Ralph Kramden Statue

New York, New York

An eight-foot-tall bronze statue of a jolly Jackie Gleason stands in front of Manhattan's midtown Port Authority Bus Terminal. Jackie, clad in his Honeymooners bus driver's uniform, clutches his lunch pail and wears a satisfied expression as he looks out over the mostly indifferent passers-by on New York's Eighth Avenue.

Cable television's TV Land funded the statue in cooperation with Gleason's estate and the Port Authority. It was the first of several statues commissioned by the network to honor the syndicated shows that contributed to TV Land's success. Similarly-spirited statues have been erected to the shows Bewitched and Andy Griffith and Bob Newhart and Mary Tyler Moore.

Ralph's placement may be thematically appropriate, but it's easy to dislike the spot. Gleason's dark bronze features are nearly invisible, in perpetual shadow under an overhang. And the never-ending bus station crowds ensure that someone is almost always pushing themselves between you and Ralph. We're not used to this interference, having watched Jackie Gleason for years from across the clear, calm expanse of our TV room. Just where he belongs.

The plaque reads:

Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden
Bus Driver - Raccoon Lodge Treasurer - Dreamer
Presented by the People of TV Land

The statue is by sculptor Larry Nowlan, who passed away in July 2013.

Tipster "Monica" writes: "The statue is in the movie 'World Trade Center'. Michael Pena, who plays Will Jimeno in the beginning of the movie, tells some people to not sit on the stand it is on."