Audrey and Jayne Meadows were known as a pair of sisters who were gifted with beauty, talent,
and Hollywood success. And for much of their careers, they got along great. But not long after
Audrey finished her famous stint on the classic sitcom, The Honeymooners, the two sisters had a
falling out. In this video, we're taking a look at the rivalry between Audrey Meadows and Jane
Meadows, and how it finally resolved itself after the death of one of their husbands. Join Facts
Verse as we look at the reasons Audrey Meadows hated her own sister for years!
Audrey Meadows was born in Manhattan in 1922. Her birth name was Audrey Cotter, and she was the
youngest of four children born to Rev. Francis James Meadows Cotter and Ida Miller Taylor.
Her parents were Episcopal missionaries who spent time spreading the gospel in China,
which is where the first three kids were born. But they had moved back
to the United States by 1922 when Audrey was born. Audrey was shipped
off to Massachusetts to attend boarding school at the Barrington School for Girls.
After she finished school, she dove in fully to pursuing a career in entertainment.
She managed to land a role in a Broadway musical called Top Banana.
She honed her craft on stage before turning her attention to television acting. Her first big
gig was as a regular on the Bob and Ray show. Before long, she was able to land the role that
changed her life forever… as Alice Kramden on The Jackie Gleason Show, and then The Honeymooners.
She was “too pretty” to play Alice Before Ralph and Alice Kramden were
cracking up audiences across the country in The Honeymooners, the characters appeared on The
Jackie Gleason Show. And before Audrey was even considered for the role of Alice, another actress
was given the role. Pert Kelton had auditioned for the role of Alice and was all set to play
her for as many years as possible. However, she was suddenly fired from the gig in 1952.
While the studio released a statement that she was suffering from health issues, the reality
was that Pert was being blacklisted, as part of the infamous anti-communist blacklist era in
Hollywood. So that left a hole to fill in casting. Audrey heard about the opening and lobbied hard
to get the part. She was clearly a talented actress who could handle playing opposite comedic
powerhouse Jackie Gleason. However, when Meadows initially auditioned in person for Gleason, he
had an objection to her taking over the role. He felt she was too pretty! He figured that audiences
wouldn’t buy that a guy like Ralph Kramden could snag a gorgeous woman for a wife.
But Audrey had other ideas. She knew that if she dressed down and didn't appear in a glamorous
get-up, she'd have a better chance. So she had a photographer come to her house and take photos
of her right as she got out of bed. She had on ratty clothes and no makeup. She stood in her
own kitchen, holding a frying pan. Clearly, she looked a lot plainer than she had in her
dolled-up audition appearance. Reportedly, when Gleason saw this new photograph the next day,
Audrey looked so different than when she auditioned, Gleason assumed he
was looking at a photo of a different actress.
He reportedly took one look at this new photo and gave her the part, exclaiming, “She’s Alice!”
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Jayne Meadows Audrey’s sister Jayne was born
Jayne Cotter in 1919. Unlike her sister, she was born while her family was still living in China
as missionaries. After moving back to the United States, the family settled in Sharon, Connecticut,
due to her brother being named to a position in a local church there.
But Jayne’s ambitions lay beyond the Episcopal church. She wanted to leave the family business
behind and become a star. And before too long, she began to live out those dreams. She
Initially found mild success in films, appearing in Undercurrent (which starred Katherine Hepburn)
as well as Song of the Thin Man with William Powell and Myrna Loy, and David and Bathsheba
with Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward. In 1948 she starred in the movie, Enchantment, and even
won the Cosmopolitan Award for Finest Dramatic Performance the following year for that role.
After finding a decent amount of film success, she shifted her focus to television. She was in
an episode of Suspense, acting alongside Walter Matthau. She also began appearing on panel shows
as herself. These included regular stints on a show called "I've Got A Secret” and occasional
appearances on “What’s My Line.” What’s notable about her What’s My Line appearances
is that they were alongside her husband, Steve Allen. This pairing went on to work together more
often in later years, including live appearances in Las Vegas, which at the time was just beginning
to gain a reputation as a place for live entertainment. Even into the 1990s, the two
were still occasionally seen on TV together. They played an elderly couple in Homicide:
Life on the Street, for example, and were on Diagnosis: Murder as an older couple as well.
This latter appearance was in 1999 and turned out to be Steve Allen’s final one, as he died in 2000.
Their marriages Jayne, as we mentioned,
married Steve Allen. Allen was a legendary figure in the world of television entertainment.
He was known as a comedian and actor, as well as a musician and radio personality.
But he was most notable for having co-created The Tonight Show,
on which he was the first-ever host. This stalwart TV show has continued for years
and is a staple of late-night TV programming. The two of them had a solid relationship, but not
without issues. For example, Allen was a staunch Democrat, while Jayne was a staunch Republican.
They even clashed sometimes when it came to career decisions. Reportedly, when Allen
asked Meadows to play the role of Cleopatra in a show he was doing called Meeting of the Minds,
Jayne wasn’t into it. But Allen basically gave her an ultimatum, saying that he wasn’t sure how their
marriage could continue if she refused the part. Audrey’s marriage was also to a very successful
man. She married Richard Six, who was the president of Continental Airlines, in 1961.
The two got hitched in Hawaii and were married until Six died in 1986. It was a lucrative
decision on Audrey’s part, as she reportedly became a millionaire due to this marriage.
The Meadows Sisters While many siblings
who find dual success in Hollywood are supportive of each other and have a great relationship, the
same can’t be said for Audrey and Jayne Meadows. For whatever reasons, the two women tended to be
jealous of the other’s success. Perhaps it was a sibling rivalry that began before their Hollywood
careers and extended into their lives for years. Or perhaps it was triggered by the successes
each was having as they broadened their Hollywood career journey. But regardless of its origins, the
jealousy between the two of them was enflamed when both women got married.
It was said that Jayne and Audrey constantly thought of themselves as rivals. In the book
“The Lucy Book” author Geoffrey Mark Fidelman said that one big problem was that Audrey constantly
made it seem like she was the bigger star. And this ruffled Jayne’s feathers a lot. The two
sisters continued their petty rivalry for years. While it’s not known whether or not it was made
worse by the men in their lives, it did coincide with the period where they were both married.
But reportedly, after Robert Six died, the two put their rivalry aside and became friends again.
So it’s possible there was an element about Audrey’s marriage to him that enflamed the
issues between the two sisters. Either way, after 1986, the Meadows sisters became close again,
and reportedly were on good terms for the later stages of their lives.
Their deaths Audrey Meadows died on February 3rd, 1996. She had
been diagnosed with lung cancer the year before, after being a heavy smoker for many years. While
doctors tried to offer he aggressive treatment to beat her cancer, she declined. She fell into
a coma at a hospital in Los Angeles and died the next day.
Jayne, on the other hand, was a very active senior citizen until the end. Though she fell and
fractured her hip in 2009, that seemed to signal the end of her public appearances. But she lived
a long and full life, finally dying on April 26, 2015, of natural causes at the age of 95. She was
at her home in Encino, CA, and then was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, next to her husband.
Now it’s time to hear from you. Are you a fan of the Meadows sisters? Which one of their shows or
films do you remember best from? And do you think siblings in Hollywood should always
try to put personal beef aside and support each other. Let us know your thoughts in the comments
section below. And before you go, make sure you give this video a like, and subscribe to Facts
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