This sewer sweeper wore blue: best known for his role on The Honeymooners, actor Art Carney also starred on stage and screen. His career proved that good entertainment can be both wholesome and enjoyable.(Entertainment)

Those old enough to remember Art Carney and Jackie Gleason giving TV audiences a weekly dose of remarkable humor know that television does not have to be politically, morally and culturally offensive. While news of Art Carney's passing on November 9 surely evoked memories of The Honeymooners for several generations of Americans, it brought back some very special memories for me.

As a young teen, I fell in love with Carney and Gleason--as well as their TV wives Audrey Meadows and Joyce Randolph when I saw how eagerly my dad looked forward to the show each week. He even obtained tickets for us to be in the audience during a live broadcast of one of the episodes.

What I recall most about that experience was our discovery that Carney's famous T-shirt was actually pale blue. In the days of black-and-white television, anything totally white would have glistened offensively. Pale blue, however, appeared as white when broadcast. I also came to appreciate the genius of the cast. If anyone flubbed a line or missed a cue, Carney and Gleason would play off it and keep the show going. No taping, no retakes--just sheer ability worthy of being termed brilliance.

Born in 1918 and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, the young Carney delighted his grade-school and high-school classmates with his ability to imitate virtually anyone. His characterization of President Roosevelt attracted attention and got him a start with CBS right out of high school. But World War II intervened and found him in the U.S. Army. Though he never fired a gun, he suffered a leg wound from shrapnel that sent him to a hospital for nine months and left him with a shortened right leg and a permanent limp.

After the war, numerous bit parts in radio eventually won Carney a chance in television. He ...