Herbert Walton Gleason, Jr. , baptized as John Herbert "Jackie" Gleason, (February 26, 1916–June 24, 1987) was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on the sitcom The Honeymooners. His most noted film role was Minnesota Fats in The Hustler.

Gleason was born at 364 Chauncey Street in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York. His parents, both from Ireland, were Mae, a subway change-booth attendant, and Herb Gleason, an insurance auditor. Gleason was one of their two children. Gleason's brother died when he was young, and his father abandoned the family. Gleason was raised by his mother, who died when he was 19. He attended but did not graduate from Bushwick High School. His first recognition as an entertainer came on Broadway, when he appeared in Follow the Girls. In his 1985 appearance on the Tonight Show, Gleason told Johnny Carson that he had played pool frequently, since childhood; he later utilized his experiences when he appeared in the film The Hustler as Minnesota Fats.

By age 24, Gleason was in the movies, first at Warner Brothers as "Jackie C. Gleason" in such films as Navy Blues (1941) with Ann Sheridan and Martha Raye and All Through the Night (1941) with Humphrey Bogart; then at Columbia Pictures for the B military comedy Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1942); and finally, at Twentieth Century-Fox (Gleason played the Glenn Miller band's bassist in Orchestra Wives ).