# Sheila MacRae
**Sheila MacRae** (September 24, 1921 – March 6, 2014) was a British-born American actress, singer, and dancer best known for playing Alice Kramden, the wife of [Jackie Gleason](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-gleason)'s Ralph Kramden, in the 1960s revival of *The Honeymooners* sketches on *The Jackie Gleason Show*.[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheila-macrae-89890) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/sheila-macrae)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | September 24, 1921, London, England[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheila-macrae-89890) |
| Died | March 6, 2014, Englewood, New Jersey, aged 92[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheila-macrae-89890) • [3](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/sheila-macrae-obituary?pid=179186081) |
| Signature role | Alice Kramden on *The Jackie Gleason Show*, 1966–1970, replacing Audrey Meadows[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/sheila-macrae) |
| Marriage | Married singer-actor Gordon MacRae in 1941; divorced 1967[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/sheila-macrae) |
| Broadway | Miss Adelaide in the 1965 revival of *Guys and Dolls*; replacement Marion in *Absurd Person Singular* (from 1975)[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheila-macrae-89890) |
| Films | *Backfire* (1950), *Caged* (1950), *Bikini Beach* (1964)[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534306/) |
| Other TV | *Search for Tomorrow*, *I Love Lucy*, *The Red Skelton Hour*, *General Hospital*, *The Man from U.N.C.L.E.*, *The Love Boat*, *Parenthood*, and *Murder, She Wrote*[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/sheila-macrae) |
## Early life and move to America
MacRae was born in London. In 1939, with war looming, she moved to [Long Island](https://www.edgepedia.org/long-island) alongside her parents, departing England.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/sheila-macrae) A 1952 *Modern Screen* profile says [Gordon MacRae](https://www.edgepedia.org/gordon-macrae) first met Sheila Stephens when she interviewed him for a job at the Millpond Playhouse on Long Island; she was then an ambitious actress herself and tried out for a road-company part.[5](https://www.otrr.org/FILES/Magz_pdf/Modern%20Screen/ModernScreen%205207.pdf)
Some biographical records give her birth year as 1924 rather than 1921, and her age at death as 93 in one news report against 92 in the Associated Press obituary.[6](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-66160/sheila-macrae-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people) • [7](https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/gleason-co-star-sheila-macrae-dies/cjwgpfedm) • [3](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/sheila-macrae-obituary?pid=179186081) The Broadway, television, and library authority databases list September 24, 1921.[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheila-macrae-89890) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/sheila-macrae) • [8](https://entities.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39PBJgHhft99m7XBdv9vFcMfq.html)
## Marriage to Gordon MacRae and performing partnership
In 1941 she married Gordon MacRae, the popular actor and singer known for the movie musicals *[Carousel](https://www.edgepedia.org/carousel-film)* and *Oklahoma!*.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/sheila-macrae) The two performed together for many years in nightclubs, on television, and in concerts.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/sheila-macrae) A 1968 magazine profile noted that ten years earlier she had joined her husband in a nightclub act and had since gone out on her own; the couple had four children and divorced after 26 years of marriage, in 1967.[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Album/TV-Radio-Album-1968.pdf) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/sheila-macrae)
The four children were Meredith, Heather, Gar, and Robert Bruce MacRae.[6](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-66160/sheila-macrae-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people) Daughter Meredith became an actress known for *Petticoat Junction*;[9](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Album/TV-Radio-Album-1968.pdf) daughter Heather also became a stage and screen actress, and co-hosted *The Sheila MacRae Show* with her mother in 1971.[10](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macrae-heather-1946)
