What I loved about Jackie Gleason is....

Great point. When people are having fun, it becomes infectious. Louis Armstrong was a tremendous musician, but it was his incandescent SMILE that was infectious. When people are having fun on a TV show (e.g., The Honeymooners, Cheers) or a movie (e.g., Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl) or legitimate theater (e.g., Wicked), the energy goes out into the audience. The difference is, in live performance, the energy RICOCHETS between the audience and the players, growing exponentially greater with each exchange. It is a fantastic, unforgettable experience, as when Beethoven introduced his 9th Symphony and, upon hearing its second movement, the audience rose as one DEMANDED it be played again. Gleason was magnetic, and had a great eye for talent. I mean: Art Carney?!