Carney, Art (1918-2003), was an American actor best known as Ed Norton in the popular television comedy series “The Honeymooners.” Carney also gained acclaim on the stage and in motion pictures. He won the 1974 Academy Award as best actor in Harry and Tonto.
Arthur William Matthew Carney was born on Nov. 4, 1918, in Mount Vernon, New York. He entered show business as a member of the Horace Heidt band from 1936 to 1939. He then performed vaudeville acts in nightclubs and acted on radio until he gained national popularity in “The Honeymooners.” The original series ran in 1955 and 1956. Carney’s Ed Norton was a dimwitted New York City sewer worker who was the best friend of bus driver Ralph Kramden, played by Jackie Gleason. Kramden and Norton became two of the most familiar comic personalities in American pop culture, largely through the reruns of “The Honeymooners” on TV after the original program ended. On Broadway, Carney starred in The Rope Dancers (1957), Take Her, She’s Mine (1961), and Neil Simon’s hit comedy The Odd Couple (1965). In the Simon play, Carney created the role of the fussy “neat freak” Felix Unger. Carney’s other major films include The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964), The Late Show (1977), Firestarter (1984), and Last Action Hero (1993). Carney died on Nov. 9, 2003.