## The Honeymooners and television career
**Alice Kramden.** In the 1950s version of *The Honeymooners*, Audrey Meadows played Alice Kramden, the tolerant and brassy wife of the Brooklyn bus driver Ralph, alongside Jackie Gleason. MacRae replaced Meadows in a later version of the sketches, playing the role from 1966 to 1970 on *The Jackie Gleason Show*.[3](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/sheila-macrae-obituary?pid=179186081) • [2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/sheila-macrae) The Associated Press obituary noted that it was this small-screen role, rather than her Broadway and film work, for which she was most remembered.[3](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/sheila-macrae-obituary?pid=179186081)
She began appearing in films and television in the early 1950s.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/sheila-macrae) Her film credits include *Backfire* and *Caged* (both 1950, credited as Sheila Stevens or Sheila Stephens) and the beach comedies *Bikini Beach* (1964) and *How to Stuff a Wild Bikini* (1965), credited as Sheila Stephenson.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534306/) In 1971 she had her own short-lived syndicated series, *The Sheila MacRae Show*.[2](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/sheila-macrae) • [11](https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/actors/sheila-macrae) Later television work included guest appearances on *I Love Lucy* (the 1954–55 season episode "The Fashion Show") and *Murder, She Wrote* (1993), and a recurring role as Madelyn Richmond on *General Hospital* in the 1990s.[12](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/sheila-macrae/umc.cpc.2vzco1bwoiy2mn2wpa6a29ww5) • [11](https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/actors/sheila-macrae)
## Stage and nightclub work
On Broadway she starred as Miss Adelaide in the revival of *Guys and Dolls* that ran from April 28 to May 9, 1965, and later joined the original production of the play *Absurd Person Singular* as a replacement in the role of Marion from August 25, 1975.[1](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheila-macrae-89890) As a nightclub singer she headlined venues between the coasts; the Fairmont Dallas's Venetian Room scheduled her for a July 3–23, 1969 engagement between runs by Kay Starr and [Carol Channing](https://www.edgepedia.org/carol-channing).[13](https://www.colorado.edu/amrc/sites/default/files/attached-files/010_1969-1977_the_jg_story_jg.010e.pdf)
## Death
MacRae died on March 6, 2014, at the Lillian Booth Actors Home in [Englewood, New Jersey](https://www.edgepedia.org/englewood-new-jersey), aged 92 according to the Associated Press.[3](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/sheila-macrae-obituary?pid=179186081) IMDb lists the cause as natural causes.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534306/)
## References
1. [Sheila MacRae – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB (Internet Broadway Database)](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sheila-macrae-89890)
2. [Sheila MacRae, Television Academy bios](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/sheila-macrae)
3. [Sheila MacRae Obituary (2014), Legacy.com / Associated Press](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/sheila-macrae-obituary?pid=179186081)
4. [Sheila MacRae (1921–2014), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534306/)
5. [Modern Screen, May 1952](https://www.otrr.org/FILES/Magz_pdf/Modern%20Screen/ModernScreen%205207.pdf)
6. [Sheila MacRae, Biographical Summaries of Notable People, MyHeritage](https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10182-66160/sheila-macrae-in-biographical-summaries-of-notable-people)
7. [Gleason co-star Sheila MacRae dies, SBS News (AAP), March 8, 2014](https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/gleason-co-star-sheila-macrae-dies/cjwgpfedm)
8. [Sheila MacRae, OCLC WorldCat Entities](https://entities.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39PBJgHhft99m7XBdv9vFcMfq.html)
9. [TV Radio Album, 1968, World Radio History archive](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Album/TV-Radio-Album-1968.pdf)
10. [MacRae, Heather 1946–, Encyclopedia.com, Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macrae-heather-1946)
11. [Sheila MacRae, Radio Star, Old Time Radio Downloads](https://www.oldtimeradiodownloads.com/actors/sheila-macrae)
12. [Sheila MacRae Movies and Shows, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/sheila-macrae/umc.cpc.2vzco1bwoiy2mn2wpa6a29ww5)
13. [The Jerry Gray Story 1969–1977, American Music Research Center, University of Colorado](https://www.colorado.edu/amrc/sites/default/files/attached-files/010_1969-1977_the_jg_story_jg.010e.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames M*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license