I found this episode of "Studio One" very strange...very, very strange. That's because Jackie Gleason played a character that is, from many accounts, an awful lot like the real life Gleason--warts and all. Why he would agree to play such a despicable sort of guy when he himself was often described as 'difficult' is quite unusual--almost like an acknowledgment by Gleason about who he really was OR complete denial. Either way, this made for a memorable episode of the series.
The show worked very well--mostly because Gleason played the character very well. He went from sweet guy, braggart to vicious user quite believably. Yet, oddly, you felt sorry for him in some ways because he was so incredibly insecure and pathetic. And the show came off quite well--much like similar tell-all films like "The Great Man" and "Death of a Scoundrel". You just can't take your eyes off him and seeing his real-life supporting character from "The Jackie Gleason Show" and "The Honeymooners", Art Carney, playing the role of a reporter doing a story on him blew me away! It's also fascinating because, it turns out, so many folks in this teleplay are users--only interested in themselves and nothing more. I sure hope that the show business world isn't really this bad.
Whether or not Gleason was a nice guy in real life or not, this doesn't change whether or not this show is worth seeing. It DEFINITELY is worth seeing and cuts to the bone again and again--and is well worth seeing. One of the more compelling episodes of an amazing series.
By the way, one of several sources I found that described the real-life Gleason is less than favorable terms was "The Great One: The Life and Legend of Jackie Gleason". Perhaps this book is not accurate, but it did seem to confirm what a few other sources seemed to indicate about the man. Also, didn't Gleason's character seem a lot like a meaner version of Alan Brady from "The Dick Van Dyke Show"?