Was Jackie Gleason a narcissist? Gleason was a wonderful comedian at a time of genuinely funny comedy in America. In the classic television series "The Honeymooners", Gleason (as Ralph) and his no-nonsense wife (Alice) played off each other in funny and innocent ways -- with none of the sadistic cruelty peddled by our late-night comics. Jackie “The Great One” Gleason played a boastful egomaniacal bus driver, who got his comeuppance from Alice at the end of every single show. Boastful men who get their just rewards for big audience laughs have been a comedy staple for centuries. Moliere’s The Bourgeois Gentleman is a very funny early modern play that still works for us because the Gentleman is a proud fool who gets suckered over and over again by a pompous scholar, using big and impressive words. Cervantes’ Don Quixote is another famous example. Mark Twain used the boastful dunderhead motif for the two con men in Tom Sawyer, a phony...(Read Full Article)