

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