My 3 top comedy shows!

This is my number 1 favorite! I like Jackie Gleason and Art Carney because they were unique. I grew up watching the Honeymooners because my mom was a fan. It centered on a bus driver named Ralph Kramden, who seemed to be stuck in a dead end job. He, always, wanted to give his wife Alice, the good life. Getting into many a business deals that went sour, he winded up having egg on his face.

You got to feel sorry for the poor sap because his heart was in the right place. He loved his wife so much that, at times, he got insanely jealous over her. This would put him into embarrassing predicaments. If you pay attention to this classic comedy show, you would find that Ralph's (Jackie Gleason) quotes to Alice wouldn't have made it in our PC world, especially when he would say-"You wanna go to the moon, Alice?"

But, you got to admit one thing. Alice was ahead of her time. Telling her husband to shut up and ignoring him. Alice was too good of a wife for him and you got to admit that love overcame everything. Ed Norton (Art Carney) was Ralph's buddy. Ed was, pretty, much content being where he was at. He was a little slow and had funny moments with Ralph. All in all, I rate it as number 1 on my list!

A spin-off from the Andy Griffith show, Gomer Pyle ranks 2 in my all time list. Here is a country boy that joins the Marines. Frank Sutton is the Sarge who is in charge of training Gomer. What follows is a series of humorous mishaps that would give any Sargeant a headache.

What is curious is that Gomer would at the beginning get into trouble. The Sarge would be yelling and screaming calling him a knucklehead. At the end, in most cases, Private Pyle would be smelling like a rose and the Sarge would be scratching his head wondering what happened. Someone up there must like Gomer!

I remember when the show would start, you see the US Marines marching and Gomer is smiling, The Sarge runs up to him and starts yelling at this face, making him nervous. When Jim Nabors (Gomer) was interviewed, he added a sad note. Of all those Marines that were marching, many of them did not make it back from Viet-Nam. A tribute to the all-American spirit in the midst of an unpopular war!

This is my third best classic comedy. Although, it is stereo-typical, it does have its funny moments. What I really liked is that it mixed comedy with reality. It showed what it was like living in the ghetto. A family man, James Evans (John Amos), was a character who preferred hard work to making easy money. The frustrations of trying to find a job and living day to day with a limited budget would bring a tear to your eyes.

James wife, Florida (Esther Rolle), was the matriach of the family. Through her deep faith in the Lord, she tried to bring the family together and offer hope. JJ (Jimmy Walker) was the center and funniest character. Always thinking of himself as a womanizer, he would fall into all sorts of trouble.

I think this program was unique, because in the midst of classic comedy, we saw a touch of tragedy when James Evans was killed in a automobile accident. This was revolutionary and well made. It added a touch of reality, but then afterwards, it lost its magic. It wasn't the same without the James Evans character, nevertheless, it remains number three in my list.