S1.E18

The $99,000 Answer

Episode aired Jan 28, 1956
TV-PG
30m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Ralph's out to prove himself to Alice, his neighborhood, and the world when he becomes a contestant on a hit television game show.Ralph's out to prove himself to Alice, his neighborhood, and the world when he becomes a contestant on a hit television game show.Ralph's out to prove himself to Alice, his neighborhood, and the world when he becomes a contestant on a hit television game show.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

9.1/10

439

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Top cast12

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Jackie Gleason

Ralph Kramden

Art Carney

Ed Norton

Audrey Meadows

Alice Kramden

Joyce Randolph

Trixie Norton

Jack Lescoulie

Self - Announcer

Rita Colton

Mrs. Kramden - Ralph's Mother in Law
(uncredited)

Zamah Cunningham

Mrs. Manicotti
(uncredited)

Jack Davis

Mr. Parker
(uncredited)

Jay Jackson

Herb Norris
(uncredited)

Ethel Owen

Mrs. Gibson
(uncredited)

George Petrie

Tom
(voice)
(uncredited)

Bill Zuckert

Mr. Garrity
(uncredited)

Director
- Frank Satenstein
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews6

Featured review

10/10

RALPH AND HIS FIFTEEN SECONDS OF FAME!

Another Jackie Gleason classic, written by Leonard Stern, best known for GET SMART, who got his start writing for ABBOTT AND COSTELLO and the BOWERY BOYS.

Ralph gets the green light to go on the tv show, the $99,000 Dollar Answer, a wild take-off on the top rated $64,000 Question at the time, and a variation of Name That Tune. Take your pick. It's actually revealed that Ralph has a fantastic memory for music and naturally could win big bucks on a game show. The problem is his ego, growing by leaps and bounds, and Norton who is a frightmare to rehearse with. Jackie truly shows what a great comedian he was in scenes like this.

Ralph flirting with fame on a national tv show, what could be better, and with some similarities to his other famous tv appearance as the "Chef of the Future."

And just who was the composer of Swanee River?

SEASON 1 EPISODE 18. Classic dvd box set. The original 39 episodes remastered.

tcchelsey
Jan 20, 2024
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Trivia
Norton does actually play the piano in this episode. Among his many other talents Art Carney was an accomplished and respected pianist.

Goofs
Mr. Parker's answer about the number of times "one" appears on the dollar bill would be incorrect if referring to a current Federal Reserve Note, where the number "1" in numeral or spelled-out form appears a total of 16 times: eight times each in both numeral form and spelled out. However, at the time this was filmed, the dollar bill in circulation was a Silver Certificate, where the numeral appears 9 times and spelled out 16 times for a total of 25.

Quotes
Ralph: For the last time, Alice, I'm telling you, I'm going for the $99,000 question.
Alice: For the last time, Ralph, I'll be very happy if you win the 600 bucks.
Ralph: $600? Peanuts, peanuts! What am I gonna do with peanuts?
Alice: Eat 'em, like any other elephant.