Marriages and Family
Gleason had been seeing a lot of Genevieve Halford, a dancer; both were working in vaudeville when they met. Genevieve wanted marriage, while Gleason was not ready to settle down. She told him that they would either get married or she would begin seeing other men; when Gleason went onstage one evening at the Club Miami in Newark, New Jersey, Genevieve was seated in the front row with a date. At the end of his show, Gleason went to the table and proposed to Genevieve in front of her date. They were married on September 20, 1936.
Genevieve expected a normal husband who would be home when not at work; Gleason fell back into spending his nights out. Separated for the first time in 1941 and reconciled in 1948, the couple had two daughters (Geraldine and Linda). Gleason's daughter Linda was married to actor-playwright Jason Miller; their son (and Gleason's grandson) is actor Jason Patric. Gleason and his wife informally separated again in 1951. In early 1954, the comedian suffered a broken leg and ankle on-air during his television show. His injuries sidelined him for a few weeks, and Gleason's friends filled in for him while he recuperated. Gleason's injury dealt a permanent blow to his already-troubled marriage. While they were still separated when Gleason was hospitalized, Genevieve came to visit and found he already had a visitor: dancer Marilyn Taylor from his television show. The women confronted each other, and Genevieve filed for a legal separation in April 1954; they were divorced in 1970.
Gleason met his second wife, Beverly McKittrick (a secretary), at a country club in 1968. Ten days after his divorce from Genevieve was final, Gleason and McKittrick were married in a registry ceremony in Ashford, England on July 4, 1970. Marilyn Taylor (who left show business in 1956) was reunited with Gleason in 1974 when she moved to the Miami area to be near her sister June, whose dancers were part of Gleason's shows for many years. In September 1974 Gleason filed for divorce from McKittrick (who contested, asking for a reconciliation). The divorce was granted on November 19, 1975. Now a widow with a young son, Marilyn Taylor married Gleason on December 16, 1975; the marriage lasted until his death in 1987.
Read more about this topic: Jackie Gleason, Personal Life
Famous quotes containing the words marriages and/or family:
“Good marriages are built on respectful disagreement and back-and-forth cooperation. We learn to cue each other, fill in for each other, forgive each other’s fumbles, celebrate small victories. We revel in the realization that we’re working on something bigger than both of us, and that parenthood is not only incredibly challenging but also incredibly enriching.”
—Susan Lapinski (20th century)
“It is best for all parties in the combined family to take matters slowly, to use the crock pot instead of the pressure cooker, and not to aim for a perfect blend but rather to recognize the pleasures to be enjoyed in retaining some of the distinct flavors of the separate ingredients.”
—Claire Berman (20th century)