The archives of William "PoPsie" Randolph (1920 - 1978) are being researched extensively for an upcoming book Photography by PoPsie - The Legend of Broadway.
In a long and prolific career spent haunting the recording studios, jam sessions, concert halls, and nightclubs of New York City, Randolph chronicled the raucous postwar transformation of American Music — from swing and jazz to rhythm & blues and rock & roll — more vividly and more avidly, than any photographer of his era.
The 60,000 negatives left behind after his death in 1978 span the giddy, glitzy heyday of swing in the Forties, the hot and cool jazz subsequently spawned in the clubs of Fifty-Second Street, the rumbling emergence of black R&B and doo-wop, the sudden explosion of rock & roll in the late Fifties, the rise of Brill Building pop and the British invasion of the Sixties, and the growth of rock into a multibillion-dollar industry by the Seventies.
PoPsie knew Jackie Gleason (The Honeymooners) very well. Gleason utilized PoPsie often for many of his projects during the 50's from his early forays into television on the Dumont Network up to his later musical projects on Capitol Records.
Gleason was excited in 1955 to have his show broadcast on CBS and wanted PoPsie there to capture the occasion. These images of Gleason at work make a fine addendum to the 
39 classic episodes that we know and love from years of syndication on television.
These photos have not been available to the public for over 50 years and are only now being made available through digital technology that allows us a glimpse into this vast archive. It is truly a pleasure to assist with the restoration of a vintage collection of this magnitude and to see history being brought to life one photo at a time.
![Sinatra with Jackie Gleason & Louis Armstrong [VHS]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21FF4W0SMVL._SL120_.jpg)
Article comments
1 - Franklin Chase
Just the other day Tony McCready on WNIS 790 in Hampton Roads played the theme from the Honeymooners. Gleason wrote it, as many other tunes. It was a wonder piece. Thanks for the Amazon link. I really enjoy the old easy listening format, you know 101 strings, Mantovani, all that stuff. I grew up listening to those, plus Nelson Riddle, Mancini et al. Today, sadly, it's not public airwaves fare and you have to subscrip to XM or some other pay to listen system in order to enjoy those sounds... unless you move to Florida, where a number of stations playing that format are still in operation.
Anyway... I have a Gleason story. He lived in Florida, and a good friend of mine was a trombonist in High School. One morning he was walking to the bus and a limo pulled up... it was Gleason, and knowing that Gleason was a neighbor, got a ride. My buddy (who is now a chef in Phoenix--the last I heard), told me that Gleason was a really friendly guy with a heart of gold.
Tony McCready indicated on the radio that the train rides up to NYC for the show were famous for a lively time.
Thanks for the article. It's time to score some Gleason.