Harry Crane
| Harry Crane | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Harry Kravitsky April 23, 1914 Brooklyn, New York |
| Died | September 12, 1999 (aged 85) Beverly Hills, California |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Comedy writer |
| Known for | co-creator of the concept behind the The Honeymooners |
| Spouse(s) | Julia Grandis Lillian Reifman |
| Children | Stephanie Crane Barbara Gilbert Cowan |
Harry Crane (April 23, 1914 – September 13, 1999) was an American comedy writer who helped to create the concept for The Honeymooners and its signature characters.
Crane was born Harry Kravitsky to a Jewish family on April 23, 1914, in Brooklyn, New York. He worked as a stand up comedian in the Borscht Belt while a teenager. In 1943, he was hired as a writer by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and wrote several screenplays including Air Raid Wardens (1943) starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy,Lost in a Harem (1944) starring Lou Costello and Bud Abbot;The Harvey Girls (1946) starring Judy Garland and Angela Lansbury; the Ziegfeld Follies (uncredited) (1946) with Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, and Fanny Brice; the Song of the Thin Man (1947) starring Myrna Loy and William Powell. He also wrote additional dialogue for Two Sisters from Boston (1946) and Take Me Out to the Ball Game (uncredited).
In the 1950s, he began working in television with the DuMont Television Network. Crane successfully recommended Jackie Gleason - whom he knew from his time as a comedian in New York - to DuMont as host for their show the Cavalcade of Stars. In 1951, while working with Joe Bigelow on Cavalcade of Stars, Gleason asked them to produce a sketch of him as a working class Brooklyn guy with a nagging wife. The two created the characters Ralph and Alice Kramden which became a recurring act in Gleason's show; eventually morphing into its own show entitled The Honeymooners on CBS which ran from 1955 to 1956. Crane wrote comedic scripts and jokes for many comedians including Jimmy Durante, Abbott and Costello, the Marx Brothers, Milton Berle, and Jerry Lewis. He also wrote jokes for singers including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore, Perry Como, Alan King, Dean Martin,Eddie Fisher, Red Skelton, Liberace, and Henny Youngman.
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