Who was Joyce Randolph married to? All about her husband and kids as ‘The Honeymooners’ star dies aged 99

Veteran actress Joyce Randolph passed away at the age of 99 on the night of Saturday, January 13, 2024, in her Upper West Side home in Manhattan, New York. Her son, Randolph "Randy" Charles gave a statement to TMZ where he stated that his mother, The Honeymooners star, passed away from natural causes in hospice care.

Variety noted that she was the last surviving member of the cast of the 1955 sitcom and passed away peacefully in her sleep. The other members of The Honeymooners, Art Carney passed away in 2003, Audrey Meadows died in 1996, and Jackie Gleason died in 1987, according to Yahoo news.

Joyce Randolph was married to the late Richard Lincoln Randolph and the couple had one child, son Randolph Richard Charles.

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Exploring, in detail, the personal life and career of Joyce Randolph

Joyce Randolph was born Joyce Sirola to a Finnish-American household in Detroit on October 21, 1924. Joyce was often regarded as “the Garbo of Detroit,” because of her Scandinavian background, as told during a New York Times interview in 2007.

Joyce Randolph tied the knot with wealthy marketing and advertising executive Richard Lincoln Charles in October 1955. They were blessed with their only child, son Randolph Richard Charles in 1960, who has also followed in the footsteps of his father. However, Joyce Randolph’s husband passed away in 1997, at the age of 74.

As per Variety, she first pursued acting by joining a touring production of the dramedy Stage Door while working at a departmental store in her hometown. Later, she also performed on Broadway alongside Gloria Swanson in the production of A Goose for the Gander.

She then moved to New York City at the age of 18 and performed in many theaters and TV shows including Buck Rogers.

However, it was in 1951 when actor-comedian Jackie Gleason saw her in the Clorets chewing gum commercial that she was cast in The Honeymooners. Her character, Trixie Norton, was a Brooklyn-based, working-class housewife on the classic sitcom.

Joyce reportedly never made any money from the 39 original episodes of The Honeymooners, according to the New York Times. Her self-written 2007 profile stated that she got residuals from the lost episodes much later. Interestingly, when The Honeymooners was revived in 1960, Joyce was not re-cast, instead replaced by Jane Kean.

Apart from playing the role of Trixie on the CBS sitcom, alongside stars Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows, Joyce appeared on the 1991 meta sitcom Hi Honey I’m Home. She also had a cameo in the TV show The Doctors and the Nurses.

Not many know, but she was the grand-aunt of former NBL star Tim Redding.

When her iconic show was rewatched extensively during the COVID-19 lockdown, she was delighted. She told the Daily News in 2021 that it would be a “wonderful idea” if a sequel was made after all these years.

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Here's looking at the other cast members of The Honeymooners

As mentioned earlier, Joyce Randolph played the role of Trixie Norton on The Honeymooners. The show was initially released as a skit on Jackie Gleason's variety show Cavalcade of Stars, followed by The Jackie Gleason Show. Later, it became a stand-alone show for CBS.

Randolph played the part of a sarcastic and peppy wife of sewer worker Ed Norton, played by actor Art Carney, who died in 2003, at the age of 85. Meanwhile, Jackie Gleason and Audrey Meadows played the roles of the neighbors of the Norton couple, Ralph and Alice Kramden respectively.

Gleason, who played the role of a bus driver on the sitcom died in 1987, at the age of 71. Meanwhile, Meadows, who was the best friend of Randolph's character died in 1996, at the age of 73.

As mentioned earlier, Joyce was the last surviving member of the sitcom until her death on Saturday.